Christmas piano recitals are my absolute favorite–especially because I treat it more like a Christmas piano party than recital.
Yes, there is a difference!
For me, Christmas piano parties are a time for my piano kids to get together, play games, get to know each other better, and have fun.
There is nothing wrong with having more professional recitals, but if you want to transform your Christmas piano recital into a fun party, here are fifty ideas you can mix and match to create an experience your piano kids will talk about for years.
And before you start putting things on your already full to-do list, remember that you can get your piano students and their families to help you out (or you can hire one of your crafty piano teens).
Repertoire for your Christmas Piano Recital
The very first step in planning for the best Christmas piano recital ever is to consider the repertoire.
Especially if you don’t want ten students playing similar versions of “Jingle Bells!”
Instead of giving you specific sheet music to look up, here are ideas so you can pick the best fit for your students.
1) Duets
2) Ensembles
3) Traditional carols
4) Modern Christmas songs
5) Movie soundtracks (either Christmas or winter)
6) Lead sheets
7) Traditional carols arranged in modern styles
8) Get a set of jingle bells to add to any arrangement
Keep exploring and try out new composers and arrangers each year.
Another way to ensure a variety of Christmas repertoire is to print off a list of Christmas songs and have your students pick random titles from the list.
If they don’t know a song, it can be a great time to teach them a fun, new (or old) Christmas tune!
Don’t forget to consider your piano kids with food allergies & sensitivities.
There are many allergen-friendly options available that will help all your piano students be included (for example, find gluten free cupcakes or cookies to add your musical touch to).
Attire for your Christmas Piano Recital
My students always had fun dressing Christmassy for our Christmas piano recitals, as I’m sure yours do.
You can do either themed Christmas piano recitals or just general “wear something Christmassy” recitals.
Here are some ideas you can discuss with your students:
30) Ugly sweaters
31) Red & green
32) Old fashioned Christmas (think Dickens)
33) Snowmen & snowflakes
34) Lumberjack Christmas (plaid)
35) Christmas trees
36) Casual Christmas (jeans with Christmas sweatshirts)
37) Dressy Christmas (think glittery dresses and bowties)
38) Christmas pajamas
Of course, you’ll want to take a seasonal photograph of your entire studio.
And if you want to add even more fun to the dress-up part, have scoring cards where you or the other students “grade” each other on how Christmassy each student looks (or have an “ugly sweater contest” where the winner gets a $20 gift card).
Gifts & goodies for your Christmas Piano Recital
You can do easy & affordable Christmas gifts for your piano students.
48) Paper plate snowmen (Divide students into teams of 3. Assign each team a time signature. Each student must write one measure for their snowman part, put the three snowmen parts together, then clap the snowman.)
If you want to get really into the Christmas spirit, have a Christmas music craft station for your piano kids.
49) Make musical Christmas ornaments (cut printed sheet music into stars, Christmas trees, stockings, and ornaments then add a ribbon)
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas–and it’s time to gather ideas for teaching piano during Christmas break!
I realize not all piano teachers teach during Christmas break, but if you do, you’re going to need some quick and easy piano teaching ideas to keep students entertained while they’re counting down the days for Christmas.
Because sometimes as piano teachers, we can really identify with “Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!”
This blog post is packed with ideas to help you have a jolly time in piano lessons this Christmas season.
At a glance, I’ll be sharing tons of ideas to hopefully get you started with having a blast this Christmas season:
5 free Christmas Carols chord charts
Theme ideas for Christmas break piano lessons
Christmas music crafts & activities
Free download: 5 Christmas Carols chord chart for teaching piano during Christmas break
This free Christmas Carols chord chart download provides a great filler for piano lessons during Christmas break.
Especially those lessons where your student has polished up recital pieces and needs something quick, seasonal, and fun to work on.
Included in this free download are five Christmas carols with chords and lyrics:
Away in a Manger chord chart
Deck the Halls chord chart
Joy to the World chord chart
Jingle Bells chord chart
We Wish You a Merry Christmas chord chart
In addition to the lyrics and chords (all in the Key of C), you’ll find a “starting note” so you and your student know what pitch to start singing or playing on.
