Last Christmas - Sheet Music for transverse flute Wham!

"Last Christmas" on the flute — and it immediately sounds like the original. These flute sheet music arrangements are aimed at players with approximately three years of lessons or more. The delicate legato phrasing and off-beat moments demand real control, but they're also exactly what gives the piece its life. As part of the playbackNOTEN series, the arrangement also fits seamlessly into ensemble playing.

Sheet Music "Last Christmas" – Wintry Christmas Pop for Flute

George Michael wrote "Last Christmas" for Wham! — and the song was released in 1984. The melody tells the story of a heart given away and handed back, and the promise to do better next time. What keeps the song alive to this day: that blend of warmth and a quiet ache underneath. Both are embedded in the melody itself — not just in the lyrics.

The flute carries the complete melodic line here — and in E♭ major it sounds particularly warm and singing. The melody spans an octave and a half, reaching up into the upper register where solid breath support is essential. The upper register of E♭ major holds some typical intonation traps: the high B♭ and C6 tend to run sharp on the flute — rolling the embouchure slightly inward and carefully controlling support keeps those notes cleanly centered. Entirely diatonic — with no chromatic detours — the harmony remains manageable throughout. The intermediate difficulty level comes primarily from the brisk tempo and the many short slurs: the singing legato phrasing needs not just to be played, but genuinely shaped. Add to that the regular syncopations — accents that deliberately fall off the beat — and you have the characteristic rhythmic flow that defines the song.

• Range: A♭4 to C6 (1.5 octaves)
• Main challenge: Consistent syncopations with accents falling off the beat in the flute part

Tapping the underlying pulse internally — or literally with your foot — while the fingers play the syncopations quickly gives you a feel for exactly where the accent is intentionally displaced. It clicks into place fast. For the short slurs, it helps to think of the phrasing as a vocal line: where does the melody breathe, and where does it keep moving? Long phrases of nearly seven bars at a stretch call for deliberate breath planning — small, well-placed breaths keep the flow going without breaking the line. On tempo: 120 BPM is the target, but the emotional core of the piece — that blend of nostalgia and quiet wistfulness — only truly comes through when the tempo isn't driven mechanically, but allowed to breathe slightly at phrase boundaries.

A short demo audio preview is available upfront — useful for getting a feel for the tempo and character. Ready to dive straight in: the playback is available both with and without the melody, ideal for playing along and practising. The sheet music is available for immediate download after purchase. 100% licensed — ready to perform legally, right away.

Editorially reviewed by the notendownload.com team

All Arrangements for "Last Christmas"