Idea Share #23: How Do You Handle Teaching Holiday Music During Such a Busy Season?

What teacher and student isn’t too busy during the month of December? So for Idea Share #23, we thought it would be helpful to ask: “How do you handle teaching holiday music during such a busy season?”

We found that a lot of teachers begin teaching holiday music in October, and many begin right after Halloween. But we also noted that many teachers expressed this very wise piece of advice:

Give the students music at a slightly easier level because it helps them learn more music! Also giving them only ONE piece that’s a little more challenging, but still doable is a great way to both keep them progressing and help them learn a lot of music!

As usual, we got some great specific responses and wise ideas from many of our generous and creative ComposeCreate teachers and we’ve included them all below!

It’s nice to be able to read about what teachers shared, but don’t forget that the energy created when teachers are commenting on the ideas and building them (which we don’t include in this summary) is so energy-giving! So please consider joining us at one of our live webinars in the future! You can join the newsletter to make sure you don’t miss our webinars.

What We Released at This Webinar

At this webinar, we released:

• The Holiday 2026 Bundle which included 7 of the new pieces below by Wendy Stevens ranging from early elementary to mid-intermediate.
• Three new Little Fuzzies pieces: These are included in the holiday bundle, but available individually as well. The early elementary piece has the Little Fuzzies trying desperately to visit their cousins in Tennessee by using a cute car ornament they found on the Christmas tree. In the elementary solo, the Little Fuzzies are coming in from the cold, only to find that they are filled with static electricity. And our first early intermediate piece has the Little Fuzzies rigging the piano for a festive (but odd) music celebration!
• New Audience Participation solo: This will be a smashing success at your recital as the rhythm is super easy to teach and pairs perfectly with the intermediate arrangement of Deck the Hall.
• New Beautiful Wonders solo: This piece is both bright and melancholy, just like the juxtaposition of the colorful winter holly against a drab winter background. This is piece #5 in our Beautiful Wonders collection and is only three pages long – the perfect length for students (or teachers) to learn quickly!
• New Holiday Color Rote and Reading® Music: You are going to love how easy it is to teach Silver and Gold and how quickly your students will learn these pieces. They come with the added bonus of helping early intermediate students become comfortable playing in the keys of D Major and D flat Major!
• New Jazz from Jeremy: This new arrangement of Go Tell It on the Mountain from Jeremy Siskind is funky and very accessible, even to classical musicians!

Idea Share #23 Question

We asked teachers, “How do you handle teaching holiday music during such a busy season?” Here are some that really stood out to us:

• Cheryl: I like to keep holiday music at site reading level unless they want a challenge.
• Barbara: A couple of years ago I decided to NOT have a Christmas concert! It was just such a busy time of year, always conflicts with the date even when it was in the studio calendar at the beginning of the piano year. Then I realized the best reason…the students get to play LOTS of holiday music instead of spending the whole season trying to perfect one piece for the concert. The students AND the parents were happier!
• Kellie: I’ve mentioned it before, but I do a Piano Pajama Party. Parents drop students off and they play a piece for each other. Then we have some free choice time where groups do Nutcracker Rhythm Cups, followed by hot chocolate & other treats. Parents love to drop them off and kids like the low-key performance and party atmosphere.
• Laura: Each student gets an easy to read Christmas book to replace their method book and one “show piece”. Quite often these are arrangements by Wendy Stevens. I do have a recital and students who play each play their “show piece” and one piece from their book. The song from their book is used to lead the audience in a carol sing.
• Athena: It’s tough because since we’ve started Compose Create Halloween/autumn music, the students don’t want to skip it!! And I take two weeks off in Nov, so our holiday rehearsal time is quite short. But we always pull it off. We are nearly exclusively ComposeCreate. For Christmas, each student does one piece. Looking forward to everyone’s suggestions. 🙂 Oh, yes, depending on how much time the holiday piece needs, we will stop method books.
• Becca: A fun thing I started last year, was a November “Cozy Holiday” recital. Some kids don’t like Christmas music, some don’t like Halloween – so everyone played what they wanted. Everyone got tea, cocoa and cookies before the recital (which helps for my stragglers) and we enjoyed treats as people played.
• Robin: We always try to do a performance in Dec. at an assisted living place, AND a memory care place. The students ask about it, and so do the residents!

