Howcast https://howcast.com The best source for fun, free, and useful how-to videos and guides. Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:12:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://howcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/cropped-305991373_448685880636965_5438840228078552196_n-32x32.png Howcast https://howcast.com 32 32 How to Play “Good King Wenceslas” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498054-how-to-play-good-king-wenceslas-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:12:47 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498054-how-to-play-good-king-wenceslas-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. “”Good King Wenceslas came out, on the feast of Stephen, when the snow laid round about, deep and crisp and even, brightly shown the moon that night, though the frost was cruel, when a poor man came in sight, gather winter fuel.”” So that was Good King Wenceslas. The song is relatively easy if you break it down to just one, two, three, four primary chords: those chords being, G Major, C Major, D Major, and e minor. You can make it even easier on yourself if you play only the roots of those chords. In our left hand we’re going to play the G on our 5 or pinky finger. Then we’re going to play the C with our third, middle finger, the D with our second, index finger and the e minor with our thumb or number one finger. And that lays down ladies and gentleman like this, so we have G, C, D and e minor. When we go ahead and get to the C, you can just play an individual C, but while I’m there, I like to have a little fun getting to the next chord which is our G Major. So I added a bit of a turn – it’s just rocking back and forth between the C and the B and then an A leading into our G note. So that looks like this. So that’s just moving from C into G which brings us right into “”feast of Stephen.”” And then all put together that looks like this. “”Good King Wenceslas came out, on the feast of Stephen.””

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How to Play “Once in Royal David’s City” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498052-once-in-royal-davids-city-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:08:55 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498052-once-in-royal-davids-city-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg. net.

Once in royal David’s city, stood a lowly cattle shed

Where a mother laid her Baby, In a manger for His bed

Mary was that maiden mild Jesus Christ her little child. That was Once in Royal David’s City. One of the few Christmas carol that refers to Jesus’ birthplace as David’s city. I find that interesting. This song could be broken down to really just F, C and B flat. And those chords look like this. In the left hand we have F, C and B flat. Pretty simple. So, since it’s so simple, we add in a little scale half way through it. This is starting at Mary was that maiden mild. Starting with your pinkie on the B flat, just walk on up until you get to your thumb and you’ve run out of fingers. At that point roll over so that your three finger or your middle finger presses down on the G. And then we finish out all the notes. And that scale is repeated also for Jesus Christ her little child. Jesus Christ her little child. “

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How to Play “Carol of the Bells” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498048-how-to-play-carol-of-the-bells-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:01:52 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498048-how-to-play-carol-of-the-bells-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg; I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City Area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.

“”Hark, how the bells
Sweet silver bells
all seem to say,
“”Throw cares away.””
Christmas is here
Bringing good cheer
To young and old
Meek and the bold

Ding, dongy, dong
That is their song
With joyful ring
All caroling
One seems to hear
Words of good cheer
From everywhere
Filling the air

Oh how they pound,
Raising the sound,
O’er hill and dale,
Telling their tale,
Gaily they ring
While people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

On, on they send
On without end
Their tremble tone
To every home
On, on they send
on without end
their tremble tone
to every hoooome.
That was Carol of the bells. you don’t often hear it?, Arrange in a solo setting, generally it’s in a large choir or chorus and makes it a big easier, because you’re not required to sing every single line on your arm. But it works, you can easily do this. And playing in the piano is actually easier than it seems too. Because your hands start together and then left is coming merges away from the right hand, while the right basically plays the same melody to the entire song.
So starting at the beginning your right hand is playing on the B’flat playing this nice reparative melody “”Pum para pum, Pum para pum, Pum para pum””. And you just walk down the left hand which starts on G here. Going in a fur tier and then down. And on this second system, you’re just rocking back of course between,””Brum, Brum, brum, brum””; all the while your right hand is keeping the same melody, Until we hit the scales. So that takes a little bit of practice. Take a look at it. This is on the Merry, Merry, merry, merry Christmas part. Starting with your right hand you’re the thumb one finger on the D followed up the scale until you get to the third finger which is going to be on “”F Sharp””. Here you want a tuck underneath that. So one, your thumb is going to go underneath the to play that””G””and that allows you to continue that scale, looking at that little bit faster, this is at merry, merry., Again, putting back with the left hand there. And putting back all these together we have the full song. And on the half chance that you are not a huge fan or singing yourself, this song works really well with the piano.
This was a really good experience transcribing which is related with music
Hope i done well to your expectations, If yes kindly accept this.”

