I enjoy getting with my piano friends and playing piano duos!

Here is Betsy Kistler and I practicing for an upcoming concert at the mall.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen piano duo is available on this website in the new music store. 

 

Here is a video of my piano duo “Joy to the World”.

Nathan Mason is one of my more advanced students and enjoys playing piano duos as you will notice.   🙂

I do apologize for the lack of balance between the two pianos.

This piano duo of “Joy to the World” is featured on my
“Simply Christmas” Cd and is now available in the music store.

I just finished sharing chord substitutions for “Silent Night” with one of my piano students.

I was surprised at how fast she caught on to me just calling out the chord names and she just played that chord frame in the left hand while playing single note melody an octave higher with the right hand.

Special note:  This student does play by ear but can also read music.

Click on the following link for “Silent Night’ lyrics with left hand  chord substitutions:

Silent Night chord substitutions  Key of C Major

Our choir is singing “What Child is This?” in unison.  We’re singing it in a lower key.  Since the choir is unison….I like to insert chord substitutions to dress it up a bit.

I wrote a simple piano arrangement of “What Child” just so our other pianist could follow my chording to avoid chord clashes between us 🙂

Feel free to use this as accompaniment for unison choir or a vocal solo.

It wouldn’t be appropriate for a piano solo  because the melody is missing here and there.  Although, most of you could probably insert the melody in those places 🙂

Hope all is going well with your church’s Christmas program practices.

Click the title below for the free Christmas piano arrangment:

What Child is This?

Yes, I have been rather busy but taking time to send you all another free  Christmas piano arrangement.

It’s an intermediate piano solo of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”.

I wrote this arrangement for a student of mine last year for the Christmas piano recital.

Hopefully you or one of your students can make use of it.

You will see fingering suggestions throughout the arrangement.

Piano solo: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

You need to have the Audio Player Plugin installed to use this shortcode

I am giving away one of my piano arrangements off my Christmas CD…entitled “Simply Christmas”.

For more information on this CD, click the following link:

 https://thechurchpianist.com/christmas-cd-simply-christmas/

Free Audio: Silent Night  

This arrangement is written in a free style…which means not as structured as my other arrangements.

Click here…for Free Piano Arrangement of Silent Night

Programs, in general, require alot of practice if they are to be effective.

Just as a Pastor spends time preparing for a sermon, so must others… who share God’s message through music or speaking parts in a play.

Our ultimate goal must be to glorify God in all we say or do…decently and in order.

We must be careful to choose a program that fits the abilities of our church family.

Many of the smaller churches find themselves either simplifying a cantata to suit their abilities or…creating a simple program of their own.

Here are several tips when creating your own Christmas program:

 

1. Choose music in keys suitable for the adult or children’s choir

Adult Choir

Much can be said about this one point alone!

Lowering most hymns by one note puts most hymns in a more comfortable range…allowing the choir members to sing out even more.

Over half of our adult choir does not read music. Several of the choir members have a long commute to church (I happen to be one of them)… limiting us to shorter practices.

Therefore, two-part arrangements work best for us.

Children’s Choir

It also helps to lower hymns for the children’s choir. For example, see my free arrangement of “Away in a Manger”

I transposed this Christmas hymn to E flat Major…a whole step (one note name) lower than the original key. F Major is the original key in most hymnals.

I like to provide more melody support for a children’s choir. It helps them feel more secure.

  

2. Play filler music during transitions.

(to see filler music…refer to the free arrangement above…page two)

Filler music creates a smooth transition from one scene to another. Playing during transitions also covers excess noise and maintains the mood of the play.

The filler music should match the mood of the finishing scene or song and create a mood for the next scene or song.

Guessing the length of filler music is the challenge…right? 🙂

Whatever you do, end on the I chord of the key being used.

(See example of filler music on page 2 of Away in a Manger)

For a more interesting ending…you can end on the V 7 chord.

That’s another article in itself!

3. Sound check!

We always use the microphones during practice once we’re going through the entire program. But…be careful….just because the mics work for practice doesn’t mean they’re ready to go the night of the program.

Have someone do a sound check the night of the program; well before the service…to make sure everything is in working order.

Don’t forget to replace batteries or at least have spare batteries on hand for cordless mics.

There are other tips that I’ll have to share at another time.  I’m sure you can think of a few as well.  We all learn through experience don’t we?  I hope practice is going well for your Christmas program.

 

Bell sounds add life to Christmas carols.

Here are several examples of different
bell ingredients I used in my arrangements
on the “Simply Christmas” CD… mentioned
in a previous article.

Click here for free Sounds of Christmas  for piano

Explanation for the Examples:

1. Joy to the World (right hand bell tones)
Notice the intervals of the bell tones and try
in several different keys for reinforced learn-
ing and versatile application.

2. Joy to the World (right hand bell clusters)
I simply add a ‘D’ to a C chord to create
a dissonant sound for the bell effect.

3. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
This is one of my favorite chime sounds.
Notice how all the notes in the right hand
chords are a 4th apart. This is how to create
the chime sound!

4. O Little Town of Bethlehem (bell echo)
Bell echos add a sweet; dreamy texture to
lullaby-type melodies.
The bell echo occurs in the right hand (last measure).
It’s just a broken octave ending with a nice harmony note
occuring a 3rd under the broken octave.
Remember: 3rd and 6ths create beautiful touches of
harmony.
I just used the ‘Alberti bass’ pattern in the left hand.

Alberti bass means a broken chord in this order:
“Bottom~top~middle~top”

Hopefully, you can incorporate these Sounds of Christmas

into your own Christmas carols this year.

 

 

Anyone in need of an intermediate

christmas piano arrangement?

 I arranged this song for one of my students.

 It’s well suited for a small church.

The chorus can be repeated if needed.

You can use this free arrangement as offertory or prelude special.

Click the following title for a  free piano arrangement of

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

The following free christmas piano arrangement of Away in a Manger is suitable for a children’s choir or can stand alone as a short offertory.

If you’re a church pianist of a small church like me…then you probably create or tweak a written Christmas program that best suits the number of people available for a program.

In the next article…I will deal with tips for Christmas programs.  Some of the tips will refer to today’s free Christmas arrangement…so have it handy for my next post.

Click here for free arrangement of :  Away in a Manger (for children’s choir or short offertory)