Christmas Music to Listen to on Piano
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If you’re looking for some Christmas music to listen to on the piano, we’ve got you covered! Here are ten of our favorite pieces to get you into the holiday spirit.
Christmas Music to Listen to on Piano
Christmas music is a great way to get into the holiday spirit, and what better way to do it than by playing it on the piano? There are so many great Christmas songs out there, and playing them on the piano can be a great way to show off your skills. Here are some of the best Christmas songs to play on the piano.
“Jingle Bells”
“Jingle Bells” is a popular Christmas carol that was first published in 1857. The song was written by James Pierpont and is one of the most widely recognized and performed Christmas songs in the world. The lyrics of “Jingle Bells” tell the story of a group of people who go out for a sleigh ride on Christmas Eve. The song has been adapted for many different instruments, including piano, and has been performed by a wide variety of artists.
“Frosty the Snowman”
“Frosty the Snowman” is a song written by Steve Nelson and Walter E. Rollins, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. It became a Christmas standard and was performed by many artists, including Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, Perry Como, Bob Goulet, the Ray Conniff Singers, Ernest Tubb, Sammy Kaye and his Orchestra, Burl Ives (on his 1960 album A Holly Jolly Christmas), Brenda Lee, Madonna (on her 1988 album Merry Christmas), Dolly Parton (as a duet with Kenny Rogers on their 1984 album Once Upon a Christmas), Megastar Shakin’ Stevens and British girl group Girls Aloud.
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
One of the most popular and well-known Christmas songs, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was written by Johnny Marks in 1949. The song was first recorded by Gene Autry and has since been covered by many artists. The song tells the story of Rudolph, a reindeer who is different from the others because of his red nose. He is ridiculed by the other reindeers, but he eventually saves Christmas when his nose lights up Santa’s sleigh on a foggy night.
More Christmas Music to Listen to on Piano
Christmas music is the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit! And what better way to enjoy it than on the piano? Here are some more great Christmas songs to play on the piano.
“White Christmas”
“White Christmas” is a Christmas song written by Irving Berlin in 1942. The song was originally written for the movie “Holiday Inn” and was first performed by Bing Crosby. The song became popular soon after its release and has since been covered by many artists, including Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, and Lady Gaga. The lyrics of the song tell the story of a man who is dreaming of a white Christmas, which is a rarity in his home country of England.
“Silent Night”
“Silent Night” (German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. The song has been recorded by many singers across many music genres. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the third best-selling single of all-time.
The story of the creation of “Silent Night” recounts that on Christmas Eve in 1818, Mohr, a young priest at St. Nicholas Church, brought a poem he had written two years earlier to his friend and guitar-playing schoolteacher Franz Xaver Gruber. In need of a Christmas carol for church services that evening, Mohr asked Gruber to set his poem to music. Although neither man is known for certain who wrote the lyrics or melody first, they did compose the song jointly.
Gruber composed Silent Night in just six hours on the evening of December 24th, 1818. He created both the melody and accompanying harmony for guitar; however, it is unknown if he played guitar that evening as there was no reference made to guitar playing in any accounts from that night. The first performance took place at Midnight Mass at St Nicholas Church later that evening with Josef Mohr singing accompanied by Franz Gruber on the organ and Guitarist Karl Mauracher filling in on Bass parts.
“The First Noel”
“The First Noel” is a traditional English Christmas carol, most likely from the west country of England. The first known version of the carol was published in Carols Ancient and Modern (1823) by William B. Sandys.
The melody of “The First Noel” is based on a traditional French carol called “Les ANGes dans nos Campagnes” (“The Angels in Our Countryside”). The earliest known version of the French carol dates back to 1789, and it was first published in 1855 by J.M. Clayton in France.
“The First Noel” has been recorded by many artists over the years, including Josh Groban, Eva Cassidy, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, David Archuleta, and Pentatonix.