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How to Play “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498046-god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:00:56 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498046-god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer, and teacher in the New York City Area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our saviour was born on Christmas day. To save us all from Satan’s power while we had gone astray. Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy. Oh tidings of comfort and joy. That was God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Although, in my mind, it’s titled Tidings of Comfort and Joy. This song has a lot of chord changes in it, and that makes it more difficult than a lot of the other Christmas carols. I’ve been able to distill it down to 6 main chords. Those chords are G Minor, A, B Flat, C, D minor, and F. If you can get the hand of those chords, you’re gonna be able to do alright. Otherwise, maybe practice on an easier Christmas carol before working your way up to here. Those chords look like this on the piano. G minor, A, B flat, C, D minor, and F. Now, there is 1 pattern that’ll help take care of a couple measures of the song. And that’s getting into comfort and joy. So we have, um, oh tidings of comfort and joy. It’s that walking up in the bass. So starting on comfort, of tidings of comfort and joy, place your 5 finger, your pinkie on the F, and then walk up to the A. Hit the A twice. And then we bop right into the D, which is the next chord, also joy. So hear that all put together. We have, oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy. Oh tidings of comfort and joy.

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How to Play “Gabriel’s Message” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498037-how-to-play-gabriels-message-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:49:25 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498037-how-to-play-gabriels-message-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. “The angel Gabriel, from heaven came/His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as full of flame/All hail, said he, thou lowly maiden Mary!/Most highly favoured Lady, Gloria”. That’s the first verse of ‚ÄòThe Angel Gabriel’, also known as ‚ÄòGabriel’s Message’. It’s really a fun song, and it kind of goes through Gabriel’s coming telling about the coming of Christ. It’s really pretty, and you don’t hear it performed a lot. This song can be broken down to just a handful of chords. Those chords are G Minor, B Flat, C Minor, D Major, and E Flat. Now, you can get away with just playing the roots of those chords in your left hand, and that would keep you from having to move your left hand a whole lot, but what I find is easier to do, is this: put your pinkie on the D, this corresponds with ‚Äòthe’ which is the first note in the song, your index on G, your thumb, or one finger, on the B Flat. So we have D, G, and B Flat all formed out. By having our fingers in this position play the chords G Minor and D Major, without having to move at all, other than rocking back and forth. So, it looks like this: ‚ÄòThe angel Gabriel, from heaven came’ Now on “Heaven came”, I moved away from that D and G Minor chord and just played the roots of E Flat and C. So that finishes off that system, the rest of the systems basically follow the same formula: pick the two predominant chords, and split the diference. One more thing to take note? This song is filled with quotation marks. Now, you don’t have to make any drastic changes, just really note that when you sing ‚ÄòOh hail thou lowly maiden’ you’re no longer telling the story, I mean you’re part of the story. At that moment, you are the Angel Gabriel. That knowledge alone is going to change how you interpret the song. ‚ÄòAll hail, said he, thou lowly maiden Mary!/Most highly favoured Lady, Gloria’.

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How to Play “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498036-o-come-o-come-emmanuel-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:48:41 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498036-o-come-o-come-emmanuel-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer, and teacher in the New York City Area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. O come O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here. Until the Son of God appears. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanauel, shall come to thee, O Israel. That was O Come O Come Emmanuel, which is based off of a 15th century melody. It’s relatively easy to play. You can break it down to just a handful of chords, which are G, A minor, B minor, D, and E minor. And if you would like, you can get away with just playing the roots of those chords in the left hand, and that would look like this. Placing your pinkie or your fifth finger on the G. Ring or 4th finger on A. Middle on B, index on D. And then your 5th, rather, your first, or thumb, on the E. Now your hand can stay right there without having to fight the difficulty of bouncing all around to hit these notes. Take a look, for a moment, at rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel. Now, Emmanuel, the l, ends on a dotted half note, and you’re gonna wanna take a breath there. But if you look closely, there is no comma. It’s a complete sentence. And what’s more, if you take a breath there, it really sounds like you’re saying rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, as if we’re telling Emmanuel to rejoice that he has come. We don’t necessarily want that. So really sing straight through that Emmanuel, and that’ll sound like this. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmaunuel, shall come to thee, O Israel.

