How To Play: Christmas Time Is Here

Cover from the soundtrack album for A Charlie Brown Christmas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I found an easy to intermediate chord chart for this very popular song, Christmas Time is Here, by The Vince Guaraldi Trio on the Charlie Brown Christmas at http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com and http://www.azchords.com

The song was written in 1966, with words by Lee Mendelson and music by Vince Guaraldi. Many artists have sung this song and a favorite that comes to mind is Diana Krall with her very laid-back style.

Fmaj7             Eb7 
Christmas time is here 
Fmaj7         Eb7  
Happiness and cheer 
Bm7        Bb7   Am7 
Fun for all that children call   
Ab7 Gm            C      F 
Their favorite time of the year  

 
Fmaj7             Eb7 
Snowflakes in the air 
Fmaj7       Eb7 
Carols everywhere 
Bm7          Bb7 Am7 
Olden times and  ancient rhymes  
Ab7 Gm              C  F 
Of   love and dreams to share 
 
 
Dbmaj7               Gbmaj7  
Sleigh bells in the air 
Dbmaj7      Gbmaj7 
Beauty everywhere 
F            Eb7 D7 
Yuletide by the  fireside 
Am    Gm7         F   C   
And joyful memories there 

  
Fmaj7             Eb7 
Christmas time is here 
Fmaj7            Eb7 
We'll be drawing near 
Bm7          Bb7  Am7 
Oh, that we could always see 
Ab7   Gm             C   F  
Such spirit through the year 
  

Jazzy Instrumental part...  
 

Dbmaj7               Gbmaj7  
Sleigh bells in the air 
Dbmaj7      Gbmaj7 
Beauty everywhere 
F            Eb7 D7 
Yuletide by the  fireside 
Am    Gm7         F   C   
And joyful memories there 

  
Fmaj7             Eb7 
Christmas time is here 
Fmaj7            Eb7 
We'll be drawing near 
Bm7          Bb7  Am7 
Oh, that we could always see 
Ab7   Gm             C   F  
Such spirit through the year 

I have played this particular song at many Christmas parties and family gatherings because it is an all time favorite. I play it slowly in the Key of F with 3/4 time signature.

Intermediate to advanced chords:

Fmaj9             Eb13#11 
Christmas time is here 
Fmaj9         Eb13#11  
Happiness and cheer 
Bm7b5        Bbm7   Am7 
Fun for all that children call   
Abm7 Gm7            Gm7b5/C      F 
Their favorite time of the year  

 
Fmaj9             Eb13#11
Snowflakes in the air 
Fmaj9       Eb13#11 
Carols everywhere 
Bm7b5          Bbm7 Am7 
Olden times and  ancient rhymes  
Abm7 Gm7             Gm7b5/C  Fmaj9 
Of   love and dreams to share 
 
 
Dbmaj7               Gb13#11  
Sleigh bells in the air 
Dbmaj7      Gb13#11 
Beauty everywhere 
Am7           Eb9 D9 
Yuletide by the  fireside 
D7b9    Gm7       Db9   C13 C13b9   
And joyful memories there 

  
Fmaj9             Eb13#11 
Christmas time is here 
Fmaj9            Eb13#11 
We'll be drawing near 
Bm7b5          Bbm7  Am7 Abm7
Oh, that we could always see 
    Gm7              Bb/C  Fmaj9  
Such spirit through the year 
  

Jazzy Instrumental part...  
 

Dbmaj7               Gb13#11 
Sleigh bells in the air 
Dbmaj7      Gb13#11 
Beauty everywhere 
Am7            Eb7 D9 D7b9
Yuletide by the  fireside 
    Gm7         Db9   C13 C13b9   
And joyful memories there 

  
Fmaj9             Eb13#11 
Christmas time is here 
Fmaj9            Eb13#11 
We'll be drawing near 
Bm7b5         Bbm7  Am7 Abm7
Oh, that we could always see 
   Gm7             Bb/C   Fmaj9  
Such spirit through the year 

Here's what the chords look like:

L.H. / R.H.

