Great Christmas Piano Books for the Young and Old Pianists in Your Home 🎄🎹
When my siblings and I first started taking piano lessons, I remember my mom saying that if she had only one goal in mind for us, it was to be able to play Christmas Carols.
(Little did she know 3 of her kids would become professional musicians…)
Gathering around the piano during the holidays is a beautiful thing. To have someone in the family who can accompany the family’s singing on the keys - this is a precious gift, one that truly makes the house glow with the magic of Christmas.
Each year I look forward to the holiday season for my piano students because it initiates SO MUCH growth for them.
With a plethora of recognizable tunes to choose from, many of them very playable on the piano (unlike a lot of pop tunes that my students hope to play at an early stage),
the holiday season is the perfect opportunity to amp up your child's progress or to renew your love of music as an adult.
What follows are book recommendations for either the adult or child in the home who wants to fill the home with Christmas carols during the Christmas season.
I begin with Beginner/Intermediate levels and work up to Advanced. At the end of this blog post I feature 3 timeless compilations that you will want to have in your “forever music library” to pull out year after year, so scroll to the bottom if that’s what most interests you!
BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
This is one of the most respected and widely used method books for beginner-intermediate levels of piano, and has excellent Christmas Carol books that correspond to each level's abilities.
If your child is in the first half of the book, I actually recommend purchasing a level down, since this will give them the confidence to learn the entire book instead of just a couple carols. If your child is the second half of the book, I would recommend purchasing a book in the same level.
Of course to make it even more confusing, Faber offers 2 different Christmas Carol books for each level! (🤦♀️) Honestly, the main difference is the choice of carols, so just scan the content of the book's carols, and pick the one with the group of carols your child will enjoy most.
2. Bastien Method Christmas Carols
Other method books also offer accompanying Christmas books, and besides Faber, I really enjoy the ones by Bastien. Though they have goofy artwork that I don’t love, the arrangements tend to be a tad more challenging than Faber’s, and I really love seeing how this expands my students’ abilities. In general they tend to sync up pretty nicely with traditional method book levels, so I would just select the same level of whatever level of method book your child is using. Here’s a link for Level 2 of Bastien.
Looking to spice it up a bit??
3. Christmas Jazz Rags and Blues
Martha Mier has a fantastic set of books with exciting new takes on traditional carols. Young pianists get such a kick out of hearing their favorite carols spiced up with jazzy rhythms and chord progressions! (she also has this amazing series of regular jazz and blues books that I use during the year for my students!).
Looking for longer, more ornate, recital-worthy Christmas solos?
4. In Recital by Helen Marlais
Helen Marlais has put together some really lovely longer arrangements for the students who want to enjoy fancy, beautiful piano solos arranged for their favorite carols. She divides her books into two options: one for older, more traditional carols, and another for more popular recent ones. Both are wonderful. There are just a few arrangements I don’t love (they come off a tad sappy to me), but in general she’s done a really lovely job, and this is a perfect book to purchase if you’re a teacher in need of recital Christmas pieces, or have a child who would love to show off some piano splendor while playing carols.
YOUR CHILD IS PAST METHOD BOOKS…
This tends to get trickier since you really need the advice from your child’s current teacher as to which book will be the perfect fit (share this blog post with your child’s teacher and ask!)
However, the last two book series I mentioned (the Jazzy Blues one and In Recital with Helen Marlais) would also be excellent options and you would want to just scan the higher levels to see which book is the best fit.
What follows are books that are excellent forever additions to your music library and can be played by the proficient pianist in your family who wants to have a complete book of carols to play through during the Christmas season.
TIMELESS COMPILATION BOOKS FOR THE ADULT AND ADVANCED CHILD
This is sadly out of print, but there are still many many copies circulating the web and world. I have found multiple still available on Amazon, and multiple copies in random used book stores. Keep your eyes peeled for this charming vintage book that has all the traditional carols you want for traditional hymn-like piano settings. There are a few still available on Amazon here!
2. CHRISTMAS FAMILY SONGBOOK
Alfred has put together one of the most extensive holiday songbooks on the market with over 100 enjoyable arrangements of the most beloved Christmas Carols. If you want a comprehensive collection for any and all requests that could pop up at a Christmas Carol party, this is it! Families have written to me to say that because of this book, they spent most of Christmas gathered around the piano singing as a family. Now if that’s not music to one’s ears, I don’t know what is….!
3. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART CHRISTMAS BOOK:
This is an absolutely gorgeous book to have out on your piano to just look at, let alone play. But it is just as functional as it is beautiful. With pages of both beautiful art from the Met alongside classic 4 part arrangements of traditional carols, this is a perfect book to have in your collection for singing and playing during the Christmas season. This is the book I grew up with, and I have so many fond memories of playing from it while my family gathered behind me, singing the 4 part harmonies. Highly recommend this beautiful book!
I hope these suggestions have been helpful. There are so many books on the market and I will be adding to this list each Winter (I treat myself to a new Christmas book each Winter…), so check back for more additions each year!
Happy Caroling on the Keys!
~Sadie
Disclaimer: this article contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase through the link I provided, I will also get a little bonus.