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Xmas Music Help

Posted by MS Band Director on 9/16/2024, 10:09 pm

I'm trying to find Christmas music for my middle school 7th grade band. I know it's early but the 7th grade students in my band are very behind on where they should be (think March of 6th grade year) and our percussion in particular cannot keep a steady beat, which makes it incredibly difficult to find music as I don't want a piece that relies on percussion and isn't too hard. Any recommendations for easy Christmas music that is a small step above beginner?

Re: Xmas Music Help

Posted by Pretzel Guy on 9/27/2024, 11:01 am, in reply to "Xmas Music Help"

6-Note Santa by Compello is a bop.

Re: Xmas Music Help

Posted by OP on 9/19/2024, 10:58 am, in reply to "Xmas Music Help"

Thank you for the help! Also, any music with no exposed flute parts as I only have 3 flutes and they are not very confident on their own.

Re: Xmas Music Help

Posted by Elfish on 9/17/2024, 8:00 am, in reply to "Xmas Music Help"

Timothy Loest has some fun/playable stuff that I have done before. You can find it on JW and I'm sure most other sites. In addition, there are quite a few flex pieces available. Maybe that would free up another musician to play an accessory instrument, or even just free up time to work on percussion?

Re: Xmas Music Help

Posted by Timothy Loest on 9/21/2024, 10:32 pm, in reply to "Re: Xmas Music Help"

Thanks for the endorsement. Here are my Xmas titles, all published by The FJH Music Company and available through Alfred Music, JW Pepper, or your favorite music dealer:

Drums on the Housetop (grade 1)
Jolly Alto Saxophones (grade 1.5)
O Tannenbones (grade 1)
A Canterbury Christmas (grade 1)
Hallelujah Chorus (grade 1/2)
Fantasy on an Old English Melody (grade 1.5)
Tango Bells (grade 1)
Diary of a Grumpy Elf (grade 1/2)
Santaland Jam (grade 1.5)
A Letter to Santa (grade 1-1.5)
Band on the Housetop (grade 1/2)
A Bellistic Christmas (grade 2)

Re: Xmas Music Help

Posted by Respectfully on 9/17/2024, 1:33 pm, in reply to "Re: Xmas Music Help"

The issue isn't that they don't have enough percussionists, but that the ones they have are deficient. Making a wind player play an accessory wouldn't help that.

OP: If you want VERY simple tunes, the old red Essential Elements Christmas books have a few decent songs, but they're all block-chords, upper-voice melody stuff. Very early-90s band writing.

I would also recommend you look into a song like North Pole Sleigh Ride by Williams and/or for a bit more advanced, Name's Claus - Santa Claus also by Williams. In fact, Mark Williams has probably half a hundred pieces right up your alley here.

You could also consider one of my old standby pieces, At the Feast of Stephen by Watson.

Re: Xmas Music Help

Posted by Elfish on 9/20/2024, 8:57 am, in reply to "Re: Xmas Music Help"

Yes. I understood that. I meant some of those pieces do not have much in terms of difficulty, and my comment regarding flex pieces was based on experience. I have had MANY years of weak percussionists, and simply tossing a sleigh bell or tambourine part to another musician who had a better sense of pulse really helped us out and allowed me to work with the percussionists on their parts and not the usual stuff that slowed us down.

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