GuitarTime Christmas, Level 2, Pick Style: Early Intermediate Guitar Book

Ten recognizable carols arranged for early intermediate players keeps motivation high through the holiday season. The pick style approach means students aren't wrestling with fingerstyle technique while learning new material, so they can focus on musicality and ensemble awareness.

Familiar and warm, with just enough contemporary energy in arrangements like "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" to keep the book from feeling dusty. The carols sit naturally under the fingers, and the pick style approach lets the rhythmic swing and articulation shine through.

Guitar students at the early intermediate level who can handle basic chord changes and rhythmic patterns but aren't ready for complex fingerstyle work. This book works especially well for ensemble programs that need accessible holiday material with enough substance to hold student interest.

• Record a rough take of your own guitar part, then play along with it to lock the rhythmic feel. This builds independence without the pressure of a full accompaniment track right away.
• Slow these arrangements down in rehearsal and isolate any syncopation against the melody line. Several carols here shift between anticipated and on-beat phrasing.
• Let the students who finish cleanly first add dynamics within their own parts. "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night" benefit from subtle shaping that emerges from the student guitarists themselves.
• Pay attention to transitions between songs if you're programming multiple pieces from this book. Some share similar keys and tempos, so back-to-back performance requires a clear moment of reset.

Build a guitar ensemble concert around this single book, mixing the reverent pieces ("Silent Night," "Angels We Have Heard on High") with the upbeat ones for a complete holiday program. You can also draw from it throughout November and December during regular guitar lessons, letting students perform completed arrangements in a winter assembly or informal coffee house setting.

• Chord changes in common guitar keys (G, D, A, C, F)
• Pick attack and rhythmic precision in multiple feel contexts
• Reading notation and chord symbols simultaneously
• Ensemble balance and listening while maintaining a rhythmic part
• Tempo consistency across harmonic changes
• Interpretation of familiar melodies through varied arrangements