Below is the lesson for “O Holy Night”.

Helpful Tips

One of the most beautiful Christmas melodies; this arrangement makes use of the entire neck to create movement, which mimics a story in that there is a beginning, middle, and end. To make this arrangement easier to tackle, I have divided it up into 8 sections: Intro, Themes 1-6, and Outro.

I’d highly recommend to tackle one section at a time, and to commit it to memory; as I believe the hardest part of this arrangement lies in memorizing the entire performance. This piece also serves as a great opportunity to incorporate dynamics into your playing. As I mentioned earlier, this arrangement develops like a story would; so as you move through the Themes, feel free to accent sections as you see fit. For example, the climax of this piece occurs in Theme 6 and should be played with more vigor than Theme 1.

A great way to learn when and how to incorporate dynamics is to listen to many versions of this song. This will give you an idea of how your favorite artists interpreted it. Therefore, you can pull ideas from each version to create your own. Check out Andy William’s 1963 recording, as he masterfully built the dynamics throughout his entire performance.

Part 1 – Performance & Free Lesson

Part 2 – For Premium Members

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