New Intermediate Christmas Piano Solos (and a duet)!

I’m so excited about this new piece! It was intended to be just an arrangement of What Child is This for the early intermediate student, but alas, sometimes composing has a mind of its own. I found my fingers playing O Come O Come Emmanuel while I was composing What Child is This. When I couldn’t force it back to What Child is This, I asked if they could go together!

And when you think of it, what better two pieces to put together than the question: “What Child is This” with the answer: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel!” I’m not particularly fond of medleys. But, it was meant to be in spite of my composing protests. And now, I love it and often play it because of that.

NEW! What Child is This with O Come, O Come Emmanuel

The tender What Child is This tune is dovetailed with O Come, O Come Emmanuel in this melancholy and worshipful setting for mid-intermediate pianists and students. Surprising but subtle key changes and unique, contemporary harmonies will make any pianist feel like they are offering a unique gift to their listeners and themselves.

Oh Christmas Tree

I have very strong memories of the colorful, handmade ornaments that decorated the Christmas tree we had when I was a child. We put our school pictures in many of them and I wish I still had them to put on my own tree. I can still feel that rough white styrofoam ornament with my sister’s picture in it and those paper ornaments with my picture that fell apart a little each year as I got older. Sometime in my teenage years, my mother started usingher decorating prowess to transform our artificial tree into a work of art (she still does this in her amazing decor business).

So this mid to late intermediate piano arrangement of “Oh Christmas Tree” has a little bit of both styles…a contemporary, melancholy AND an energetically vibrant style as well. A little of both for your holiday season!

He is Born

Finding pieces that are musically satisfying and easy to learn is always a challenge. But “He is Born” culminates in a broad, musically satisfying experience for young and older students, teachers, and pianists. I wrote this piece for my students who love to play big sweeping pieces, but also love the beauty of the melancholy. It’s perfect for students who want to be all over the keyboard, but are a little afraid. Ring the bells this season because this intermediate Christmas piano solo sings “He is Born” with triumphant exuberance!

Carol of the Bells – Intermediate (The most popular piece)

When I say this is the most popular piece, I mean both here in the ComposeCreate store and amongst kids and teens, maybe even adults. I just know that I’ve polled enough teachers and students to know that when you ask them their favorite elementary and intermediate Christmas piano song, Carol of the Bells is the one everyone asks to play. But that means it’s easy to tire of it.

But, like hundreds of teachers and students, I think you’ll find this intermediate arrangement of Carol of the Bells to be a breath of fresh air. See what you think:

We Wish You a Merry Christmas Cups

And last, but according to those who’ve tried it, certainly not least is an audience cup tapping “We Wish You a Merry Christmas!” There is such joy in making music, even for the unmusical. And this piece brings the fun to literally everyone in your audience! It’ll  be a show stopper for sure and will make your recital the talk of the parents at the reception and for months to come!

It’s simply really. As your student prepares to play, hand out cups to everyone. There is even a script of what to say and how to explain it in this piece so you don’t have to be nervous about what to say! Watch the video (but don’t include the water that we did for fun at the end) to see!