Bing Crosby – White Christmas

White Christmas (Tab)


White Christmas (mp3)

I couldn’t let Christmas pass without working up a version of this tune. It’s a classic.

This arrangement keeps it fairly simple. It’s mostly just strummed chords. When you’re playing a chord based solo like this one, it’s important that you emphasise the melody notes. There are a couple of main ways to do this.

Firstly, by making the last note you hit in a strum the melody note.

Secondly, by giving a bit more omph to the chords on the melody beats. For example, in bar 6 the melody note is the first beat (the ‘I’m’), so play this chord stronger and the rest of the strums in the bar more softly.

If you like this style of arrangement, you can find more Christmas songs arranged like this in How To Play Christmas Ukulele.

If you’re in Hollywood this Friday, head over to the Egyptian Theater for their screening of White Christmas where Ukulele Davey will be leading a sing-along.

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13 Comments

  1. Gary December 13th, 2007 11:49 am

    Hi Alistair, Tried to read White Xmas, but told the file was damaged.
    Like the reindeer game, only got 2 of them….:-)

  2. AC December 13th, 2007 6:29 pm

    Love your site.

    Is there a reason you don’t put the chord names in the tab when you’re doing actual chords? I would find that much easier to read, but maybe it’s just me.

  3. Woodshed December 13th, 2007 7:06 pm

    Thanks, AC. You’re right, I probably should start putting chords in.

  4. Crofty December 16th, 2007 2:09 pm

    This is great! I wish my fingers were slim enough to play the high notes with as much clarity as yours. Love it!

  5. Woodshed December 17th, 2007 11:46 pm

    Ha, ha, ha. I knew having tiny, girly fingers would come in handy one day :D

  6. BaoBaBspirit December 16th, 2010 2:00 pm

    I’m working on learning this tune for the holidays. I find it very helpful to be able to listen to the song as it’s played, while i’m learning it. That said I don’t have the internet at home and was wondering if you could send me the MP3 of this composition so I can put it on my Zune?

  7. Rob November 2nd, 2011 1:00 pm

    Wow–I love this version of White Christmas! I’m trying to learn to play the uke since my dad used to play b/f he got Alzheimer’s and so I can play it for him. I was just wondering if you had any other tabs that show the fingering or what the actual chords were as in C, G7, etc.? I’m having a hard time reading it from the bars. I have the top melody down–just need to put it together! :-)

  8. Woodshed November 3rd, 2011 11:23 am

    Rob: There’s a version of the chords here.

  9. tooney November 22nd, 2013 1:44 am

    Just came across this. Al, it’s fabulous. You played it wonderfully and are a talented arranger. I’m afraid I’ll never do it justice, but I’m going to try.

  10. Woodshed November 22nd, 2013 8:05 am

    tooney: Thanks so much! Good luck with the learning.

  11. Chris September 26th, 2017 2:50 pm

    Why do you only put the fret numbers on the tabs? I would much rather have the actual notes with the tabs on the bottom.

  12. Daniel November 22nd, 2017 2:33 am

    Thank you so much for this version of White Christmas! This is a favorite in our house, my wife and I learned it together (slowly). It has great pacing, never gets boring, and hits the melody perfectly with the fingerpicking parts. Thanks Woodshed!

  13. Woodshed November 23rd, 2017 1:17 pm

    Daniel: Thanks very much! Glad you like it.

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