One of the things that appeals to me about Christmas music is that it is, essentially, a type of folk music. Each year we hear many of the same songs, and we often have our own favorite versions of those songs. And of course, new versions of those classic carols and pop songs get recorded every year. Today I'm sharing a song that was written three hundred years ago—it’s sung by artists and choirs around the world, and it’s one you may already know by heart.

This tutorial will show you how to use the Nashville Number System to play Joy to the World in two different keys. I love sharing the number system because learning how to use it has been crucial in my understanding of music. Once I understood that there were patterns behind the chords I was playing, I quickly learned how to change the key of song to better suit my (very average) vocal range, started feeling chord changes more naturally, and was even able to start figuring out the chord progressions to songs on my own. This tutorial for Joy to the World and its accompanying PDF are designed to ease you into using the number system so that you can experience the same breakthrough that I have. Play along with me as I use the number system to strum and sing the song’s first verse in the keys of C and G. Which key is a better fit for your vocal range?