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How to Play “What Child Is This?” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498035-how-to-play-what-child-is-this-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:32:05 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498035-how-to-play-what-child-is-this-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer, and teacher in the New York City Area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. What child is this who lay to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping. Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherd’s watch are keeping. This, this, is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary. That was What Child is This, also known as Greensleeves. It can be broken down into really just a handful of chords. Those being E minor, D, A minor, B, and G. And on the piano, they look like this. We have E minor, D major, A minor, B, and G. And if you wanna make it easy on yourself, go ahead and just play the roots of all those chords in your left hand. That way, you kinda have a home base. You don’t have to bounce all around the piano, your left hand can stay put. And that would like like, uh, go ahead and place your pinkie, your fifth finger on the G. Fourth on the A, third on the B, second, or index finger, on the D. And then, lastly, your thumb, your 1 finger, on the E. And now you’re set for the rest of the song. Just add in the melody in your right hand. What child is this who lay to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping. Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping.

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How to Play “The Wassail Song” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498034-how-to-play-the-wassail-song-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:30:40 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498034-how-to-play-the-wassail-song-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I am an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.
(singing) Wassail! Wassail! all over the town,
The bread it is white and our ale it is brown;
The bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink from to thee.
Wassail!
That was “”Wassail”” in light hearted cheering drinking song used as a carol. First of if you have not tried “”Wassail”” and you’re of legal age, I very much recommend trying it. It is a delicious holiday beverage. Now, getting into the song this really can be broken down to just a hand full of cords, those cords being: “”G””, “”E minor””, “”C””, “”A minor”” and “”D””. I recommend just learning how to play these cords as soundly and as proficiently as you can, as they really, first of all, gonna serve you throughout any song you’re gonna look at, and it’s really gonna make this drinking-fun-song-waltz come alive. On the piano these cords look like this: starting with “”G”” and “”E minor””, then we have “”C””, “”A minor”” and “”D””. Ooh!. And since it’s a waltz, I recommend just having a nice little “”tumchup””.
(Singing)
(singing) Wassail! Wassail! all over the town,
The bread it is white and our ale it is brown;
The bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink from to thee.

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How to Play “O Little Town of Bethlehem” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498033-o-little-town-of-bethlehem-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:29:34 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498033-o-little-town-of-bethlehem-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg,i am an actor,singer and teacher in the New York City earea. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light, our hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight. That was “”O Little Town of Bethlehem””, now before i get into what chords really make up the song, take a moment and look at the first line of the song. O little town of bethlehem, but its not oh little town of bethlehem,its O little town of bethlehem. Its never just “”O””, there’s some sort of reason, the composer didn’t simply needed a syllable for that note. So make sure when you’re singing it you have a reason for that note as well. Now getting in to the chords, really breaks down into just…you can get away with just 4 primary chords here,those being F, B flat,C and A, played out they look like this. We have F, B flat, C, and A. If you want to make it really easy on yourself, you can play the roots of those chords in the left hand, that way each finger can get its own seperate note, and you don’t have to worry about moving your hands all around the keyboard. To do that, plant the pinky or the five finger on the F, your middle or third finger on the A, your index or second finger on the B flat, and then your one or thumb finger on the C. another part of the song i like to point out is right in the middle where we get to “”the everlasting light”” it drops all the chords and you’re seeing just really glorious unisend. And it really serve to point out and accentuate the ending of this song. So that’s at…the everlasting light, our hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. “

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How to Play “O Come, All Ye Faithful” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498032-how-to-play-o-come-all-ye-faithful-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:28:27 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498032-how-to-play-o-come-all-ye-faithful-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, teacher and singer in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.

