Simple Christmas music
Found in: Accompaniment
Sandy B., California
People are asking for Christmas music already. What do you have for around a Level 3 group? They are in the middle of the Accompaniment program right now and then heading into Level 3. I have simple Christmas songs from last year. Is there something that has prettier chords as accompaniment yet, or any playing-based things? I have the two Christmas books that are out but they would have to read to play those I think. What are you all doing?
Amy L., California
I love Elizabeth Gaikwad’s Songs for Christmas.
Cheri S., Utah
I second Songs for Christmas. It has a few songs with chords beyond C F & G, as well as a transposing section and wonderful advanced accompaniments.
My students aren’t ready for transposing or the advanced accompaniments until they’re in Foundation 3. So I’ve designed a few simple enhancements for those still in Foundation 2:
* Honey Dew Arrangement 1.2 (rocking 9th chords) sounds especially nice with The First Noel
* Playing an extra LH note after every together-right adds lots of spunk to Jolly Old Saint Nick or Jingle Bells (count 1 2 +)
* Changing a few chords to 7ths or split chords (both learned in Foundation 2) provides extra challenge and a more mature sound
* Slow broken RH chords (bottom-middle-top), moving at the same 1:3 ratio they would normally do, sound really pretty in Silent Night and Away in a Manger. If that’s easy for them, students can try broken LH chords, LH first then RH (1+2+3+)
*. The pattern they’ll use later in She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain is super fun for Jingle Bells, and late-Foundation 2 students pick it up pretty easily.
I also transpose those basic CFG Christmas lead sheets into whatever keys that class currently needs to practice (or, around level 3, students can transpose on their own). And speaking of doing things on their own, students can use all the things they’ve learned (enhancements listed above) to create their own variations using basic Christmas lead sheets.