One of my favorite little “tricks” as an educator is to find ways to sneak technique practice into songs. I’ve yet to meet someone who preferred scales over song practice so why not keep things both technical and fun by using songs to help us develop technique?!
O Holy Night does this perfectly for us. This song is in 6/8 time and has a lovely rolling feeling that makes a perfect environment to practice broken chords or arpeggios. Use your left hand to play these chords while your right hand accompanies with the melody or fun little riffs. Each note of the arpeggio or chord can line up with a beat. G-B-D-G-D-B-G = 6, so it fits perfectly into a measure of 6/8 music when played as 8th notes.
This lesson will show you 3 different ways to play this song. A lead sheet is available to download so that you can see the chords as well as a notated melody. So, whether you are a sight reader or prefer to play by ear, this lesson is for you!
Merry Christmas!
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Lisa Witt has been teaching piano for more than 20 years and in that time has helped hundreds of students learn to play the songs they love. Lisa received classical piano training through the Royal Conservatory of Music, but she has since embraced popular music and playing by ear in order to accompany herself and others. Learn more about Lisa.
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