“”O come all ye faithful

Joyful and triumphant

O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem

Come and behold Him

Born the King of angels

O come, let us adore Him

O come, let us adore Him

O come, let us adore Him

Christ, the Lord””

That was “”Come all ye faithful””, a beautiful song that can be broken down into surprisingly four main chords. Those chords being G, A-minor, C and D. Now, you can play those chords straight out with the look like, G, A-minor, C and D. You can also make your life a little bit easier by playing the roots of those chores in your left hand. Now, that would look like, starting with your pinky on the G, your ring finger on the A, uh let’s go for index finger on the C, ending with the thumb on the D. Now, with this hand right there, you’re ready to add in the melody. But before we add in the melody, I would like to point out one lyric that always catches my ear, and that’s at, “”O come, let us adore Him.”” It’s so easy to accidentally say, “”O come let us””, as in like, “”The green leafy vegetable.”” In order to avoid saying, “”O come, let us adore Him””, we have to add a little what’s called a glottis stop on the us’. A glottis stop is just uh’ literally, your glottis, your vocal chords are stopping. Input to practice, it sounds like this,

“”O come, let us adore Him

O come, let us adore Him

O come, let us adore Him

Christ, the Lord”””

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How to Play “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498031-how-to-play-jolly-old-st-nicholas-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:27:37 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498031-how-to-play-jolly-old-st-nicholas-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.

[Starts Singing]

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

Lead your ear this way

Don’t you tell a single soul, what I’m going to say

Christmas Eve is coming soon

Now you dear old man

Whispher what you’ll bring to me, Tell me if you can.

[Ends Singing]

That was Jolly Old St. Nicholas. It’s a very easy … but sentimental song. Always makes me think of tin trains for some reason. It consists of just three chords, and I know your gonna learn them and love’em. The chords are, A, E and D. On the piano they look like this. We have A. E. And D. And that’s basically it. You add the melody in your right hand. And once you get the hang of those three chords, feel free to start arpeggiating or breaking up that chord. There’s rhythm written on the page, but by no means do you need to feel … restricted by those melodies.

[Starts Singing]

Christmas Eve is coming soon

Now you dear old man

Whispher what you’ll bring to me, Tell me if you can.

[Ends Singing]”

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How to Play “Deck the Halls” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498030-how-to-play-deck-the-halls-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:26:32 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498030-how-to-play-deck-the-halls-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at PaulSandberg.net.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
‘Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Don we now our gay apparel
Fa la la, la la la, la la la
Troll the ancient yuletide carol
Fa la la la la, la la la la
That was Deck the Hall. Notice my pronunciation deck the hall. We’re only decorating one hall with boughs of holly. This song can be very easily played with by noting three main chords. We have E flat, C minor and B flat. And those on the piano look like this. We have E flat, C minor and then B flat. You can make it even easier on yourself by playing just the roots of those chords in your left hand. To do that, we go ahead and play with our pinkie five finger on the B flat. Our ring finger, four finger on the C and go ahead and play the E flat with one of your remaining fingers. I’m going to play with my index finger or my two finger. And then you go ahead and add in the melody. The melody, which is in your right hand, is going to really flush out the chord which we’ve basically stripped down to its bare necessities for our left hand.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
And there you have Deck the Hall in about as simple a manner as you can possibly make it.”

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How to Play “Ave Maria” (Schubert) on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498029-how-to-play-ave-maria-schubert-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:25:44 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498029-how-to-play-ave-maria-schubert-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an Actor, Singer and Teacher in the New York city Area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. That’s Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria” sung in Latin not necessarily just a christmas piece actually. I hear this all year around often at weddings. The trickiest part of this song is that (well besides that everybody knows it) you have just patern your lline in the right hand which is really mostly just different inversions of the main chords. This is being A flat. You can get away however if you would like an easier time on the song with cutting out that pattern all together and just playing the melody in your right hand. So that would kinda sound like, starting right on ave maria. Actually you don’t have to play the right hand if you don’t want to. And that’s how you can play Ave Maria on the piano. Resist the urge that sounds too much like Bing Crosby.

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How to Play “Auld Lang Syne” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498028-how-to-play-auld-lang-syne-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:24:38 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498028-how-to-play-auld-lang-syne-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne. We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for days of auld lang syne.

So that was ‘Auld Lang Syne’, which can be roughly translated into English as ‘old long since’ or, for the purposes of our song here, ‘for the sake of old times’. It’s a traditional New Year’s Eve song, and a very good tune to know, when the ball drops.

