John Henry Hopkins Jr. (1820-1891) 1857 E minor 3/8 Easy 0:44 Both hands
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We Three Kings has two moods in one short carol: a verse in E minor that sways in three, and a refrain in G major, "O star of wonder", that opens out and keeps coming back to one bright note. Both keys share the same signature, one sharp, F#, so on the piano the change costs you nothing. This easy version follows a 1910 American carol book, in 3/8 as printed there - three quick beats per bar - with one bass note per bar in the left hand. Press Listen once, then learn the verse and the refrain separately in Practice mode before joining them.
Verse: thumb on the E above middle C, so E F# G A B are fingers 1 to 5. In bar 12 the tune reaches up to D: move the hand up for D C B and A B A, then come back down to G F# E in bars 14 and 15. Refrain: put the thumb on the D above middle C, so G is finger 4; for "westward leading, still proceeding" (bars 25 to 28) move the thumb up to G.
One bass note per bar: E and B under the first two lines, then E, D, G, G and A as the melody climbs, and D under the "O" in bar 16. In the refrain the bass is G and C, with E, D, C, D under bars 25 to 28. In bar 14 the left hand plays E for two beats and B on the third.
In 3/8 the beat is the eighth note: count "1 2 3" in every bar and lean on the first. Bars 4, 8, 20 and 24 end with an eighth rest - lift the hand. Bar 16, the "O" before the refrain, is F# rising to A: in the 1910 book both notes carry a pause sign, so you may hold them a little before "star of wonder".
Verse: B A G E is 5-4-3-1, F# G F# E is 2-3-2-1. Refrain, thumb on D: G G G D is 4-4-4-1, G E G is 4-2-4. Bars 25 to 28, thumb on G: G G A B C B A B is 1-1-2-3-4-3-2-3.
The right-hand melody of this version, bar by bar, in letter names and in Do Ré Mi. Sharps are written #, flats b; a note held across a bar line is written once.
Melody: B A G E F# G F# E B A G E F# G F# E G G A A B B D C …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B A | Si La |
| 2 | G E | Sol Mi |
| 3 | F# G F# | Fa# Sol Fa# |
| 4 | E | Mi |
| 5 | B A | Si La |
| 6 | G E | Sol Mi |
| 7 | F# G F# | Fa# Sol Fa# |
| 8 | E | Mi |
| 9 | G G | Sol Sol |
| 10 | A A | La La |
| 11 | B B | Si Si |
| 12 | D C B | Ré Do Si |
| 13 | A B A | La Si La |
| 14 | G F# | Sol Fa# |
| 15 | E | Mi |
| 16 | F# A | Fa# La |
| 17 | G G | Sol Sol |
| 18 | G D | Sol Ré |
| 19 | G E | Sol Mi |
| 20 | G | Sol |
| 21 | G G | Sol Sol |
| 22 | G D | Sol Ré |
| 23 | G E | Sol Mi |
| 24 | G | Sol |
| 25 | G G | Sol Sol |
| 26 | A B | La Si |
| 27 | C B | Do Si |
| 28 | A B | La Si |
| 29 | G G | Sol Sol |
| 30 | G D | Sol Ré |
| 31 | G E | Sol Mi |
| 32 | G | Sol |
The chords this arrangement holds for at least two bars, read from the score with the root in the bass. Each one opens its page: the notes, every inversion and the fingering, playable on a piano.
The piece is in E minor: all the chords of the key
John Henry Hopkins Jr., an American clergyman, wrote both the words and the music in 1857. The carol tells the story of the Magi, the wise men from the East who follow a star to Bethlehem, and it is sung especially around Epiphany, on 6 January.
The Gospel of Matthew does not say there were three of them, nor that they were kings: the number comes from their three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. The carol gives each gift its own verse, in the voice of the king who brings it - gold for a king, incense for God, and myrrh, a bitter perfume, for the death to come - before a last verse that looks to the resurrection.
This transcription: John Henry Hopkins Jr., "We Three Kings of Orient Are" (1857), as printed in Hollis Dann, Christmas Carols and Hymns for School and Choir (New York: American Book Co., 1910), p. 11, archive.org christmascarolsh00dann_0, page n14; checked against Henry H. Sweets, Christmas Carols (Louisville, 1923), p. 10, archive.org christmas-carols-smyth-1855, page n11: verse in E minor and refrain in G major; left hand by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
Easy Version · E minor
Easy Version · G major
Easy Version · G major
Easy Version · C majorThe full piano studio opens this score with your MIDI keyboard and sustain pedal, records what you play and exports it as a MIDI file. It comes with the GOONS Studio subscription - start with the 7-day free trial, no card required.
The verse, in E minor: B A G E, F# G F# E (Si La Sol Mi, Fa# Sol Fa# Mi), twice, then G G A A B B, D C B, A B A, G F# E. The refrain, in G major, starts F# A, G G G D, G E G (Fa# La, Sol Sol Sol Ré, Sol Mi Sol). Every bar is in the Notes section.
The Gospel of Matthew speaks of wise men from the East and of three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, but gives neither their number nor any royal title. The three kings come from later tradition, which the carol follows.
The verse is in E minor and the refrain in G major. The two keys share one sharp, F#, so the key signature never changes: the shift is in the harmony and in the note the melody comes to rest on.
At Christmas, and especially at Epiphany, on 6 January, the feast that marks the visit of the Magi.