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Silent Night

Like it or not, “The Season" is upon us. This of course means people want to hear Christmas music. A lot of players cringe at the thought of having to play this repertoire but this should not be the case. There are a lot of cool Christmas tunes- many as good as the best standards- and they present a perfect opportunity to be creative: to write new arrangements, reharmonize the tunes and generally have fun breathing new life into these old war horses. Check out this reharmonization of this oldest of carols which employs various substitution techniques, cycle extension, and an ending with a deceptive cadence. The new chords are voiced with spread voicings, voicings in fourths, upper structures and drop 2 double lead. It's still early in the season; download the pdf of the arrangement (fully notated for both hands), take it to the piano, learn it and wow your colleagues at the office Christmas party.



O Tannenbaum FREE!

Whether you know this tune by it's German title or the English translation, O Christmas Tree, it is one of the oldest and most traditional Christmas carols. This arrangement starts with a chorale-like introduction with some very unchorale-like harmonies and voicings. The head is reharmonized here with easy yet hip changes that are a blast to solo over and are impossible to sound bad on. Check out the cool solo break, fully notated solo chorus and the triple-quote ending.



Watch

Watch high-quality streaming video lessons on topics that matter most to you: jazz theory & composition, improvisation & licks, chords & voicings, arranging, styles and more. A new lesson is added every week. Check out the FREE lessons below.

Interact

Interaction is the key to learning. Moments after a topic is presented on screen you have the opportunity to participate in active learning through multiple engaging interactive elements. Take an interactive quiz with immediate feedback; look up any technical term in the hyperlinked glossary or ask a question via email.

Play

Playing- that is what we are all trying to do isn't it? Each lesson comes with several structured, self-paced practice sessions with detailed step-by-step instructions for a variety of real world activities based on real tunes. Sit down and play immediately after each lesson with the included custom play-along tracks in MIDI, Band-in-a-Box, and Garage Band formats. Self-assessment questions are provided to help you direct your progress, keep you on task and stay motivated.

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