There are several ways you can use these Christmas Carol chord charts for any level piano student.
Here are a few ideas in video, then I’ll share even more ideas below.
1) Single notes
For your very beginning piano students, they can sing along while they plunk down single notes instead of chords.
If you have preschoolers who aren’t solid with their note names yet, place small sticky notes on the piano keys they should play.
Sing with them and have a jolly time together!
2) Chords
Depending on the level of your student, there are many ways you can play the chords with these Christmas Carol chord charts.
Give the student two notes from the chord to play (either the root and third or the root and fifth)
Have student play full triad in right hand and single note in left hand
Have student play full triad in right hand and octave in left hand
Have student play inversions in right hand and octaves in left hand
Encourage the student to experiment with different patterns (broken chords, different rhythm patterns, etc.)
3) Chords & Melody
For your students who have a good ear and can pick out the melody, have them play the chords in their left hand and pick out the melody in their right hand.
If the student is really confident in their melody and chords, then encourage them to play around with multiple left hand patterns to make an arrangement.
Theme ideas for teaching piano during Christmas break
Even if you have just one week of teaching piano during Christmas break, consider doing a special themed piano lesson week!
If you choose a Christmas theme, there are so many things you can do with it!
Listen to your week’s theme music in various styles (for example, if you pick “Snowmen,” listen to “Frosty the Snowman” in jazz, classical, and choir)
Here are some Christmas themes you can consider:
Wise men
Nativity
Reindeer
Ornaments
Christmas trees
Carols
Snow
Snowmen
Lights
Santa Claus
Stockings
Cookies
Gifts
In addition to fun Christmas themes, you can use this time to review theory concepts by having a “theory theme” each week.
Pick a theory concept and plan all of your week’s activities and review around it–adding a special Christmas touch.
For example, you can
Review chords with Christmas song play-alongs (or our 5 Free Christmas Carols Chord Sheet)
Find intervals in Christmas music
Transpose “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to multiple keys
Draw “triad snowmen” on whiteboards
Discuss which Christmas songs are in major or minor tonalities
Review key signatures by identifying the keys of Christmas carols
Review rhythms by clapping & counting popular Christmas tunes
Identify “high” and “low” sounds with Christmas Carols
Practice major scales with “Joy to the World,” “The First Noel,” and “Away in a Manger”
Discuss and assign dynamics to each Christmas carol (if you want a non-holiday dynamic review, get our free Dynamic Den here–you can even use the dynamic cards to place a lion for each Christmas carol)
Christmas crafts for teaching piano during Christmas break
If your students are extra wiggly and can’t seem to focus on music and learning, use this time to broaden their artistic horizons in other ways.
Set some fun Christmas music in the background (you can decide whether you want it to be pop, carols, choirs, orchestras, or other) and pull out some easy craft projects.
Create a Studio Christmas Tree
Here’s a quick and easy idea from piano teacher Leslie Gehring Raich: create a construction paper Christmas tree on your piano studio wall. Have each piano student decorate an ornament and decide where to put it on the Christmas tree.
Give your students some cookie cutters so they can trace out Christmas shapes and cut our musical Christmas designs.
Once they have their Christmas shapes, there are many ways you can use these little cutouts.
Paste to folded cardstock or construction paper to create music Christmas cards
Punch holes in the top of each Christmas shape and string together several shapes for a musical Christmas garland
Paste to cardstock rectangles to create bookmarks
Cut circles of various sizes and paste on construction paper to create musical snowmen
You can either use these musical Christmas crafts to “deck the halls” of your piano studio (the students will love seeing how the decorations grow each week as everyone adds their touches) or send the crafts home with the students.
Christmas coloring contest
Host a Christmas coloring contest. Either find some “color-by-music” pages or, if you don’t feel like you need a musical theme, find free coloring pages online.
Hang them up in your studio wall and have parents vote on their favorites.
What do you do in teaching piano during Christmas break?
I can’t wait to hear all the fun things you do for Christmas piano lessons!
