“What can I do to make my Christmas songs extra special?”
This is the question that many of my students ask me. The answer is: use the right rhyme!
Rhyming is one of the most powerful tools in a musician’s toolbox. It adds a sense of fun and magic to a song. It also gives you an easy way to organize your ideas.
When choosing a rhyme, I always think about what message I want to convey. Is it joyous? Somber? Funny? I look for words that express those ideas. For example, when writing about a Christmas tree, I might choose words like light, bright or night.
I use this technique with everything from holiday greetings to songs about Santa Claus. The same goes for other holidays like Halloween or Easter. Just find words that match your mood and theme of your song. Try it out for yourself!
Christmas is just around the corner again, and everyone is busy preparing for this special day. Christmas songs are also being prepared to be sung by every individual. Of course, no one wants to sing a bland song but rather a song that will make everyone listen.
In choosing the right rhyme for your holiday, it is important to remember that there are at least four types of Christmas songs that you can choose from. These four types of songs include: devotional, secular, novelty and folk.
Devotional type of Christmas songs usually tell stories or prayers associated with Christmas. It is usually about the birth of Jesus Christ and how he became man in order to save humanity from sinfulness. One example of this type of song is “O Holy Night.” The lyrics tell about how Christ was born and his mission on earth. This is also a very popular song during Christmas because it talks about the reason why we celebrate Christmas day.
Secular type of Christmas songs are those that do not have any religious connotation at all. These are the ones that are more focused on the jolly celebration of life during the season such as parties and gatherings with family members, friends and loved ones. It may also be a song that tells about gift-giving or Santa Claus’s arrival
Christmas is the time of the year when you sing your heart out. It’s also the time of year when you can make money from singing.
To learn more about how to pick the right rhyme, I turned to Rusty Cage, an expert on street performing for Christmas.
“The first thing you want to do is pick a song that’s easy to sing,” he says. “If it’s a song that you’ve heard a million times, then people will recognize it and know the words.”
He suggests starting with something like “Jingle Bells” or “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” Once people start to recognize the tune, they’ll feel more comfortable joining in.
And in the same way that you don’t want to sing about snow or Santa Claus, you don’t want to sing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire – unless it’s the right song.
Christmas music is one of my favorite genres because it presents a unique challenge: how do you take a very short period of time and say something meaningful? Most Christmas songs are less than two minutes long. It’s a lot harder to say something meaningful in two minutes than in five minutes or 10 minutes.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The air is crisp and cold, shoppers are anxious and on edge, and we hear Christmas Carols everywhere we go.
As a musician, I’m especially fond of Christmas carols. When I was just a little girl, my family would gather around the piano to sing Christmas carols together. My sisters and I took turns at the piano bench, playing our favorite versions of Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls and Angels We Have Heard on High.
It was fun to play “by ear” (which is what I did back then), but there was always one thing that bothered me – they didn’t rhyme! The words didn’t match up with what I was playing. For example “Hall” in Deck the Halls sounds like an A-flat note in 4/4 time – but in the words “Deck the halls with boughs of holly Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la” that same word “hall” sounds like an F note in 3/4 time.
I later learned that there were many different versions of these songs and that some were even based
It’s December and we all know what this means . . . Christmas songs! I love that each year, the same songs are played repeatedly on the radio, in department stores and at holiday parties.
But this year I want to mix it up a bit and put a new spin on the old classics. Here are a few ideas for fresh arrangements of two holiday favorites:
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas: In the original version, Bing Crosby sings about dreaming of a white Christmas. He wants snow so badly that he begs God to make it happen. But what if you live in Los Angeles? What if you live in Australia or Hawaii?
What if you’re reading this blog post and can’t stand the cold? Think about changing the lyrics to dream about something else, like sunshine or warm weather. If you’re not religious, consider omitting the “God” verse all together. Sing about your own faith or the faith of your friends instead. Now that’s multicultural!
The Twelve Days of Christmas: This song is already long and complicated, but it’s also ripe for adaptation. The gifts given by one’s true love remain pretty much the same throughout versions of the song; however, some versions include additional gifts that vary from gold
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and a lot of people are excited to celebrate it. But aside from the usual celebration that Christmas brings, you can also expect to hear Christmas songs in every corner of the street.
Christmas songs range from religious to contemporary and they are sung by many people during this season. Some Christmas songs are known since forever while some are newly written songs.
Some of these songs were written by professional singers but there are some that were written by regular people like you and me.
If you’re planning to write your own Christmas song but don’t know how to start, then check out my blog post on “How To Write A Christmas Song” on christmasstreetperformers.com.