By adding color tones to your chords you can create a much fuller sound in most any song: Color Tones in “Hark The Herald Angels Sing”

Music is simpler than most people make it out to be. There are only scales, scale fragments, intervals, chords, and rhythm. Look for the lowest possible denominator whenever you can. Ask yourself “Is this song made out of a scale? Out of a chord?” In this old Carol, you can see that the melody is nothing but the scale for that key — and only one octave at that. The First Noel The Angels Did Say

You can pump some energy into a song by playing two chords instead of one, or 4 instead of 2. In other words, use a 2 to 1 ratio. Watch this short video and see how easy it is to do. Angels From The Realms of Glory

This favorite carol was composed on a real ‘Silent Night.’ This famous carol might not have been written without a broken organ. Possibly, it was the stillness of the moment that moved the Reverend Joseph Mohr to write those legendary verses in 1818. At the time, he was most likely motivated by sheer desperation as opposed to inspiration. The Reverend Mohr was arranging the details for the Christmas Eve Mass in his parish within the tiny Oberndorf Village of Austria when he discovered the old church organ was out of order. With just a short time to go for the performance and the closest repairman days away, it seemed as though the Mass would have to go on without the arranged music. Desperate to pull off a notable Christmas, Fr. Mohr ventured off to execute another arrangement. This all happened in the middle of his normal parish responsibilities as well as being asked to go out and bless a new baby. In the middle of this visit, Fr. Mohr was instantly hit by what the words to “Silent Night,” or “Stille Nacht” in German, really mean. He ended his conversation and rapidly made his way home, because he did not want to forget the lines that were quickly accumulating in his head. In the English language the first four stanzas of Silent Night are: Silent Night, Holy night, All is Calm, all is bright, round yon’ virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in Heavenly peace. When he wrote the words down, he called his friend Franz Gruber, the parish choir director. In addition to his talent on the organ, Gruber was also an expert guitar player. Gruber forcefully told him that he was not a very good guitar player. Unfazed, Mohr offered his new verses of poetry to Gruber. Getting an old guitar, the two gentlemen wrote the music that would be known as the score for Oberndorf’s Christmas Mass. Surely neither Mohr nor Gruber were aware of their future impact on history. For close to ten years, in fact, the song fell away into obscurity. It was, in fact, the Strasser family of Zillertal Valley that took the song “Silent Night” to a whole new musical level. The talent of the Strasser children brought much business to their parents’ glove-making company. Not different from today’s talent scout finding a musical prodigy in the most precarious of places, the Strassers were presented with “Silent Night”. After being redone in four-part harmony the song catapulted the Strasser children to instant stardom. Because the Strasser children sounded so much like a choir of an angels the song was renamed “The Song From Heaven”. Because of their beautiful singing the Strassers were invited to perform in front of royalty. It was possibly a king who prompted “Silent Night” to become a Christian standard. Twenty-two years after the Strasser children started performing it, King Frederick William IV of Prussia heard it and declared it should “be given first place in all future Christmas concerts” under his rule. The accuracy of the story has not been substantiated. What is clear, is that in spite of everything, “Silent Night” became a worldwide hit. Silent Night

As you know, there are many many ways to arrange songs on the piano and bring your own unique twist to them. Here is one way you can use left-hand voicing in 4ths to create an interesting sound in this old Christmas Carol. For more ideas on arranging Christmas Carols, be sure to check out “How To Play Spectacularly Beautiful Christmas Carols On The Piano!”

When Isaac Watts wrote “Joy To The World” based on a score by George Frederick Handel’s “The Messiah” he was writing about the 2nd coming of Christ — not the first advent as we almost all assume. Notice the words - particularly of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th verses: Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love. Here are a few random ideas on how you might create a fresh new sound for an old Christmas Carol:     For ideas galore on arranging Christmas Carols go to “The Secret of Arranging Spectacularly Beautiful Christmas Carols”

You can make an old Christmas Carol (or any song, for that matter) really come to life through the use of chord substitutions. Watch this free short video as I demonstrate how you can create an entirely new “feel” to an old carol such as “Silent Night”: . If you enjoy this process, come on over to “The Secret of Arranging Spectacularly Beautiful Christmas Carols!”

Watch this short video for some ideas on re-harmonizing any song: Using chord substitutions to re-harmonize a song is an excellent way to develop your own sound, your own style. For a complete course on arranging Christmas Carols on the Piano, click on this link: Christmas Carols on the Piano

It seems like a long time until Christmas, but it has a way of sneaking up on us gradually until suddenly it’s upon us. If you want to be ready to play some Christmas carols, get out your carol books and start reviewing, and then come up with some new arrangements for an old carol to make it sound more interesting. Here is a short video that illustrates one way you can do that: Learn to arrange Christmas Carols!