If you want to play something extraordinary on the piano this Christmas but aren’t sure where to start, here are some beginner-level Christmas songs for novice pianists!

Christmas isn’t Christmas without the music, and this year you can join and add to the atmosphere in a new way. Instead of just singing, beginner piano players can play along when friends and family want to have a sing-along.

Our shortlist shows you which popular festive season songs are easy enough, even without advanced knowledge or experience. We promise some of your favorites are on this list!

1. Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells is a typical Christmas song, but James Pierpont, the composer, didn’t write it. He published it as ‘One Horse Open Sleigh.’ People placed bells on sleigh horses during winter, so it doesn’t refer to Christmas. 

The simplicity of the sheet music makes it an excellent song to gain confidence. Your left hand mostly plays a single clef note while your right hand handles the melody. 

2. Silent Night

Silent Night, which tells the story of Jesus’ birth, is a famous hymn. Franz Xaver Gruber composed the melody, using lyrics from Joseph Mohr. Within a few decades, it was popular in New York. Bing Crosby recorded it in 1935 and sold 10 million copies.

It’s popular with beginner players because it mostly requires playing white notes. Also, use it to practice using the pedal during longer phrases. 

3. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

The Rudolph in this song is a fictional character. Writer Robert May published booklets with his story in 1939. 

In 1949, Gene Autry released a single of this song which Johnny Marks–Robert May’s brother in law–wrote. It rose to the top of US charts that year and in 2018.

This song has challenging elements, including the rhythm that changes when you transition from the introduction to the verses. Use it to challenge yourself, and use the SimplyPiano app to practice if you struggle. 

https://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/easy-piano-music-rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer/

4. O Holy Night

This song started as a French poem by Placide Cappeau, and Adolphe Adam wrote the melody in 1847. Later, John Sullivan Dwight created the English lyrics. 

To be comfortable playing this hymn, sharpen your knowledge of piano chord structures. It challenges beginner players’ skills because of chord inversions, but once you master it, the rest is easy.

The song’s time signature is 3/4. Use your metronome and aim to play it at 164 bpm.

https://musescore.com/user/278331/scores/520771

5. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Here is another easy song to help build your confidence. Because the chorus repeats the same words and notes, you’ll master it quickly. It’s a fun song that people love to sing, and the audience’s enthusiasm helps new players play with more bravado.

The origin of this song isn’t known, but it became popular around 1935 when conductor Arthur Warrell included it in a university singing group’s repertoire. It’s relevant for Christmas and New Year, so you only have to learn one song to be your family’s star performer on both occasions. 

https://musescore.com/user/1011626/scores/492771

6. What Child is This?

This song is easy to master because of the well-known melody, ‘Greensleeves.’ In 1865, William Chatterton Dix combined it with his new lyrics to form a Christmas carol. 

https://www.8notes.com/scores/1577.asp

7. Let it Snow

Beginner piano players who love jazz can use ‘Let it Snow’ to practice their skills in this genre. The piece helps you practice playing half notes on the left and eighth notes on the right. 

The correct name is ‘Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!’ Don’t confuse this with Boyz II Men’s version. Although there’s no mention of Christmas, we associate it with the festive season. The classic melody dates back to 1945, and it performed well on Billboard charts, with different recordings all reaching the Top 10. 

https://sheetmusic-free.com/let-it-snow-sheet-music-christmas-carol/

8. Frosty the Snowman

This song is super fun to sing and great for entertaining kids. It requires some practice because it’s one of the trickier melodies on our list. Start off playing it slowly to become comfortable with the movements. 

When using simpler versions, an advantage is that you’ll only play the following chords in most of the song:

• C major
• F major
• G major

You can use 1st inversion for G major and 2nd inversion for F major to keep finger movement to a minimum.

Walter Rollins and Steve Nelson wrote the song in 1950. It’s another song Gene Autry recorded. The singer and his team wanted another hit after Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, and it reached the top 10 on multiple US charts that year.

9. Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Here’s one of the more complex songs on our list, but use a simple version, and you’ll get it after sufficiently practicing each hand on its own before putting it all together. When performing, people will likely clap along, helping you keep rhythm. 

If you struggle a lot, a handy method is to destupefy your left hand with intentional exercises. 

J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie wrote this classic. Early recordings come from 1934, and over the years, over 200 artists have included it in their albums, including Mariah Carey. 

https://pianosheetmusic.writtenmelodies.com/Seasonal/Sheets/Santa-Claus-Is-Comin-To-Town.pdf

10. Deck the Halls

This melody comes from a 1500s song, ‘Nos Galan’, which translates to ‘New Year’s Eve.’ Thomas Oliphant wrote the words we know today in 1862. The catchy phrase ‘Fa la la la la la la la la’ is synonymous with Christmas and easy enough for kids to sing along to.

Deck the Halls is also easy to add to a beginner piano player’s festive repertoire because of all the repetition. Line one, two, and four are very similar, so you have fewer details to practice. The third line only has minor differences, so beginners can feel comfortable performing this melody faster than in some other songs. 

https://musescore.com/user/27997005/scores/5347261

So many many Christmas songs.

