Christmas Favorites: Piano Book

Fifty songs means you're not hunting through five different books come November. Bradley's arrangements preserve what makes these melodies recognizable while keeping left-hand patterns manageable for students still building hand independence. The breadth here lets students gravitate toward pieces that excite them personally, which actually matters for practice motivation.

Warm and nostalgic without demanding technical feats that overshadow the melodies themselves. These are tunes people hum, set to accompaniments that build confidence rather than anxiety.

Piano students at the early intermediate level who are ready to step beyond method books but still need accessible, familiar material. Teachers building year-round repertoire lists will find this collection pulls its weight during holiday seasons and beyond.

• Approach the tempo markings as suggestions for your student's current level. Nothing stops learning faster than a piece that feels rushed. Once technique solidifies, the music naturally accelerates.
• Where the arrangement calls for octaves or block chords, ensure even weight across all fingers. Uneven hand position creates fatigue before technique actually fails.
• Listen for the melody voice, particularly when right-hand figurations become busier. The tune should sing through every accompaniment pattern.
• Balance between hands matters in pieces with fuller textures. A common student mistake is letting the right hand dominate the arrangement when the left is actually carrying the harmonic foundation.

Bundle selections from this collection into holiday recitals, family music nights, or winter concert encores. Since most students know these melodies already, performance anxiety often decreases, letting them focus on musicality and accuracy. The 160 pages also work as a reserve for assigning seasonal pieces throughout the year when a student needs repertoire that connects to real-world listening.

• Sight-reading within familiar harmonic contexts
• Left-hand patterns including Alberti bass and block chord accompaniments
• Balancing melody and accompaniment voices
• Tempo and dynamic control across varied textures
• Playing from lead sheets with standard notation conventions