It’s never too early to start thinking about your holiday piano recital! Take a look at these holiday music recommendations from St. Augustine, FL teacher Heather L...
Something’s a little funny about this time of year. The leaves are changing color, families are getting back into a school routine, and everybody seems to be preparing for Halloween or Thanksgiving. But musicians across the country — church choirs, chamber groups, soloists, recitalists — are already practicing music for Christmas and Hanukkah. This means that you need piano music books to practice, so that when the holidays come around, you’ll be ready. Here’s a list of the best piano music books for the holidays:
- Even the very youngest beginning piano player can play holiday music with the help of “Teaching Little Fingers to Play Christmas Carols: A Christmas Book for the Earliest Beginner” by Carolyn Miller.
- “A First Book of Christmas Songs” by Bergerac is terrific for students who are considered late beginners. Songs like “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and “O, Come All Ye Faithful” are notated with finger numbers to facilitate reading.
- For other beginner pianists, “Ultimate Christmas: 100 Seasonal Favorites: Easy Piano” by the Hal Leonard Corporation is a great find. Published in 1984, it may be middle-aged, but it has tons of great reviews!
- Hal Leonard’s “The Definitive Christmas Collection, 3rd Edition” is perfect for the intermediate player.
- “The Christmas Suite Collection: Intermediate to Late Intermediate Arrangements of Holiday Favorites for Solo Piano” by Alfred Publishing is packed with truly elegant versions of songs like “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Bells are Ringing”.
Hanukkah piano music books can be hard to find, but MusicNotes.com has a great selection of sheet music for the piano that you can download right to your computer or tablet. “Happy Hanukkah, My Friend” by Justin Wilde and even Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song” are available now.
These editions are piano music books that you’ll own and cherish for years to come. Before we know it, the holiday season will be here. With the help of these holiday piano music books, you’ll be playing beautiful melodies at the piano, perhaps surrounded by family and friends, or perhaps in a grand concert hall. Either way, you’ll be prepared.
Heather L. teaches singing, piano, acting, and more in St. Augustine, FL, as well as through online lessons. She is a graduate of the prestigious Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has performed with the New York and Royal Philharmonics, the New Jersey and Virginia Symphonies, the American Boy Choir, and the internationally renowned opera star Andrea Bocelli. Learn more about Heather here!
Photo by Derek K. Miller
Suzy S.