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I figured I'd put up a quick (if clumsy) take of a couple of the Christmas music possibilities I mentioned in the chat.
First is the Coventry Carol..
Which is the one that goes something like
AAGA CB AAflat ABCD BA
ED CB CB AAflat ABCD BC ABCD BA
And the other is the Gloucester Wassail, which is even older..
It has a lot of verses, so when you play it over and over in practice, people may think you're just playing the whole song. LOL
I play it all on just one string, because it is possible if you use your pinky finger, and it's a quick little piece for warming up.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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No sheet music, Kevin. I play mostly by ear.
The lyrics are easy to find, though, since these are old traditional songs.
- Loo-lay, Thou little tiny Child,
- Bye bye, loo-lee, loo-lay.
- Loo-lay, thou little tiny Child,
- Bye bye, loo-lee, loo-lay.
- O sisters too, how may we do,
- For to preserve this day
- This poor youngling for whom we do sing
- Bye bye, loo-lee, loo-lay.
- Herod, the king, in his raging,
- Charged he hath this day
- His men of might, in his own sight,
- All young children to slay.
- And woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
- Ever to mourn and sigh,
- For thy parting, neither say nor sing,
- Bye bye, loo-lee, loo-lay.
- That's the Coventry Carol , which is a rather sad and sombre song of the Christmas season, as is obvious from the lyrics. Dark and slow, I like to play it in the low voice of the violin and it could be a very effective touch of pathos in a little suite of holiday songs. It is also pretty easy to play. I learned it from a chord organ book as a kid, to be honest.
- The Gloucester Wassail song, there are a lot of variations on the lyrics because it dates back to the middle ages. I prefer to do it on a single string, as a warm-up that uses the pinky finger and where one can start slow and speed up as one warms up and maybe add a few embellishments as one gets into it. Since it is a traditional carolling song, I generally feel one can take a few liberties with it anyway. I hunted up a version, it is a little different than mine, and in a different key, but similar enough to give an idea of lyrics and etc.
- http://sniff.numachi.com/~rick.....GLOUC.html
- My version is from the "low part" we had to learn for one of those dreaded school plays back in grade-school. It just felt good/fun to play when I tried it on violin.
- I suggested them because they're easy songs, and they can use the low voice of the violin. There are plenty of versions out on the net, but I could scribble up some score for the versions as I play them, if anyone wanted those.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman


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I would love to hear you play Silent Night. An optimistic, soulful piece - at a reasonable place with some room for your own expression.
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. Charlie Parker

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Ok, my personal holiday playlist is pretty much settled, I think. I'll post the titles in case it may give anyone who is trying to think of some holiday songs to work on some ideas.
The First Noel
We Three Kings
Coventry Carol
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Good King Wenceslaus
and two that are from xmas specials I watched as a child, that may be less familiar than the more traditional songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....QvbJ-spKuU
Silent Night.. It may or may not "make the cut". An easy song to play, but I haven't felt I'm getting the feel I want on it yet.
I'm also working on one of my own holiday songs that I wrote years ago (decades ago now, come to think of it..ouch), but that is also one where I am not sure if it will "make the cut" for this year.
And then there's GRYMG.
Realistically, for a noob, this is a fairly heavy bit of playlist, and the holidays tend to be a very busy time of year for my family. So the list may end up pared down a bit by the holiday, but it is what I am working on.
I do think I can manage at least reasonable versions of some of them by the holidays, and look forward to being able to play them a bit in the holiday setting.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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OMG - I LOVE THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW.
Signed, forever consigned to the Island of Misfit Toys.
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. Charlie Parker

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The Island of Misfit Toys was an early possibility, but There's Always Tomorrow is simpler and slower, so I figured I'll save the Misfit Toys theme for another year. Like, after I've been playing for at least a whole year. LOL
I stuck with fairly simple pieces for my first year with violin, and if at least a few of them go well enough, I figure it's good.
The most common noob mistake is to overextend and then get frustrated when you can't quite manage it. So I'm trying to be a bit sensible.
"Welcome Christmas" from Dr Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas is another favorite that I decided it would be better to wait on. Not smooth enough in my playing yet to be able to do it justice.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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DanielB said
I stuck with fairly simple pieces for my first year with violin, and if at least a few of them go well enough, I figure it's good.
Awwww. Choosing a positive, optimistic, moving song, played from the heart... what's not to love!!
Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. Charlie Parker

