Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Click on any of the music scores to view/print higher resolution versions

View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books at Amazon.

Moving along on our series on mastering Christmas Carols on Piano and Keyboard, we come to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. Purists might say this isn’t a carol, but we won’t worry too much about that at the moment.

Introduction

Like Silent Night, We Wish You A Merry Christmas is in 3/4 (waltz time).

The version presented here is played in G Major. This is a fairly easy key to play in (one sharp – F# – though there are some occasional accidentals along the way) and, importantly, to sing in.

Main Melody

You’ll notice that the main “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” line is repeated three times, rising in pitch but with the same basic melodic shape.

For each phrase, the first and second notes are a perfect fourth apart (find out more about songs to help you learn note intervals).

The run of notes are fairly easy to play, but it’s worth noting that, in this key, the third phrase begins on the black note of F#.

Here’s the complete melody written out:

Those notes are:

D : G G A G F# : E C E : A A B A G :

F# D F# : B B C B A : G E D D : E A F# :

G D : G G G : F# F# : G F# E : D A :

B A A G G : D(high) D D D : E A F# : G

And here’s what it sounds like:

Single Note Bass Line

Below is a simple bass line for the carol using just one note. Most of the time, you only need to play one note (a dotted minim (half note)) per bar, except in four bars that have a minim (half note) followed by a crotchet (quarter note).

And here’s what it sounds like:

Adding harmony and fullness with additional notes

In the third version of We Wish You a Merry Christmas,, I’ve created some depth by adding some extra notes for the right hand to play, always with the melody note as the highest note. The bass line remains the same, and you never have to play more than three notes in total — one or two with the right hand and one with the bass — at any one time.

And here’s what is sounds like:

Alternative version: walking bass

This final version of We Wish You A Merry Christmas uses a walking bass style for the left hand, adding a little more movement.

Here’s how it sounds:

Chord Sheet

Finally, here’s a chord sheet and lyrics for those who prefer it.

That’s it for now. Happy playing!

View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books at Amazon.

Series Index: Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard

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Christmas carol concert: ten tips for preparing pianists

So, you’ve been asked to accompany the carol singing at your local school, church, social club, in the community, or even on the streets?

Here are ten tips to ensure you’re prepared and confident for the big day.

1. Be prepared

Most people like to know well in advance exactly what’s expected of them, so find out as soon as you can what you’re being asked to do, what format the carol concert will take, what rehearsals are planned, and how the whole thing will run.

Your stress levels will be lower if you have enough time to prepare for the event.

2. Know your skill and commitment levels

Be honest about your level of proficiency. Presumably, you’ve been asked because someone thinks you’re good enough to play, but don’t be afraid to keep things simple if you’re not confident playing more complicated pieces / arrangements, or if you don’t have a lot of preparation time.

If you’re provided with sheet music, and you know it’s too complicated, ask if there are simpler arrangements available.

Conversely, if you’re provided with chord sheets and lyrics, but you work better from manuscript, ask if you can have that instead.

3. Become friends with the organiser

You need to develop a good working relationship with the organiser of the event so that you can discuss how the event will run, flag any problems, and be kept “in the loop” if there are any new developments.

Particularly for more formal services, such as in a high church where there may be readings, liturgy, etc., the service organiser should be able to offer strong leadership so you’re not worried about when and how you should be performing.

4. Playing, singing, leading?

Are you going to accompany a choir or congregation by simply playing piano/keyboard, or are you expected to sing and play at the same time?

Are you “leading” others through your singing and playing, or is someone else directing from the front, or simply leaving it to the group’s knowledge of the music to carry it through?

Don’t be afraid to say if you’re not comfortable / able to play and sing at the same time. You may be able to work with a vocalist who can lead the rest of the group, leaving you to concentrate on playing the right notes.

5. Solo or group?

Are you going to be playing on your own, or with other instrumentalists? This will affect how and when you practice, what arrangements you use, and may require some diplomacy and group-building skills.

If you’re asked to play in a group and are prepared to either lead, or participate in that, be ready to work at honing musical arrangements and performance, dealing with possible creative conflicts, helping less confident musicians, and ensuring everyone knows what they’re doing on the day.

From my experience, many guitarists find all but the simplest carols (and hymns, too) quite difficult to play and make sound good, not because they’re poor musicians, but because many were composed on and for keyboard instruments. Don’t be surprised if guitarists wish to take more of a back seat when it comes to providing volume/body to carols. Solo instruments (cellos, violins, bass guitar) are often easier to work in, and can sound very good.

6. Singing from the same song sheet

Find out from the organiser exactly which carols are to be sung, obtain all the words, and ensure the same tune is being used (some carols have more than one version, particularly British and American variations).

