Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum am I the only one who didn't learn a Christmas song?

Maybe it's because I have really limited time to play right now but I never even considered adding a Christmas song to my playlist. I'm starting to worry I may be a Grinch...
Anyone else?

start to learn one now, it is not too late, I like Jingle bells, Play this for me please.

My four year old daughter played Jingle Bells for her recital last week; it was the sweetest thing ever. Maybe we could duet!

bravo, any Video to Show?

I just imagine Kabalevsky in a Santa suit.

Here's a simple 7-minute tutorial on an arrangement of "Silent Night" if this helps

[video:youtube]hX7C18zSYnA[/video]

No your not alone, I don't feel the need to learn a Christmas tune when I can hear others do it for me

I don't really "study" the Christmas pieces, but I love to use them as reading practice - only play them from November to mid January and every year I can see how much easier they are to play compared to the year before.

This year I've been playing about with doing a few by ear which has been fun.

I don't really think about it, still hasn't sunk in yet that tomorrow is Christmas Day!

I just play whatever I feel like playing at the time, if I happen to be in a festive mood, well then it's festive pieces

The same here. I sight-read each piece only once, until the next year.
This is only the second year.

I "learned" a few more difficult ones, but honestly I have the most fun reading through the really easy arrangements. I have Bastien Christmas lvl. 2, bought it last year. It's great to come back to them a year later and see how much easier they are.

For me, they expire on Christmas day- I can't play them after the 25th... I put the books away til next year

Add me to the list, I just play them from sight if I can and ignore them if I can't. That's the joy of practicing sight reading!!!

Never bothered with christmas tunes. There is so much better music to spend time with

Dear Hugh

I was about to become a member of the "Didn't learn a new Christmas Song this Year Club" when I saw your video. I usually start practicing my meager collection of Christmas songs just about a week before Halloween to "re-remember" them and hopefully play them a bit better than the year before. I have several versions of Silent Night by people like Dan Coates and others, but I really didn't like the arrangements. They were either too complex or too simple. Not being able to play "Silent Night" seemed like a glaring omission in my "limited" Christmas repertoire.

Your "simplified" arrangement is excellent! It sounds good just "as is" or like a basic recipe ...you can add to it, or change it slightly to make it your own. I modified it by playing the left-hand chords as for example, a C-G-C stretch instead of C-E-G to give it a "bigger sound" and varied some of the left hand patterns in a couple of measures from 3/4 to 6/8. It is still simple to play and sounds great to me! Thank you so much!

For next Christmas, I'll transpose it from C to Ab for us lower-voiced people! A Db is much more manageable for a bass than that high F!

Well I broke down and bought a 'big-note' collection of Christmas songs. I plan on having the whole family do their best Elvis impersonation to BLue Christmas.
If you're going to go cheesy, you should go all the way...

Not me.

Hi Emissary52!

I'm so glad you enjoyed this arrangement! Here's a link to a version in A-flat major for you:

http://www.hughsung.com/sheetmusic/SilentNightA-flatMajor.pdf

Enjoy!

Me too
+1

I'm another "didn't learn a Christmas song and have absolutely no desire to."

On the piano that is.

On the other hand, I sang in a lessons and carols service in early December and worked very hard to learn the music, and also went to a Messiah Sing this year in preparation for which I decided I would finally study the Alto part for real instead of just winging it.

So maybe the difference in my attitudes is having some organized purpose for the learning.

I have to admit that on the piano I can cheat at claiming I have no interest in preparing Christmas music because I can sight read: my mother has been asking me to play carols for the past week, and since it's just playing, not needing to be fast and regular enough for a sing-along, I can make her happy by sight-reading the hymnal.

Hey ShannonG, I think Blue Christmas is a great song..lots of fun to play and sing. How'd it go?

BLUE CHRISTMAS