The Christmas Song – Jazz Piano Workshop

Welcome to this special workshop on Christmas Jazz Piano, where we explore The Christmas Song, a holiday classic known for its lush harmonies and beautiful melody. In this lesson, we will focus on creating rich jazz voicings while maintaining the essence of the original harmony.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to play The Christmas Song using both simple and advanced voicings, incorporate melodic embellishments, and experiment with stride piano techniques.

Understanding the Harmony

This tune already has a strong harmonic foundation, meaning it doesn’t require heavy re-harmonization. Instead, our goal is to enhance the original chords with spread voicings, guide tones, and tasteful extensions.

We begin by playing root-position voicings to familiarize ourselves with the chord changes before expanding to wider voicings that utilize more of the keyboard.

Jazz Voicings & Voicing Techniques

We start with basic 7th chords and then introduce spread voicings, where the left hand plays the root and a guide tone (3rd or 7th), and the right hand completes the harmony. Some key concepts include:

• 10th intervals in the left hand: Rolling the 10th interval is useful if you find it difficult to stretch.
• Shell voicings (R-7 or R-3-7): These provide a strong harmonic foundation while leaving space for melody.
• Stacked fourths: A modern sound that works well on certain chords.

Melodic Embellishment & Harmonic Fills

Since the melody moves in stepwise motion, we can harmonize it using 3rd and 6th intervals, creating a fuller sound. Other melodic techniques include:

• Grace notes and turns to add a more expressive feel.
• Harmonizing the melody in 3rds or 6ths to create a richer texture.
• Inner voice movement to add harmonic depth.

The Stride Piano Approach

For a traditional jazz sound, we explore stride piano, alternating between bass notes and chords. This technique adds movement and energy to the arrangement, particularly in the B section.

We also discuss how to combine stride with modern jazz voicings, blending classic and contemporary approaches.

Transitioning Between Christmas Songs

Many Christmas songs share similar harmonic progressions, making it easy to transition between them seamlessly. This allows us to play The Christmas Song as part of a medley with other tunes like I’ll Be Home for Christmas.

By keeping most of these arrangements in C Major, we ensure a smooth transition between songs, making it perfect for a continuous holiday performance.

5 Practice Tips

1. Start with simple voicings – Play root-position 7th chords before moving to spread voicings.
2. Use guide tones for smooth voice leading – Ensure 7ths resolve to 3rds in 2-5-1 progressions.
3. Experiment with stride piano – Alternating between bass notes and chords creates a strong rhythmic feel.
4. Harmonize the melody with intervals – Try 3rds, 6ths, and stacked fourths for a fuller sound.
5. Memorize the form and chord changes – This helps with fluency and allows for spontaneous embellishment.

Final Thoughts

The Christmas Song is a beautiful jazz ballad that doesn’t require excessive re-harmonization—subtle voicing choices and tasteful melodic embellishments are enough to make it shine.

Be sure to check out our Christmas Medley Workshop to learn how to transition seamlessly between multiple holiday songs. Also, explore our Beginner and Advanced Christmas Jazz Courses for more seasonal arrangements.

If you have any questions, drop them in the comments section, and I’ll be happy to help. Happy practicing! 🎄🎶