The chords are very simple, and everyone knows the melody. In our left hand we’re gonna be playing the chords F, C, B flat, and D minor. And it looks like this. F major we have, C major, B flat, and then the D minor. And then we have the right hand playing either a single line of melody, or you can start playing thirds in that hand.

Another point, there’s about five different verses to this song. I don’t know how many people actually know all the verses. I, personally, only know the one. So, next time you’re sitting at the piano playing this for a group, ideally at New Year’s Eve, get to the end and then, keep repeating. See how many people in your group know all the lyrics.

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne?

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How to Play “Angels We Have Heard on High” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498027-play-angels-we-have-heard-on-high-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:23:38 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498027-play-angels-we-have-heard-on-high-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“How to Play Christmas Songs on Piano:
Angels We Have Heard on High

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at PaulSandberg.net.

Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o’re the plains. And the mountains in reply echo back their joyous strains.
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo
That was Angels we have Heard on High on of several bouncy songs with a glorious gloria in the middle. The left hand is going to be busy with just a handful of chords. F, A minor, C, D minor, G and B flat. On the piano those chords will look like this. We start with f, A minor, C, D minor, G and B flat. Now one of the trickiest parts of the song is when we get to the gloria. And that’s because we have a long, sustained passage. My advise is to play it as slowly as you can still make it through on one breath. We don’t want to play it too quickly cause then you’re hand is not going to be able to keep up. Don’t want to play it too slowly because your going to run out of air. So you’re going to have to find that happy medium for yourself. For me, the ratio goes something like this. Gloria in excelsis deo. “

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How to Play “12 Days of Christmas” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498026-how-to-play-12-days-of-christmas-christmas-songs/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:22:58 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498026-how-to-play-12-days-of-christmas-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer, and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers piping, 10 lords a’ leaping, 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids a milking, 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 5 golden rings. 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree. So that was the 12 Days of Christmas. This song is really only complicated by its many many many verses. ‘Cause in reality, there’s just 3 chords that are gonna make this song a song. And those chords being F, D, and C. And then the melody, which is played in the right hand, just repeats itself over and over until you get to 5 golden rings. Let’s take a look and see how some of these chords go into this song. So we start with D, then I move into C…forever. 9 ladies dancing, 8 maids a milking, 7 swans a swimming, 6 geese a laying, 5 golden rings, now we’re up into F. 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

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How to Play “Ding Dong! Merrily on High” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498020-how-to-play-ding-dong-merrily-on-high-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:30:59 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498020-how-to-play-ding-dong-merrily-on-high-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer, and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. Ding dong merrily on high. In heaven bells are ringing. Ding dong verily the sky. Is riv’n angels singing. Gloria, hosana in the highest. That was ding dong merrily on high. A beautiful, peppy, exciting Christmas carol, with a rather complicated gloria in the middle. To easily play this, the song breaks down to five chords, we have G, A minor, C, D, and E minor. You can play just the roots of those chords if you would like and it really makes the song quite a bit more manageable. To do that, go ahead and line your pinky, five finger, on the G, ring to the A minor, C, D, and E minor. And then they just roll right over the keys. Te trickier part is if you want to play the melody starting on the gloria’s. My advice, start the top which is on the D, with your five finger, and then just follow them straight down the scale. And that looks like… Until right there, take a pause, but don’t actually take a pause in the song, but take note here, that we’re gonna pivot on our thumb so that our third finger, our middle finger, can play the F sharp, which allows us to complete the Gloria’s without running out of fingers. And then just continue the melody… Hosana in the highest.

