Well, hello there! It has been a while for sure. I have had a busy past couple of months. With the holiday season in full force, I’ve been doing a lot of pet sitting; plenty of dogs, cats and other little creatures, needing care, while the owners are away. Back in November, I went on a wonderful weekend trip for my birthday up to Arkansas. I did a little Christmas shopping, ate at a few restaurants that were simply lovely. I hopped on a train for a little excursion to a nearby city, that was full of
history and a bookstore that was three stories tall! One store was selling old sheet music and I was going to buy some but did not get around to it. They were antique children’s Christmas songs that were not very long or complicated. They had sweet little illustrations that you do not see nowadays.
With it now being December, I pulled out the Christmas books to find songs that my students would like to practice. Some students don’t really like doing the Christmas songs, so we will just keep doing our regular books. A couple students like to do just one song and I will just print it from the books that I have, or I will find it online at their level, print it, and then they are good to go. I also like to pull out the books to see what I would like to be practicing around the Christmas season, though, I might need to get the next level up for myself or try to find some unique Christmas songs that no one usually hears. I kind of wanted to learn the Charlie Brown Christmas song, I’ve never really tried, because it was a little bit higher level than what I play, but I think it would be a
good challenge, and it’s something my little siblings would love to hear me practicing. I’ve looked at a much simpler version a couple years ago, but with it being so simple and for a younger level, it didn’t sound as beautiful or as great as it could have been, kind of like playing Jingle Bells on five notes. You can make a song sound a little bit more professional and you can showcase your skill if it is more advanced. The most popular song that everybody usually picks if they want to do just one song is usually Jingle Bells, or maybe Up on The Housetop. Those seem to be fan favorites and can be found at all levels, even primary level.
I love hearing Christmas songs on the piano, and I wanted to go see a concert or a symphony with Christmas music, but I’m just so busy nothing seems to be available. maybe next year? I was able to go to a couple beautiful symphony performances this year, one was in Austin. Beautiful. That was lovely to see. I also went to Dallas for a performance by Ludovico Einaudi, who was touring earlier this year. My favorite piano composer, for sure, an experience I will never forget. Beautifully played, and it was an honor to witness, as
it does not seem that he’s in Texas too much, or maybe I just never really noticed. I’m going to go to a few more symphonies and plays next year. I just got back from running some errands and I went to this music store that sells sheet music and I was hoping to find some of my level books for Christmas though they did not have any that looked appealing. I do not like jazz Christmas versions. They get a little too wild, in my opinion. I did get a couple books for my students, some that we do not sell at our music store. I also purchased a super cute pencil sharpener that has music notes. Lastly, I was looking through a section of CDs they were selling, and I found one of Advent piano music. I listened to it on the way home and it’s beautiful, very fitting for the season.
This was more of an update blog post. I am trying to write more informative posts for any fellow teachers or other students trying to learn. For the new song of the month, I am choosing The Piano Guys and their lovely cover of O Come, O come Emmanuel. They made it ten years ago, but it is the most beautiful cover I have ever come across. Check it out!
Hopefully, I’ll be able to write a couple more blog posts before the Christmas season arrives. Practice your music, and I hope you have a lovely week.
Commentaires