Tips and Tricks: Four Reasons Why I Love Teaching my Students Christmas Music
November 24th, 2014 by Katherine Moller
I happen to love Christmas. There are a lot of commercial aspects that I don’t like, but I love the decorations, I love the fact of getting to see my family, and I love the music. Yes, I love the music. I know that I have heard, and taught, Silent Night many times over, but that doesn’t change the fact that I love it. Here are four reasons why I love teaching my students Christmas Music:
- They get excited about it. There is nothing like telling a student that today you are going to pick out Christmas music. It’s, well, just like Christmas!
- It is easier for them to self-correct. A lot of the exercises that students play throughout the rest of the year are things that they have never heard before, so they don’t always know when they are playing at home whether it is right or not. Since Christmas music is familiar, they are more likely to recognize when they are making a mistake.
- They are generally simple to play. Christmas music tends to be quite simple in terms of notes and rhythms. This makes it rewarding to play quite quickly. Some of the other material that students tackle during the year takes a lot longer to master.
- It’s a great time to introduce new concepts. Because Christmas pieces are familiar this is a great time to introduce new concepts like playing C natural on the A string. The student will recognize the fact that C sharp is the wrong note easily.
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