Fairytale of New York – Instrumental Melody

Irish Song in D Major / Intermediate

Here’s a heart-wrenching Christmas song by The Pogues, one of the greatest Irish bands ever, EVERRRR! This basic lesson will cover the instrumental melody (which is similar to the verse) and the chorus melody.

Call-and-response lesson

You can learn the entire tune by ear with this call-and-response lesson. This is also a good way to review the tune if you’ve already learned it. If you get stuck, use the sheet music and full video lesson (given by Santa Claus).

 

Full lesson from Santa

Here is a lesson on how to play the melody that Shane Magowan sings at the beginning (which is also the string section melody at the end).

Warm ups

Intervals

D0-3

G1-A0

D major scale

Learning Chunks™

A Part

First quarter: D0-1-2-1-0-1-2-1-0-G2-1

Second quarter: A0-1-0-D2-0 1-2-3-A0-D1

Third quarter: A0-1-0-D2-0 1-2-1-0-G2

Fourth quarter: G1-D0-2-A0-D2-0-1-2-1-0

B Part: Chorus

First half: 1-1-1-1-2-3-3-2-1-0-D2-0-1-2-2

Second half: (D0-1)-2-0-3-2-1-0-2-1-0

This tune is a jig (6/8 time). A part is close to what the vocal parts in the verses. The B part is the chorus.

Full Mix

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Fairy Tale of New York – Vocal Melody

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5 responses to “Fairytale of New York – Instrumental Melody”

  1. I am quite enjoying learning Fairytale of New York but am having difficulty with this bit:
    B Part: Chorus

    First half: (A0-0)-1-1-1-1-2-3-3-2-1-0-D2-0-1-2-2

    Is this played with the same timing and rhythm as the a part?

    1. Hey Dean, yes that is a tricky rhythm section you pointed out. The timing is the same throughout the tune but the rhythm of those notes takes some time to get familiar with. I suggest slowing it way down and start by clapping/tapping/singing those last 3 bars while following along with sheet music for rhythm support, counting all 6 beats in each bar. Thanks for mentioning this and have fun with it 🙂