A few years ago, I discovered Marshall McDonald's Simply Sacred Arrangements of hymns from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which you can hear samples of in my previous post.
Thanksgiving is not here yet, but I've already pulled out his Simply Sacred Christmas book this season. It has some of my favorite arrangements that calm my soul and a few that energize me, too.
(click the image to purchase on Amazon)
I actually prefer the less textured sound of his hymn arrangements that I use regularly as prelude for church services or at funerals over many other arrangements because they sound so beautiful and calm and are filled with left-hand patterns that are easy for students to pick up and for me to sightread. Apparently, the congregation loves them too because, at every funeral I have played at since I purchased the books, I have had pianists come up asking where they can find these arrangements!
The outros, intros, and interludes add a sense of newness compared to just improvising or playing from the hymnbook, and the melodies stay mostly true to the original pieces we know and love, with only a few subtle surprises.
Listen to the Music
Notes for Piano Teachers
The book begins with simpler arrangements of Silent Night and Away in a Manger suitable for the late elementary pianist that are written in the more familiar keys of C, G. These selections are great for students with smaller hands who can't quite reach harmonic octaves but are ready for the sophisticated sound of broken intervals and chords in the left hand.
The majority of pieces are early intermediate level and include frequent clef changes that create more interesting music by utilizing a wider range of the keyboard. There are a variety of left-hand patterns that increase in difficulty, including some hand crossovers, ostinato repeating notes, rocking broken intervals, 1-5-8, harmonic intervals, and eventually patterns that require crossing, similar to 2 8va arpeggios. Its great for students to become familiar with these different styles that they will also see in other repertoire.
There are also a few more challenging pieces, like the finale piece "Angels from the Realms of Glory" that mimics the Piano Guys version. It starts with 4 flats and switches to 3 sharps. Ibelieve this is more suitable for mid to late intermediate level pianists who can navigate leaping left-hand octaves and more intricate left-hand arpeggios beyond 1 octave.
Simply Sacred Christmas by Marshall MacDonald (available on Amazon w/ fast free shipping if you have prime) spiral bound physical copy book with sturdy cardstock covers.
or
You can order a pdf digital download directly from his site and add to a 3-prong folder with sheet protectors.
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