Merry Little Christmas Sing-a-long
Welcome to this sing-a-long tutorial on the Christmas ballad "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". This song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and was first introduced by Judy Garland in the movie "Meet Me In St Louis".
Many artists have recorded the tune including the great Frank Sinatra. His version is definitely worth checking out.
A Simple & Clean Arrangement
In this lesson we are going to focus on playing the tune simply and cleanly and working on a version that will suit the holiday party perfectly. We will simplify the harmony back to its root whilst ensuring it still sounds elegant and beautiful.
We will start by playing through the form in the key of Ab Major. This is the same key used for the solo piano version of this tune… check out the related lessons below for more information.
Related Lessons
In this part of the tutorial we will study the construction of improvised introductions and endings using common jazz chord progressions.
We explore ways that we can add variety by utilising the different registers of the piano. We’ll also add in some interesting chord reharmonisations.
The triad is the basic building block for many different types of chords. The 4 types of triads are major, minor, diminished and augmented.
Practice Tips
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If you are learning this tune for the first time, then this simple arrangement will be a wonderful introduction for you.
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When playing and singing a tune for the first time, it's a good idea to stick to simple triads in the left hand.
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You can outline the melody in the right hand to guide your singing, and also the people who are singing along with you.
- Experiment with transposing x-mas tunes into different keys. Remember that each voice is different, and so understanding the numeric harmony will allow you to transpose quickly and efficiently.