If you have sourced your own music and/or words, ensure that it fits with what’s printed on the programme/hymnbook. Find out if certain verses are to be missed out, or repeated.

7. Practice! Practice! Practice!

If playing/singing solo, find enough time so you’re confident to accompany/lead the singers.

If working with other musicians, schedule in at least two rehearsals, or as many as required so everyone is confident, plus your own solo practices.

Find out whether you will be able to practice in the venue before the event — this can help to familiarise yourself with how you and/or a group of musicians will sound, particularly if you’ve never played there before.

8. Practicalities

Find out whether you will need to provide your own keyboard/digital piano, or whether an acoustic/digital piano will be provided for you.

If playing and singing outside, ensure there’s protection from the elements for you and your equipment, and a safe way to provide electricity for any amplification.

Ensure you’re able to get yourself and any equipment to the venue in plenty of time to set up, particularly if you’re working with a group, and if you will be using a PA system.

If using PA, find out who is setting it up and ask if there will be time to “sound check” everything, even if briefly.

Ensure that you can hear yourself playing and singing in the venue. See if the volume levels of any audio monitors (speakers) can be set at a slightly higher volume than is necessary, when practising, particularly when a large number of choir/congregation is expected — their singing will drown out or soak up your own sound and you may find it hard to hear what you’re playing.

Ensure you have enough light to be able to read the music/words comfortably.

9. Confidence

Be confident! You’ve been asked to do this, so someone believes in you.

Now you’ve accepted, trust in your abilities. If you’re nervous, don’t over-stretch yourself — play within your comfort zone.

With the right amount of preparation and practice, there’s no reason why the carol concert won’t be a great success.

10. Learn and Grow

After the event (maybe not right away) assess how you thought it went as a musician.

Did everything work as it should have? Were you happy with how you performed? What went well? What could have been better?

Make some notes so that, if you do another event, you’ll be even better prepared.

Have fun!

What tips would you add? Share in the comments below.

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Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard: Silent Night

Update: This page has finally been updated with higher quality images (click on any piece of music to get the full size, print quality version in A4 size) as well as audio files so you can hear how the music should sound.

View a range of Christmas Carols Music Books at Amazon.

The third carol I’ll look at in our series on mastering Christmas Carols on Piano and Keyboard is “Silent Night”:

Introduction

Silent Night is written and played in the key of C Major, and has a 3/4 (waltz time) time signature (as does Away in a Manger).

Main Melody

Several short phrases in each verse are repeated.

The first phrase, to which the words “Silent Night” are sung, is repeated twice. The third and fourth lines have the same 4-bar melody.

Here’s the complete melody written out:

Those notes are: G A G : E : G A G : E : D D : B : C C : G : A A : C B A : G A G : E : A A : C B A : G A G : E : D D : F D B : C : E : C G E : G F D : C

And here’s what it sounds like:

Note that there are a number of places with a similar rhythm, formed by a dotted crotchet (quarter note) followed by a quaver (eighth note) and a crochet (quarter note). These take up one bar’s worth of time. Imagine that the bar is split into 6 half-beats. The first note (dotted crochet/quarter-note) takes 3 of these; the second note (quaver/eighth note) takes just 1 of these; the final crochet (quarter note) takes the remaining 2 half-beats.

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Mastering Christmas Carols on the Piano and Keyboard: An Introduction

Updated 11th November 2009 with We Wish You A Merry Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner, you may find that as a pianist / keyboard player your talents will be called upon to accompany the singing of Christmas carols.

This thought could fill you with dread, or it could excite you though you don’t really know where to start. In this mini series, I’ll take a look at some of the more popular carols, and show you ways of learning and playing them quickly and simply no matter what your proficiency (having said that, if you are already a virtuoso on the piano, you may be better off buying the sheet music and practising the full arrangements yourself)

Carols often seem complicated, and because they’re only called for during a short period of time in the year, they’re not always polished.

Many carols are really hymns, and if you’ve tried to play fully embellished versions of hymns you’ll know they often involve many chord changes and ’special’ chords that add colour.

Though that’s very nice, often the song can be vastly simplified and still sound good – certainly good enough for a sing-song around the piano or taking out to the local hospital with an amateur choir. Often it’s enough to be able to pitch the tune or play a basic bass and accompaniment to keep singers in tune.

So, if carols fill you with trepidation but you’d really like to have a go, even if you only get to play one or two in a way that pleases you, stay tuned! You may be surprised how simple carols can really be!

• Mastering Christmas Carols #1: O Little Town of Bethlehem
• Mastering Christmas Carols #2: O Little Town of Bethlehem (Second Attempt)
• Mastering Christmas Carols #3: O Come All Ye Faithful
• Mastering Christmas Carols #4: Silent Night
• Mastering Christmas Carols #5: We Wish You A Merry Christmas NEW!

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