It’s a month until Christmas Eve, and already some of my pupils have Christmas music in mind! This is always a good time time to bring fresh excitement into children’s piano lessons. Christmas music is familiar, joyful, and naturally motivating, which provides a good opportunity for me to sneak in some work on building essential musical skills during lessons.
Because students already know how many Christmas songs sound, they gain a great opportunity to practise playing by ear. Encouraging them to find the melody of “Jingle Bells” or “Silent Night” on their own helps strengthen listening skills, pattern recognition, and musical confidence. Parents can support this at home by humming or playing the tune and letting the student experiment until it clicks.
Christmas pieces are also wonderful for sight-reading. Seasonal music tends to have clear patterns, repetitive rhythms, and friendly keys, making it approachable even for newer sight-readers. I give students some simple arrangements, and parents can enjoy real-time progress as their children learn to read through an entire line, or even a whole song, independently.
Finally, holiday music invites creativity. Students can try adding chords, changing the rhythm, or creating their own festive arrangement. When music feels personal, practice becomes more meaningful. So I’ll resist the temptation to call “Humbug” and happily blend Christmas songs into lessons. It keeps learning fresh and fun while strengthening the skills that matter all year long.