I love the calm simplicity of the Christmas music in Simply Sacred arranged by Marshall McDonald!
Here are a couple of videos of me sightreading the music so students can choose from their favorites. Planning to add more soon!
Infant Holy aka Stars Were Gleaming
II like to pair the Do You Hear What I Hear? activity with some mini m&ms and beat boards so students can use tactile objects to represent subdivisions of the rhythm patterns.
Elementary: Quarter Half and Whole Notes
Late Elementary: Quarter Half, Whole and Eighth Notes
Early Intermediate: Quarter, Half, Whole, dotted Quarter and Eighth Notes
Intermediate: 6/8 Time Signature: Eighths, Dotted Eighths, Quarters, Dotted Quarters
This classic Christmas piece is a student favorite! The repetitive rhythm can stick in your mind for hours but also makes a great springboard of ideas for improvising.
Elementary: Follow Directions on Carol of the Bells Improv Sheet by Chrissy Ricker
Late Elementary: Guess the Theme and Variation Card used as you listen to musical excerpts played by the teacher
Intermediate: Create Your Own Variation Using at least 3 Theme and Variation Cards. You can learn more details about some possibilities like Carol of the Scales, Lullaby of the Bells or Carol of the Pirates on my earlier post about Composing and Improvising: Free Resources for December.
The free printable Christmas Jumbles and Christmas Name that Tune Sightreading pages by Chrissy Ricker also make great audiation practice as well. Can you name or unscramble the tune measures by looking at the notes and hear the music in your head without playing it?
Split Second is a fun game I picked up from the thrift store and repurposed for music lessons. Students race to write their answers on their paddles and earn points for correct answers and speed using samples from this YouTube Name that Christmas Tune collection of carols.
Sight-reading has never been something I feel is my musical superpower so I am always eager to find more tips on developing this skill.
Today I was so excited to watch a piano webinar hosted by the Curious Piano Teachers featuring Paul Harris to learn some new ideas regarding this topic. I also hoped to pick up some practical tips to help my piano students sight-read with fluency and confidence too.
December is such a perfect month to inspire imaginative creating and composing!
.png "Free Piano Composing and Improvising Ideas for December")
Piano students are eager to play their favorite Christmas songs and this provides a perfect springboard for ideas as they arrange, improvise or even compose music that creates the magical feelings of snowfall or Christmas wishes and giving. Which one will be your favorite?
Selecting the right level of intermediate piano music for students that they are excited to play can be challenging. Jane Magrath's Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature is a great resource, but I like having a list of repertoire that is more student-friendly for browsing.
I was delighted to discover the new 2024 Youth theme song for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now on the Sacred Music app. The vocal solo/piano sheet music is in a different key than the music on the app, but I love how it includes chord symbols so my piano students can play the melody over varying levels of left-hand accompaniments.
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