And here are all the great answers from everyone:

1. Cheryl – I like to keep holiday music at site reading level unless they want a challenge
2. Pamela – I get a fairly early start, assigning at the start of October. Because of the short turnaround, I assign pieces that are at or below the student’s level. I also assign pieces that have a lot of repetition and easy analysis, so that the student can organize their practicing in an effective way. If they get done quickly, they get to take on another piece.
3. Barbara – A couple of years ago I decided to NOT have a Christmas concert! It was just such a busy time of year, always conflicts with the date even when it was in the studio calendar at the beginning of the piano year. Then I realized the best reason…the students get to play LOTS of holiday music instead of spending the whole season trying to perfect one piece for the concert. The students AND the parents were happier!
4. Cheryl – Duets, ensembles. I start in October.
5. Gloria – Thanks to the 30 or 40-piece repertoire challenge, my students are used to having multiple pieces each lesson. Christmas music is assigned along with their regular music beginning November. All sight-readable levels with perhaps one more difficult piece.
6. Cheryl – I like to teach site reading through the holiday music. It’s motivating because they are interested and really want to learn the piece. So I start the first part of November
7. Emily – We’re doing a recital early November this year, then we’re going to RELAX and learn Christmas music. I might put together a video of the kids playing Christmas and send out. I usually take a break from method books when we’re in recital prep mode
8. Kathy – How many pieces depends on the student – some can learn 3 – 4, but some only learn 1 piece.
9. Sharon – I begin teaching holiday music right around Halloween. As time goes by, I make sure that at least one special piece is polished. Everything else takes second place and we pick up after Christmas.
10. Therese – I usually start about this time of year. To be honest, I have waited for this webinar and then I begin teaching Holiday pieces.
11. Judith – I start really early sometimes before Halloween.
12. June – Teach xmas music of different levels.
13. Alyssa – Something that is probably unusual is I sing Christmas tunes to my students during November and December. They need more exposure to traditional Christmas tunes. We usuaslly start Christmas music right after Halloween.
14. Phyllis – Students can choose to stop their method and technic books – most all do. I usually have students learn pieces that are easier than the level they are working on. In October we are finishing fall pieces and several will learn Wendy’s beautiful “A Thanksgiving Prayer”. I like to start the third week of October.
15. Lori – I start in October. I want my students to learn several pieces, so it’s generally a level or two easier than what they are currently working on in their lesson book or repertoire. I usually replace one thing that they are currently doing. And this year I’ve scheduled a Christmas recital at a local assisted living center to provide some motivation.
16. Julie – We start early! Our Christmas recital was December 6. We work on the Christmas songs in conjunction with lesson books.
17. CynDee – I start in October for the students who really like Christmas…and not Halloween. For those who love Halloween, I usually wait until November 1st, then we have a month of ONLY Christmas music. Nothing else. No theory, scales, technique, warmups! “Just dessert, no veggies
18. Kelli – Recital piece chosen right after costume recital. Then also, for holiday music lovers, I send yoyo pieces, pieces slightly below level for adding to their ,piece challenge and regular rep breaks.
19. Barbara – I definitely don’t use the method book during the Holiday season
20. Susan – It depends on the student and what they can handle !
21. Laura – Depending on the student, we usually slow down the pace of method pieces and add more holiday music. I try to have an optional performance opportunity (retirement home) if we aren’t already having a Christmas recital. We don’t start holiday music until late October or early November.
22. Caroline – Sometimes I just give the students Christmas music closer to the end of November. It has to be right at their level or below so they can learn the music fairly easily.
23. Caroline – Then I’ll have parents invited to come in to piano class (I teach in groups) in the last class before the holiday to listen to what has been prepared.
24. Marilyn – We begin choosing songs students would like to learn at the beginning of November and I search for the best arrangement for them.
25. Annette – I start as early as I can. At the latest by the 1st of November. Yes, I take breaks from method books for the students that can’t keep up with that and Christmas music. I cater to what the students need. Some want solos for church and others won’t play anything they can’t sing along with.
26. Janelle – We have a local ensemble concert in early November and a studio fall recital the Friday before Thanksgiving. For those who are very ready for the recital, they can select holiday pieces earlier. Otherwise, we begin them after the recital and do little else between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I usually ask them if they’d like to learn and play a lot of shorter pieces, or one or two “big pieces”. This seems to work well for us. Some students record their pieces for grandparents and other family members. This is in lieu of a holiday recital, because my collaborative work precludes a studio recital then.
27. Marilyn – November we do method and Christmas music but December is only Christmas music. Our recital will be held Dec.21st for Family and friends.
28. Judith – Our teachers have a mini concert – going to each others’ studios playing for each other in a school I teach at. Since we can’t organize one major recital it’s a wonderful opportunity for the kiddos to play for each other!
