So… Is it too early to start learning Christmas carols yet? I know that there are strong opinions on this out there! Some strongly feel that you can absolutely not learn any before November; others already start in September.

Most of my students love Christmas carols! It’s more their parents who might be against playing them too early on in the autumn…!

I find that Christmas carols can really motivate students to keep going with their lessons when they start loosing inspiration. Mixing regular learning with a few Christmas carols even earlier on in the autumn can help beat the autumn blues and tiredness that often hits students in October/ November time. What I normally do is let them play the carols that are not the most Christmassy ones (definitely not ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’), such as ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’ that is a very happy and cheerful song regardless.

Definitely once Halloween is over, Christmas carols can bring about feelings of cheer. Luckily there is so many different ones to choose from that neither teachers nor students should get tired of playing the songs will Christmas. An addition motivating factor can be working towards a Christmas performance, during which students can show their friends and family what they have learnt.

Two books that I can recommend for Christmas Carols are Pauline Hall’s ‘Piano Time Carols’ and Thomas Johnson’s ‘Easy Piano Songs – 40 Christmas Carols for Beginners’.