Christmas with Kevin Olson: Piano Book

Olson's restraint here is the real strength. Rather than padding these carols with unnecessary notes, he lets students experience the joy of playing music they recognize and love. The teacher accompaniments transform these into genuine duets, which changes the whole dynamic of a practice session.

Warm and familiar. These arrangements let the recognizable melodies breathe without overwhelming young hands, creating moments where students feel like real musicians playing real songs rather than just working through technical exercises.

Elementary pianists working through their first or second year of study who are ready for slightly longer pieces but still benefit from simple textures. Teachers looking for repertoire that connects students to music they hear at home during the holiday season.

• Play the teacher accompaniment at full tempo during initial run-throughs so students hear the complete musical picture, even if their hands need more time to catch up.
• Isolate any passages where hands do play together and practice them slowly, hands separate first, before combining.
• Encourage students to sing through their part while playing; the lyrics provide a natural phrasing guide that makes the music stick.

Build a studio recital or holiday concert around these pieces and invite families to sing along on the carols they know. They work equally well as a sequence of short student performances or as a collaborative set where different students take different arrangements of the same carol.

• Reading two-page musical phrases with consistent hand positioning
• Coordinating simple two-hand textures at slow to moderate tempos
• Sustaining musical phrasing across longer melodic lines
• Interpreting lyrics as a guide to musical expression and phrasing
• Responding to a live accompaniment while maintaining independent timing