29. Kellie – I’ve mentioned it before, but I do a Piano Pajama Party. Parents drop students off and they play a piece for each other. Then we have some free choice time where groups do Nutcracker Rhythm Cups, followed by hot chocolate & other treats. Parents love to drop them off and kids like the low-key performance and party atmosphere.
30. Elaine – I start Christmas music in the summer. All students get a holiday piece in June/July that is slightly under their level. Almost all the pieces are from selections here.
31. Shelley – For older students I start Christmas music in early November. I often replace method pieces with Christmas ones (and pick them up again in January.)
32. Sherryl-Lee – I often end up trying to cram too many things into this particular term. However, I generally create ‘grade appropriate’ Compose Create Christmas music for each student. There are always at least 3 pieces – sometimes up to 7. We start in October and plan to have at least 3 learnt by the end of the year and the remainder can be used as individual students’ personal sight reading
33. Andra – This year, I’m going to give them a “tracking sheet” where they can write their wishlist Christmas songs (and we can check them off when they’re done). This hopefully also gives me a page I can quickly glance at to see what they’d like to learn.
34. Nico – I start holiday music right after halloween
35. Laurie – Choose the songs in advance, and take a small break from the regular materials .
36. Stephani – I tend to figure out holiday recital music in October, and figure out how soon each student needs to start their “big” piece. I will substitute smaller pieces for method book pieces, and often the students will be stretched musically during this season and then things are easier going back.
37. Martha – I start the first week of November and they can do 1-2 each week. The last week before Christmas we do Christmas only.
38. Christine – We start in July or August and September at the latest. By Thanksgiving students know most of the pieces in a special Christmas book plus one or more special solos. They know lots of music to play well during December and they are ready for our Christmas recital.
39. Lisa – I gradually give students Christmas music toward the end of Oct. through Dec. By Dec. they are only doing Christmas, we take a break from the methods till Jan. If my students are playing at my church during the piano prelude before the Christmas Program, they receive a special/more challenging piece. Christmas rhythm cup music happens at the Dec. group lesson!
40. Terri – We start Christmas music in October. We work in one piece a week in place of a repertoire piece. After Thanksgiving we play all Christmas!
41. Becca – We start right at November if they’re willing but I get everyone’s “wishlist” in October so I can start introducing concepts and skills they might need for the upcoming pieces.
42. Elaine – I aim for three pieces per student.
43. Laura – Each student gets an easy to read Christmas book to replace their method book and one “show piece”. Quite often these are arrangements by Wendy Stevens. I do have a recital and students who play each play their “show piece” and one piece from their book. The song from their book is used to lead the audience in a carol sing.
44. Laura – And we end the recital with an audience participation song.
45. Nico – I start Halloween music right after summer break in September, then start Holiday music right after Halloween in November
46. Robin – It’s usually prep for a recital, so we start early–September or early Oct, and I tell them that musicians start preparing for Christmas wayyy early–like in July. So, they feel themselves to be “real” musicians. As they get into the pieces, we back off on methods–but use the music to teach technique and theory.
47. Athena – It’s tough because since we’ve started Compose Create Halloween/autumn music, the students don’t want to skip it!! And I take two weeks off in Nov, so our holiday rehearsal time is quite short. But we always pull it off. We are nearly exclusively ComposeCreate. For Christmas, each student does one piece. Looking forward to everyone’s suggestions. 🙂 Oh, yes, depending on how much time the holiday piece needs, we will stop method books.
48. Zayley – I start at the end of October. How many pieces the student learns any particular holiday season depends on the particular student and their level. I always supplement their method book pieces with other pieces (often from here) so Christmas music takes the place of that piece (I typically don’t use the recital or performance books in the method series.
49. Rachel – The kids’ lesson book is an all-in-one, plus they have a hymn book; a fun book they choose at their level. When it comes to Christmas music, we substitute Christmas music for the hymn & fun books. I tend to start a little later than I’d like, but they get it done in time. Toward the end, we also let the method book go for the last couple of lessons before the Christmas recital.
50. Shelley – I invite a few of my students to play at the Lessons and Carol service at my church.
51. Becca – A fun thing I started last year, was a November “Cozy Holiday” recital. Some kids don’t like Christmas music, some don’t like Halloween – so everyone played what they wanted. Everyone got tea, cocoa and cookies before the recital (which helps for my stragglers) and we enjoyed treats as people played.
52. Robin – We always try to do a performance in Dec. at an assisted living place, AND a memory care place. The students ask about it, and so do the residents!
53. Paula – I hand out Christmas music in mid to late October. They each get a book of Christmas solos. They can learn as many as they like. As Christmas gets closer, I don’t assign lesson book pieces. For our Christmas performance at the local historical society the students play 3 pieces each.
54. Sheri – Last year we did our Holiday open house at the store where I teach (students play while customers shop) in early January. Parents really liked having it after the rush
55. Elaine – My parents have come to expect a recital in Dec. Some families even take pictures around a Christmas tree at the church after the recital. It’s sort’ve a big deal in my studio.