FA/EGE Christmas time is

EbG/DbFA here,

FA/EGE happiness and

EbG/DbFA cheer

BA/DA Fun for all that

AG/CG children call their

GF/BbD favorite time

C/GBbDbF of

FE/ACG year

Db/EbFC Sleigh-bells in the

GbFb/BbEbAbC air

Db/EbFC beauty every

GbFb/BbEbAbC where

AG/CEC Yuletide by the

DF#/CEC fireside and

GF/BbDBb joyful mem'

DbF/CbEbA ries

CE/BbDA there

FA/EGE Christmas time is

EbG/DbFA here

FA/EGE we'll be drawing

EbG/DbFA near

BA/DA Oh that we could

AG/CG always see such

GF/BbD spirit through

CD/BbDF the

FC/ACG year



Have fun with the song. If you need more melody notes to fill in, remember your scale notes and chord progressions in F. You can also order the sheet music.

Also, you may be interested in,

Christmas Keys1



10 Christmas Classics Arranged for Solo Piano

 Do you have a favorite Christmas song?

Best,





"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

What Makes Hand Coordination Better?

Left hand writing the German word "Linkshänder" (left handed). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So many of you have asked for help in hand coordination. Usually when one has trouble playing both hands together on the piano, it is a result of one hand knowing the music better than the other. You will want to be consistent in both hands with the fingerings so that muscle memory is developed. Smooth playing results in correct fingering, not just knowing the notes.

You also want to maintain the same speed in each hand. This is challenging for many of us because we are dominant in one hand over the other. Both hands need to be comfortable but you've just got to know your left hand better. This is usually where the train wreck to the song begins. Be sure and keep your eyes on the music, too. If you keep looking at your hands and all around, you'll lose focus and your place in the music. I know it's challenging to learn a bass pattern over and over in your left hand, while one seems distracted by playing the melody and improvising in the right hand but believe me, it can be done with lots of practice. Train the left hand to be more independent.

Some more practicing tips for playing both hands together:

• When playing music from the grand staff, read the notes vertically (bottom to top) before moving on horizontally (left to right).
• Play the song a couple of times with the right hand by itself. Then play the song a few times with the left hand only. When you’re confident with the notes for each hand, you can try playing the song hands-together.
• Play slowly at first and speed up the tempo as you become more comfortable with the song.
  http://www.dummies.com 
  
  
  Learn the parts separately, the left hand and then the right hand.
  Mark where the notes are together.. (like beats...) Ex. If you have 4 quarter notes in the left hand and you have 8 eighth notes, mark when they're together so you don't get lost.
  
  
  Before you even attempt a difficult passage, make sure your note reading skills are up to par. If you can’t distinguish each note on the staff quickly, take a step back and master that first.  Trust us – it will make the process a lot easier! http://takelessons.com
  
  

  (Nearly always) play with both hands, don't try to separate them.
  Don't worry about skipping a note here or there in the harmony. If you don't get there in time,  just go on to the next one, or make up a harmony! Few listeners will be able to tell. After a while your left hand will develop a feel for where the notes might be expected to be. After a while, your right hand will be able to pick out the melody essentially by ear without having to pay so much attention to the notes on the page, thus allowing you to pay more attention to the left hands harmonies. These two trends will combine together to  make playing easier and easier. Doing a little bit of playing by ear, and a little bit of sight reading new music, will help to strengthen these trends. http://www.lofthouse.com

 My two cents, patience and perseverance. Plus, Hanon Exercises will definitely help! Did I mention memorizing a piece? This adds lots to the equation of easily moving both hands across the keys. Yes, it takes time to do so with lots of practice. Also, I have read that many drop bass notes in their left hand and just play a single note within each measure while the right hand moves more effortlessly. Try this approach if it's easier for you to separate two different rhythms but you may be over simplifying and missing out on some of the tones. Adding a metronome may help and yet it will frustrate many a musician.

A healthy approach to the dilemma of hand coordination is to have very relaxed hands. Also, keep in mind that it's the hand and forearm that support the finger movements. Continue with practicing scales and exercises in contrary motion, along with arpeggios to connect both hands playing music. Play single note runs, and chords, too.

Four-Way Keyboard System - Book One

 Pianoanne has some very cool teaching aides over at her site. Take a look at these, for Friday freebie!

Download the free workbook, Barnyard Friends.

 Let me know what works for you in putting both hands to the keys!
Have a great weekend! Time for Christmas music!