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How to Play “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498019-play-hark-the-herald-angels-sing-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:30:27 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498019-play-hark-the-herald-angels-sing-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I am an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.
(Singing)
Hark the herald angels sing
“”Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinner reconciled””
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic hosts proclaim:
“”Christ is born in Bethlehem””
Hark! The herald angels sing
“”Glory to the newborn King!””
That is “”Hark the herald angels sing”” one of the more left-hand, bouncy carols around and if your skill level isn’t quite happened to have in the left moving about, you can get away by playing just ruts of these three main chords: “”F””, “”C”” and “”B flat””. Those chords would look like: “”F””, “”C”” and “”B””. And then you hear that kind of naturally wants to go back to “”F””. Played in one hand with out moving about would be pinky, five, placed on the “”F”” , middle finger, three, be placed on the “”B flat”” and then go ahead and place your one or two I’m gonna be playing my thumb which is one, on the “”C””. And there you can go with the entire song with out hand and then move your left hand.
(Singing)
Hark the herald angels sing
“”Glory to the newborn King!””
Also, just because these note are written on the page, it doesn’t mean you have to keep them strict. You can hold one on longer, let the phrase move, ebon, flow, give and take. That’s how you gonna put on your spin on this piece. It really send the message home.
(Singing)
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic hosts proclaim:
“”Christ is born in Bethlehem””
Hark! The herald angels sing
“”Glory to the newborn King!””

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How to Play “Jingle Bells” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498018-how-to-play-jingle-bells-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:29:51 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498018-how-to-play-jingle-bells-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.

“”Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O’er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtail ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to ride and sing

A sleighing song tonight!

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way.

Oh! what fun it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh.

Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way;

Oh! what fun it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh.””

That is Jingle Bells, my childhood favorite. The goal of this song is to make it sound as if the piano isn’t a piano at all but Jingle Bells. And to do that, we’re gonna use a lot of stick-cuddle, meaning, keep your foot off of the sustaining pedal for the most part. And then we’re gonna add a lot of bouncing thirds and fifths. Those thirds and fifths are going to be making up the chords G, C, A-minor and D. And those are gonna look like this on the piano. So, we have our G-major, C, A-minor and D, back to G. You wanna make a little bit easier on yourself, you could play just the roots in one hand so your hand can really just stay basically in the same spot. However, the chords really only changed about once or twice in measure and there’s ample time to really let this be a piece where you can practice moving one chord to the other. So, in the very beginning we have,

“”Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O’er the fields we go

Laughing all the way””

That’s all your left hand has to do. And you can really get away with not even bothering to play the melody in your right hand. If you’re doing this with a whole bunch of people around, every single person knows the melody to Jingle Bells. So then, you’re just left with,

“”Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O’er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtail ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to ride and sing

A sleighing song tonight!””

And that’s about as easy as you can make it, few chords changes in your left hand and you’re home-free.”

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How to Play “Joy to the World” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498017-how-to-play-joy-to-the-world-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:29:18 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498017-how-to-play-joy-to-the-world-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer, and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. That triumphant tune is Joy to The World. Traditionally done in four parts, it can also be done quite beautifully with solo piano, solo voice. Broken down it consists of just really four man chords- we have D, E minor, G and A. If you wanna make it even easier on yourself so you can drop it down so it’s just single finger on each of the root of those chords. So, 5 finger also known as pinky, place that on the D. Your ring finger, also known as 4 on the E. Your index, or 2 finger on the G, and lastly your thumb or 1 finger on the A. And then, as the chords progress throughout the song, just press on finger down. Adding in the melody on your right hand, to the E, D A. Mostly step down in the right hand, just make sure you start with your 5 finger on the D, that way you have enough fingers to finish. Also, you can look at this turn right here..1 finger on the G, turning down with your 3 finger onto the F# so that we don’t get to “Lord is come” and completely run out of fingers. Keep this tune lively with lots of staccato, also known as detached and keep a lookout for the sustaining pedal- you don’t want a whole lot of just droning, go ahead an pick it up every so often. And that’s how easy you can play Joy to the World on a piano.

