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Free Christmas and Winter Repertoire Lists

11/12/2019

One of the projects I like to have my students do during November and December is to create a list of all of the fun holiday music they are learning. I think this is especially important for my younger students, who are very motivated to see their repertoire lists grow as they learn more and more pieces. It is also a great way to create a performance goal for all of my students--I encourage them to use the music on these lists to perform for their families over our holiday break!

Today I am sharing these repertoire list templates with you. Feel free to print these out and use them with your students this holiday season! There is one list for Christmas repertoire, and a second list for winter repertoire that can be used by students who don't celebrate Christmas or by those who want to continue their repertoire lists into the new year.

Click HERE or on the photos below to download both of these repertoire lists in a single PDF file. Happy holidays!

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New Easy Christmas Collections!

11/6/2019

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I am excited to share three new easy Christmas collections that are now available at Sheet Music Plus! These collections include many of the top-requested Christmas pieces that I have taught in my own studio year after year.

Each collection is available in digital format--so you can purchase and print today! Click on the covers or on the links below to see sample pages from these new collections.

First Christmas Favorites features 10 holiday arrangements for students in the primer or level 1 of most method books.

Selections include: Jingle Bells, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, We Three Kings, Away in a Manger, Good King Wenceslas, Go Tell it on the Mountain, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Hallelujah Chorus (from "The Messiah"), I Saw Three Ships, and Angels We Have Heard on High.

Click HERE to see this collection!

Easy Christmas Favorites features 9 holiday arrangements for students in level 1 or level 2 of most method books.

Selections include: Jingle Bells, We Three Kings, O Christmas Tree, Russian Dance (from "The Nutcracker"), Deck the Halls, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, Silent Night, and Carol of the Bells.

Click HERE to see this collection!

The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky contains some of the most beloved holiday music ever written. I am very excited to share my own arrangement of this entire suite, written at the late elementary level!

Selections include: Miniature Overture, March, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Russian Dance, Arabian Dance, Chinese Dance, Dance of the Reed Flutes, and Waltz of the Flowers.

Click HERE to see this collection!

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A Free Thanksgiving Lead Sheet!

10/26/2019

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When it comes to holiday music, Thanksgiving often seems to be overlooked. There are hundreds of well-known Christmas songs--yet how many songs can you think of that are associated with Thanksgiving?

Today's freebie features a classic tune whose lyrics were inspired by a Thanksgiving poem. In 1844, author Lydia Maria Child wrote a poem entitled "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day" inspired by her childhood memories of visiting her grandfather's house. This poem was later paired with a traditional tune to create the song we now know as "Over the River and Through the Woods," which is often sung during the holiday season.

Today I am sharing a lead sheet activity featuring this famous tune that gives your students a chance to practice their harmonizing skills! This tune can be harmonized using just the primary chords in the key of C major: I, IV, and V7. To complete this worksheet, students will play the given melody, then choose the primary chord that they think works best and write it on the lines provided above the staff. Each primary chord will be used more than once.

Once students have filled in their chosen chords, they can play the complete song and experiment with a variety of left hand accompaniment patterns, such as blocked, broken, or waltz-style chords. More advanced students might also enjoy the extra challenge of transposing this tune, along with their chosen primary chords, to a different key.

Click HERE or on the picture above to download your free copy of this Thanksgiving lead sheet!

What do you think? Will you be assigning any special activities for Thanksgiving this year? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

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Free Christmas and Winter Repertoire Lists

New Easy Christmas Collections!

A Free Thanksgiving Lead Sheet!

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