These Are The Special Times: Piano/Vocal/Chords

This collection pairs universally beloved holiday standards with contemporary hits from major artists, giving pianists and singers material that feels both familiar and fresh. The range spans everything from centuries-old carols to recent pop crossovers, so you can program thoughtfully across different musical aesthetics and audience expectations. Spanning 232 pages with 48 songs, it's the kind of comprehensive resource that eliminates the need to hunt across multiple songbooks when building a holiday concert or rehearsal setlist.

Opening this songbook feels like stepping into a festive wonderland where Mariah Carey sits next to Bach, Trans-Siberian Orchestra harmonizes with Victorian carols, and every page offers another reason to sing. The mix of contemporary pop arrangements alongside timeless hymns creates an emotional palette that moves from intimate and reverent to celebratory and joyful. Whether you're reading through a quiet "O Holy Night" or tackling the propulsive energy of "Jingle Bell Rock," this collection captures the full spectrum of how people experience the holiday season through music.

Pianists accompanying singers in holiday recitals, church services, and seasonal concerts will find immediate repertoire across multiple vocal styles and difficulty levels. Music teachers building holiday programs for ensembles or private studios benefit from having pop, traditional, and contemporary sacred material all in one resource. This book works for anyone seeking a versatile, performer-ready collection that balances crowd favorites with artistic depth.

• Scan the accompaniment patterns before rehearsal; some arrangements use block chords while others feature busier rhythmic figures. Settling on your approach to the left hand early makes for cleaner ensemble sound with singers.
• Balance melody and harmony by checking the vocal range against your singers' comfort zone. Transposing even a half step often makes a huge difference in how confidently they phrase and sustain long notes.
• Use the chord symbols as a foundation for improvisation during rehearsals or informal settings; they invite flexible interpretation beyond the printed score and help singers internalize harmonic structure.
• Mark phrasing and breath marks in pencil before performance; holiday arrangements often pack text densely, and clarity about where singers breathe prevents rushed or awkward line breaks.

Program individual songs as warmup material or palate cleansers during full holiday concert rehearsals, mixing contemporary pop numbers with carols to keep singers engaged across the rehearsal arc. Use this as your primary resource for building a themed concert around "then and now" holiday music, pairing traditional carols with modern arrangements to show how the season's musical language has evolved. Fill solo recital slots throughout December with material ranging from simple to complex, giving pianists and singers flexibility in programming across various skill levels and performance settings.

• reading chord symbols and translating them into harmonic accompaniment
• balancing melody and accompaniment texture while maintaining forward motion
• interpreting varied harmonic styles from classical (Handel) to contemporary pop (Warren, Brickman)
• managing phrasing and breath placement in densely lyrical vocal lines
• adapting arrangements through transposition and tempo adjustment to suit individual vocal ranges