Using your music, help create that Christmassy atmosphere and enjoy the season even more than before. You can find more songs for special occasions online, and if you have suggestions of songs other beginners can try, please share in the comments section.

FAQs.

The post Top 10 Christmas Songs on Piano for Beginners appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

Think learning to play the piano by ear is beyond your scope? Think again. Between YouTube tutorials, guided lesson plans, and piano apps online and for smartphones, the digital era has produced such a solid array of self-help material, nearly anyone can learn to play the piano by ear in a relatively short amount of time. If you’re toying with the idea, then take a look at our easy guide to playing by ear, and see for yourself.

Step One: Hear the Music

To begin training your ear, listen to one song over and over again. Make it a song with good melody, and listen for the nuances in the music, the highs, the lows, the stops and starts. Take note of every sound, change, and emphasis. Beat out the tune, and hum or sing the words out loud to get a better sound for the music. Do this until you can sing the song without any accompaniment and get it right.

Step Two: Match It

Now that you’re an obvious contestant for American Idol, it’s time to move over to the piano. Hum or sing out the melody once more, but this time, try to pick out the notes that you are singing on the piano. At first, it’ll be a bit of trial and error, but as you go along, you’ll find yourself recognizing the sounds that are coming out of your mouth and correlating them to the keys on the piano instinctively. Take it slow, and practice a few notes at a time, going over the same few little parts of the song several times before moving onto the next part of the piece.

Step Three: Learn Music to Scout Out the Patterns

Knowing what music is all about – the chords, the intervals, the scales, the chord progressions, and the melodies – dramatically increase your likelihood for success when learning how to play by ear. Once you know the different parts of music and how they’re built, you’ll be more adept at picking out patterns within the songs you’re hearing, noticing the intervals between notes, and recognizing the sounds that are associated with which chords (for example, serious tones are minor chords, discordant sounds are generally diminishing chords, etc.).

This is the real key to learning to play by ear because once you can notice a musical pattern, you don’t even have to take time getting to know the song itself!

Bonus training tip: If you want to further train your ear without using a song to copy, just play this game with a friend: Ask your friend to tap two keys on the piano. You try to guess if the first one is higher or lower than the second. This will develop the listening skills you need to recognize notes within a song. When that becomes too easy, test each other by playing intervals, then chords, etc.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tma3UyT2ZIo[/embedyt]

Let’s Get Started

You’ll want to start learning to play the piano by ear with a song that you are familiar with. Don’t worry, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll be able to pick up a fresh tune within minutes of hearing it.

If Kobe Bryant taught himself to play Beethoven by ear, so can you! Give it a try, and you might just surprise yourself!

The post Learn How to Play the Piano By Ear in 3 Easy Steps appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.

A lot of time has passed since those childhood classes, and now you’re ready to tackle this wonderful skill with newfound enthusiasm. The only thing standing in your way is…well…everything. Where do you start? How do you start? What do you do to get yourself on track to start playing piano again?

For starters, relax! The best student can only learn so much without a good teacher, so finding the right one is the best place to start. Different folks learn in different ways, and learning how to play the piano is no exception.

Naturally, there are a variety of ways to learn this new instrument. This step-by-step guide will help you get a handle on the what, where, how, and whys of modern day piano classes.

Use a Human Teacher

Learning the piano from a teacher is the most traditional method. Either an instructor will come to your home or you will go to a studio or your teacher’s home, depending on your arrangement, and you learn directly from the teacher. The teacher imparts whatever knowledge s/he has available.

The benefit of this type of piano class is that you are learning with a human being who understands human nature, inhibitions, and concerns. The teacher can tailor the speed of the classes, vary the style of the music, and stop to answer questions about nuances.

The downside to a human teacher is that you are limited to their breadth and scope of knowledge. Anything beyond these parameters you will miss out on. It also means you will learn any errors that the teacher has trained himself into, picking up any unusual idiosyncrasies of the teacher as well.

Turn to the Web

Others opt to learn piano online, and there are a number of advantages to this approach. The breadth of knowledge is endless, you can find a tremendous variety of resources, and you can work at your own pace and on your own schedule.

On the other hand, becoming an online pianist is sort of a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) service, meaning it’s harder to tailor lessons to what you need to know or want to discover.

Additionally, there is nobody to correct the flaws in your playing, though you will be learning from a computerized – and therefore nearly flawless – teacher.

Install an App

Finally, there are smartphone and web applications that combine the best of both worlds into one easy to use resource for learning piano.

Apps let you tailor your learning style and pace. The technology also monitors your progress and makes changes to the classes according to your current level. You can start with piano lessons for beginners and progress through the ranks to become as accomplished a pianist as you like. In the world of piano apps, the world is your oyster. 

If you want to go in the app direction, we recommend trying our latest app Simply Piano. It will guide you step by step giving you instant feedback as you play. You can choose from various courses depending on your level and taste.

So, learning to play the piano can be as fast or as slow, as basic or as challenging, and as intensive or as easygoing as you’d like. That’s the beauty of modern day piano classes. You choose the level, pace, and depth.

So pick a learning method, and start down the path to piano fluency today!

The post Getting Started with Piano? Read This First! appeared first on Learn to Play an Instrument with step-by-step lessons | Simply Blog.