Pop Piano School - X-MAS SPECIAL: Piano Book & CD

Most Christmas piano books offer arrangements or carols in isolation. This one teaches students to think like working pianists: how to voice chords creatively, switch between accompanying a singer and playing solo, and adapt repertoire on the fly when sight-reading isn't an option. The three-part structure lets you assign material based on skill level without feeling like your advanced students are bored or your developing ones are overwhelmed.

Playful and liberating. The book invites experimentation across styles, pop, rock, Latin, boogie woogie, jazz, without demanding perfection in each one. There's permission built into every lesson to play creatively, to rearrange, to leave the page behind and trust your ear.

Piano students from early intermediate through advanced who want to move beyond note-reading and develop real musicianship around harmony, accompaniment, and improvisation. Teachers seeking a method that bridges classical training with practical pop and jazz sensibilities will find the structured progression and pedagogical scaffolding especially useful.

• Start with the backing tracks to hear how each arrangement sits stylistically, then practice without them to build independence in keeping time and managing the harmonic movement.
• Pay attention to the voicing suggestions for 'pop dominants' and extended chord positions; these aren't random flourishes, they're the foundation for improvising beyond what's written on the page.
• Use the flexibility between song accompaniment and solo piano modes as a strength in rehearsal: if you're working with a vocalist, focus on the reduced left-hand patterns first, then layer in fuller textures once the melody is solid.
• Explore the three-step arrangement process in Part Three not as a rigid formula but as a toolkit; apply it to carols or popular songs outside this book to deepen harmonic thinking.

Assign Part One in September or October as technique-building that doesn't feel like drudgery; students get engaging carols while learning harmony. Reserve Parts Two and Three for ensemble projects where a pianist needs to accompany singers or small groups, or use them as optional enrichment for students who thrive on improvisation and arrangement challenges. The CD support makes it accessible even in a large class setting.

• Voicing extended and altered chords in popular styles (pop dominants, jazz extensions)
• Switching between accompanied melodic playing and solo piano arrangements
• Recognizing and applying harmonic patterns across multiple keys and song contexts
• Three-step process for arranging songs for solo piano
• Accompanying singers with flexible, intuitive left-hand patterns
• Improvising and adapting arrangements in real time using chord knowledge
• Reading and performing in pop, rock, Latin, jazz, and boogie woogie styles