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How to Play “O Christmas Tree” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498016-how-to-play-o-christmas-tree-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:28:54 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498016-how-to-play-o-christmas-tree-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information visit my website at PaulSandberg.net. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree how are they leaves so verdant. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree how are they leaves so verdant. Not only in the summertime. But in the winter is thy prime. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree how are they leaves so verdant. So it’s Oh Christmas Tree a.k.a. O Tannenbaum and it is a secular favorite in G major. In order to play this song you can break it down to just three main chords. We have G, A and D. Played on the piano that looks like G, A and D and back to G. Feel free if you would like make this a little easier on yourself just play the riffs on those parts. So you have G in the left hand. Play it on our five finger or our pinkie. Then A on our ring finger also known as four. And then go ahead and play the D with your one finger or thumb. Then you just play along with the melody. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree how are they leaves so verdant. And I like to a little descending scale for how are thy leaves so verdant. Uh, start with your thumb, your one finger on the E. Then prepare your two finger, your index finger to land on the C, middle on the B and ring finger, four finger on the A. So that will go into how are thy leaves so verdant. Just adds a little pizzazz. There is some discrepancy on lyrics of this song. I personally have grown up singing Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree thy leaves are so unchanging. The version I have here, it says how are thy leaves so verdant. it’s the same gist, so choose whatever lyric makes you happy. Whatever reminds you of your own personal childhood. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree thy leaves are so unchanging.

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How to Play “O Holy Night” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498015-how-to-play-o-holy-night-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:28:25 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498015-how-to-play-o-holy-night-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

How to Play Christmas Songs on Piano: “O Holy Night” My name is Paul Sandberg. I am an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. [singing /playing here] So that was “O Holy Night,” also known as “cantique de noel” by Adolphe Adam. This song has many, many verses, each with a slightly different melodic variation. I just did the first verse which is also probably the best known verse. This is one of the harder Christmas songs to really sink your teeth into, but it can be made easier if you notice that really the left hand is just playing some blank cords, those chords being B flat, E flat, D and F, then we’re back to B. The most tricky part would be the pattern in the right hand, that pattern being 1/3, 2/5, 2/1, and those just block out the main chords. We’re still just playing a B flat chord here. You will have a slightly easier time, you can just play the melody with the right hand, nothing stopping you from doing that. Put that in with the left hand’s chorus and you just have [singing /playing here].

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How to Play “Silent Night” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498013-how-to-play-silent-night-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:17:30 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498013-how-to-play-silent-night-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

My name is Paul Sandberg. I’m an actor, singer, and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace. So that was Silent Night, a wonderfully simple Christmas standard that can be played easily by noting just 3 main chords. Bb, Eb, and F. Bb can be played like that. Eb, and F, back to B. Or if you’d like to make it even easier on yourself, you can drop it down to just the root of those chords, with Bb played in your pinkie, or 5 finger. With Eb played in your middle or 3 finger. And then your thumb, 1 finger, on the F. Then just add in the melody. So the right hand can either play in thirds, or just 1 single line of melody. Starting on the F. Add in the right hand, just single notes, or add note thirds if you like, just rounds out the harmony. There’s no reason to make this overly complicated. Some of the beauty of Silent Night is just in how simple and beautiful it is on its own. And that’s how easy it is to play Silent Night.

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How to Play “The First Noel” on Piano https://howcast.com/videos/498012-how-to-play-the-first-noel-on-piano-christmas-songs/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:16:44 +0000 https://howcast.com/videos/498012-how-to-play-the-first-noel-on-piano-christmas-songs/

Transcript

“My name is Paul Sandberg. I am an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information please visit my website at paulsandberg.net.

The first Noel the angel did say

Was to certain poor shepards in fields as they lay:

In fields where they lay a keeping their sheep

On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Noel Noel Noel Noel

Born is the King of Israel.

That’s the first Noel. This Carol is based on traditional 17th century English melody and is one of my personal favorites. The amount of pasan chords in this song can make it seem a little daunting but you can easily break it down to really just about 4 or 5 primary chords that will get you through the song. Those chords being d, a, g, e minor and f sharp minor, you can play those individually if you would like or if you would like even in easier time of the song, go ahead and just play the root of those chords with your left hand starting with the five finger our pinky finger on the d, ring finger or four on e, index finger or chew finger on g and our thumb one finger on the a. When we have that you can just plunge those individual notes without worrying about having your left hand bouncing all around the piano, though you are welcome to do that if you would like. And then just add in the melody. Starting with f sharp the first Noel, make sure that you pive it on this note right here the f sharp, so that our one finger or thumb can land on the g and then continue all the way up without running out of fingers. On the last system I often like to take up the melody. I heard this done in certain church hymns. Its obviously up to you whether you do this, just make it nice and respectful, keeping the feel of the song really, in that it sound like:

Noel Noel Noel Noel

Born is the King of Israel.”

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