Every year around Christmas time the radio airwaves fill with Christmas music. Why not get in on the game and play your own Christmas music? “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” is just as good as any. Did you know Gene Autry’s recording of the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart the week of Christmas 1949? True story. In fact, it sold over 2.5 million copies in its first year and eventually sold over 25 million. It was the second best-selling record of all time until the 1980s. Wow! Rudolph is pretty popular.
I’m not going to show you how to play Gene Autry’s version of the song, but an instrumental version of the song for two guitarists to play. One will assume the role of rhythm guitar and the other will take the melody. It only has 3 different chords and the lead melody isn’t too hard to play, so you’ll have no problems playing it at your Christmas party.
Performing The Song…
Here’s a video performance of this version of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” for two guitarists. In this performance, we play it just as it is transcribed, but you can add your own embellishments and spice it up, however, you see fit. It’s an easy enough song that you can add your own twist.
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Download
You can download the full tab for the song in PDF format at the link below:
Chords Used
Only 3 chords are used in the song: C, G, and F. Heres how you play these chords (if you don’t already know):
Looking At The Lead
A brief look at the lead guitar part and you’ll see it follows Autry’s original vocal melody. There are no bends, hammer-ons, or slides in this transcription, but if you get bored playing it straight you can spice it up by adding your own. There’s more than one way to skin a cat!