THANK YOU to our community for coming to the webinar and sharing your best tips for teaching your students how to practice at home!

What’s a Piano Teaching Idea Share?

During each webinar, we pose a question designed to spark ideas and support piano teachers everywhere. After both webinars, we gather all the responses and share them as a curated list or, in earlier Idea Shares, a free downloadable PDF. That way, you can tap into the collective creativity of the ComposeCreate® teaching community any time!

Check out all the Idea Shares here:

• Piano Teaching Idea Share #1 – Encouraging books, creative ideas, injecting energy, online games
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #2 – How teachers are lightening their load
• Rhythm Idea Share #3 – Teaching rhythm
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #4 – Gadgets and gizmos, lifesaving ideas, marketing ideas
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #5 – Taking care of yourself and Energizing Ideas
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #6 – What are you excited about and Best Marketing Tips
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #7 – Student holiday gift suggestions and Making the holidays less stressful
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #8 – What new things are you doing and Adding a Composer of the Month to your studio
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #9 – How does surprise enhance students’ learning?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #10 – How would you introduce this piece to students?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #11 – How can we make holiday recitals easier?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #12 – 2024 Excitement and How do you connect music and art?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #13 – Favorite Office Supplies for Teaching
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #14 – What is working well in your studio?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #15 – What is your favorite holiday or Christmas album?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #16 – How do you get your students to practice?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #17 – How do you engage parents in their students’ practice?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #18 – Halloween Lesson Ideas
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #19 – Tips for an Engaging Recital
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #20 – How do you teach students to practice?
• Piano Teaching Idea Share #21 – What is the Best Piano Teaching Idea You’ve Used?
• Piano Teaching Ideas Share #22 – What teaching props do you use that help create good habits?

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