- Level: Elementary
- Pages: 5 pages – 3 pages of music, cover included!
- Style: Bouncy, Mysterious
- Series: Rote and Reading®
- Format: PDF instant download
Every year at least one of my students laments the return of Christmas music. Why? Because all of the pieces are “slow and boring”, and they want to play something exciting! Yet this arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is perfect for those students. It is both energetic and mysterious, and sounds nothing like a typical elementary level Christmas piece!
The Rote and Reading® aspects of the piece make it easy to teach, fun to learn, and allow students to feel successful quickly – something that is so important for elementary level students!
What level is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Rote and Reading®?
The main melody of this piece allows students to play either staccato or legato – whichever comes more naturally! This also provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce both styles of playing, have your student practice both ways, and to talk about how the differences in playing affect the tone and mood of the piece. It’s an easy to way to put theory into practice!
Almost every note in the beginning section is staccato, which adds to the bouncy and energetic sound. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen explores a few registers on the piano, but in a pattern that is easily learned or taught by rote, and repeated throughout the entirety of the piece.
This solo is written in a Minor, with an occasional sharp 4 that is repeated in several measures. There are very clear markings and helpful fingerings written in for left and right hand. The smallest note value is an eighth note, but there are only two eighth notes in the entire piece. If a student is unfamiliar with playing eighth notes, this would be a great introduction since the rhythm is a familiar part of the carol.
How do I teach God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Rote and Reading®?
Our Rote and Reading® pieces are designed to incorporate easy patterns that can be taught by rote, while still containing elements that should be read. You can always teach the student solely by rote or solely by reading, but the best pedagogical experiences is combining the two.
Rote and Reading® pieces are best introduced by playing the entire piece for the student to inspire them and get it in their ear. After that, you can focus on teaching the patterned intro. For God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Rote and Reading, teach the first page (the main intro motive) in one week before adding the reading element. If short on time, you can teach the first page by rote and then have them read the main melody the same week since it’s familiar to them. The holidays are always a busy time, so feel free to help students in the reading part by circling intervals, giving them tips, or even writing a finger number or note name occasionally to help.
Bonus mp3
With your purchase of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Rote and Reading®, we’ve included a bonus mp3 of Wendy playing this arrangement without voiceovers. You may send this mp3 to your student to help them learn the piece and remember how it sounds.
And as always, we always give you the fun cover as well!
Other pieces in the Holiday Rote and Reading® Series
Don’t forget to check out other pieces in the holiday rote and reading® series! You can also get these pieces in the series:
- Jingle Bells
- Jolly Old St. Nicholaus
- Away in a Manger
- Jingle Bells – Early elementary Black Key
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- Joy to the World
Hannah –
This is such unique arrangement and is a lot of fun to play! Students absolutely love the “suspenseful” beginning and ending to this piece and the energetic style it uses. I had one student who has tons of energy and she really enjoyed putting it into this song!
Hannah –
This is such unique arrangement and is a lot of fun to play! Students absolutely love the “suspenseful” beginning and ending to this piece and the energetic staccato style. I had one student who has tons of energy and she really enjoyed putting it into this song!
Mary –
My students enjoy playing this piece. It uses several octaves and has an exciting beginning and ending motive that makes it exciting to play.
Judy Horne –
My recital was incredible! I used all of the music below that I purchased from ComposeCreate this year, and the students (and parents) loved them. I was excited about these pieces, as they sound much more sophisticated than other arrangements I have found for my early-mid elementary students. Big hit!
Valerie Ross –
Black key jingle bells and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Rote and Reading) have both been huge hits in December. They’re perfect quick wins for my Piano Safari level 1 kids who are used to the musically engaging rote pieces in Safari and have been a little bored with other Primer level carol arrangements.
Terri –
This awesome arrangement takes “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” to a whole new level for beginning students. The boys have especially had fun with it. It was also a hit when we played it on the Clavinova and mixed in some outer space sounds!
Jessica –
This was a perfect arrangement for my beginner student that desperately wanted to be a part of our winter recital! He felt so accomplished after learning the intro. He’s not super comfortable with reading notes on the staff yet so this was a great way to introduce some new notes in an accessible arrangement.
Shiela –
I purchased this arrangement for my son. It would be helpful if the video did not include narration of the piece, as it distracts from the music itself.
Wendy Stevens –
Hi Shiela,
Thank you for your review! Just a quick note – the video on the product page is meant for helping people know what the music sounds like, but after you purchased, you received an actual recording of the piece that doesn’t have that narration. That’s the recording you can use to help your student learn the piece itself. If you need help downloading that recording, just let us know!