There are a wide variety of tunes for “Away in a Manger”. Simone Collins has arranged the 3 most common tunes, in a variety of formats and levels of difficulty. From beginners working in a 5 finger position on piano to varying levels of “beginner” and “very easy”, everyone can play and sing these arrangements!
These arrangements are either in:
- a singable key (in this case, F major)
- a 5 finger position for beginners, in a key with no sharps or flats, with each hand playing no more than 5 notes either side of middle C, and a simplified melody to avoid quavers / eighth notes
There are a variety of collections to choose from, depending on the choice of tune and/or level of difficulty. They include all 3 verses of this Christmas carol.
The lead sheets / fake book contain the melody with chord symbols plus lyrics, suitable for piano / organ / vocal / guitar etc.
- For students, pick the collection for your preferred tune and instrument for increasing level of difficulty of the accompaniment
- For more experienced players, choose the fake book to add your own accompaniment
- For teachers, choose a collection with multiple versions, and enjoy a studio license to enjoy these arrangements with all your students.
Organ arrangements with written accompaniment will be coming soon!
The 3 Main “Away in a Manger” Tunes
Mueller
The most commonly published tune for “Away in a Manger” is known as “Mueller”, as it is attributed to composer Carl Mueller. However, it was first published by American composer James R Murray (1841 – 1905) in his collection “Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses” in 1887. He called it “Luther’s Cradle Hymn”, and claimed it was “composed by Martin Luther for his children”, which was not the case.
This is the tune most commonly found in the USA.
The Mueller piano collection is an 8 page PDF which contains 6 different arrangements:
- A lead sheet in F major
- A 5 finger position song for beginners – both a single page version, and a double page version with very large notes and a fingering chart
- Two different very piano version in F major with extremely simple left hand accompaniments
- An easy piano version in F major with wider chords and an introduction
Since this is the version common in the USA, there is a choice of A4 or US letter format.
To purchase this collection in US dollars, please visit Gumroad.
Listen to the easy piano arrangement of the Mueller tune with single note broken chords:
Listen to the easy piano arrangement of the Mueller tune with an introduction and wider chords:
Cradle Song
The next most commonly found tune is called “Cradle Song”, written by American composer William J. Kirkpatrick (1838 – 1921). It was first published in the collection “Around the World With Christmas” in 1895, also under the title “Luther’s Cradle Hymn”. It was said to represent “the German Fatherland”, however the tune is not German. This is the version most commonly sung in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Con Brio Examinations – Piano Grade 1
A piano arrangement at grade 1 piano level has been accepted for the Con Brio Examinations syllabus. This arrangement doesn’t have lyrics included.
The Cradle piano collection is an 8 page PDF in A4 format which contains 6 different arrangements:
- A lead sheet in F major
- A 5 finger position song for beginners – both a single page version, and a double page version with very large notes and a fingering chart
- Two different very piano version in F major with extremely simple left hand accompaniments
- An easy piano version in F major with wider chords and an introduction
Listen to the very easy piano version of the Cradle Song tune with single note broken chord accompaniment:
Listen to the easy piano version of the Cradle Song tune with the introduction:
Flow Gently, Sweet Afton
In December 1945, Richard Hill published in the “Music Library Association Notes (second series) III no 1” that there were 41 different versions of “Away in a Manger”. At that time, this tune was the second most published version. First published before 1897, someone set the words of the carol to Jonathan E. Spilman’s 1838 melody “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton”.
The Flow Gently piano collection is a 5 page PDF in A4 format which contains 4 arrangements:
- A lead sheet in F major
- Two different very piano version in F major with extremely simple left hand accompaniments
- An easy piano version in F major with wider chords and an introduction
Listen to the easy piano version of the Flow Gently, Sweet Afton tune with single note broken chord accompaniment:
Listen to the easy piano version of the Flow Gently, Sweet Afton tune with the introduction:
Multi-tune Collections
Collections of the 2 Primary Versions of “Away in a Manger”
Find the arrangements of both the “Cradle Song” and “Mueller” versions together:
- Popular lead sheets – lead sheets of both the “Cradle Song” and “Mueller” versions (3 page PDF in A 4 format)
- The Double set piano collection – has everything found in the “Cradle Song” and “Mueller” piano collections plus a separate lyric sheet (15 page PDF in A4 format)
Collections of All 3 Versions of “Away in a Manger”
The following collections have all 3 “Away in a Manger” tunes in F major with all 3 verses of lyrics:
- Fake book collection – lead sheets of all 3 versions, with and without lyrics under the melody, with a separate lyric sheet for singalongs (5 page PDF in A4 format)
- Full piano collection – everything contained in the “Cradle Song”, “Mueller” and “Flow Gently” piano collections plus a separate lyric sheet (20 page PDF in A4 format)