Blessings,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• Friday Freebie: Rhythm Printables
• Friday Freebie: Music Symbols and Vocabulary
• Monday Mailbag: Piano Fingering

How To Play Don't Grow Weary

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eighth_notes_and_rest.png original description follows. Two eighth notes (stems up and down) and an eighth rest on the staff. Created for the eighth note article. *Author User:Merphant Recreated in SVG fomat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A long time ago, I had the privilege of being on the worship team at New Venture Christian Fellowship. One of the highlights (way too many to count) was learning a song, Don't Grow Weary. It was written ©1993 Integrity's Hosanna! Music by Martin J. Nystrom and Don Harris. I loved playing this song on the keyboard. Here are the chords I found online and in the second chord chart I'll add more chords and show you what I'm playing. It's pretty easy going (probably a little corny nowadays but not a fast pace, pump up the crowd type of song. Do you recognize it?

Oh, and I wanted to mention another famous worship song, As The Deer, written by Martin J. Nystrom (along with chords) can be found here

Key: E

E
Don't grow weary in doing well,
E                A        B
don't surrender in the fight;
A        E
Keep on storming the gates of hell,
C#m7    F#m7   A         B        E
Keep on doing what you know is right.


     A              E/G#         F#m
For there will be seasons of testing,
E    A            B              C#m  B  C#m
and there may be weeping for a night;
      A            E/G#           F#m7
But soon we'll be reaping the blessing,
            A    E    A             Bsus   B
if we keep pressing on toward the prize.


E
Keep on praying in the Spirit,
E                A         B
keep on walking in the light;
A          E
Don't be fearful or discouraged,
C#m      F#m7  A          B       E
keep on doing what you know is right.

E/A         E       E/A    E
Don't grow weary in doing well,
E/A          E      E/A   B
don't surrender in the fight;
C#m/A        E       E/A      E  B/C#
Keep on storming the gates of hell,
C#m7    F#m7   E/G# A         B  E
Keep on doing what you know is right.


A/E    A          E/G#         F#m
For there will be seasons of testing,
E/F#  F#m7  A          B       C#m  B/C#  C#m
and there may be weeping for a night;
      A            E/G#           F#m7
But soon we'll be reaping the blessing,
            A    E/A  A             Bsus   B
if we keep pressing on toward the prize.


E/A      E      E/A     E
Keep on praying in the Spirit,
E/A      E         E/A   B
keep on walking in the light;
C#m A          E E/A    E B/C#
Don't be fearful or discouraged,
C#m7      F#m7  E/G# A          B   E
keep on doing what you know is right.

 

 So, when we break down the chords, remember to read the slash chords I'm posting,
l.h. / r.h. Also, there's lots of eighth notes throughout the song with 4/4 time signature.

AC#/EG#B Don't grow

EB/EG#B weary in doing

EB/EG# well

AB/EG#B don't sur-

EE/EG#B render in the

BB/D#F# fight,  (C#C#/EG#, AA/C#E)

AC#/EG# Keep on

EB/EG#B stormin

AG#/BE the

AB/EF# gates, AB/EG# of

EB/EG# Hell, (C#B/D#F#)

C#B/EG# keep, C#G#/EB on

F#A/EC# do-  F#A/EB in (G#/EB, A/C#E)

AA/C#E what you

BB/D#F#G# know is

EG#/BE right.

EG#/BE For

AC#/EA there will be

G#B/EF#G# seasons of

F#A/C#F#G# testing, (F#A/C#F#, F#G#/BE)

F#A/C#E and

AC#/EA there may be

BB/D#G# weep-, BB/D#F# ing

BB/C#E for a,  C#C#/EG# night (C#B/D#F#, C#G#/C#E)

C#G#/C#E but

AA/EC# soon

AB/EB we'll, AC#/EB be

G#B/EB reaping, AE/EA, G#B/EG# the

F#A/C#F# bless-, F#A/C#E ing

F#A/C#E if, F#A/C#F# we, F#A/C#G# keep

AC#/EA press-

AB/EG# ing, AA/C#E on

AA/EC# toward AA/EB the

BF#/EB prize, EG#/BE

Have you played Don't Grow Weary or As The Deer before. If so, what key are you comfortable playing in?

You may be interested in the following resources:

Martin J. Nystrom - As the Deer - Psalm 42:1 - Sheet Music (Digital Download)
Don't Grow Weary
Be Magnified
Exalt the Lord
Firm Foundation

Plus, Hear and Play is offering just for today, their last day of the sale. Stop by, if you want.
4 free videos

All the best,

-- LadyD

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• Desire Only You: Randy and Terry Butler
• How To Play Be Exalted, O God
• I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever: Martin Smith