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1 Hour holiday party gig. Tunes?


BluMunk

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I'm playing a private party later next month, with the request that I play "a combination of holiday standards mixed with some regular standards."

 

I've got a female vocalist and me on the keys (possible adding vocal harmony support), but am struggling to come up with a solid set list.

 

The party host has already requested to sing White Christmas, Oh Holy Night, The Christmas Song, and Winter Wonderland.

 

Any good tips? What do you all play for Christmas events?

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I see "holiday standards mixed with some regular standards" and feel like I should rule out anything from after, say, 1960, but there might be some more contemporary holiday tunes that you can slip in without it being too jarring -- John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" or "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," that sort of thing.

 

"What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" would fit in, even if it's a little out of the box. "Winter Wonderland" works well in a jazzy arrangement without sounding too cheesy. What about the Vince Guaraldi "Christmas Time is Here?"

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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These are some of the holiday tunes I choose from for a gig like that, then sprinkle in some all-time-favorite Great American Songbook stuff (e.g., As Time Goes By, The Very Thought of You, etc.).

 

Holiday Season

 

Modern

Bless This House

Christmas Song (The) (Chestnuts)

Christmas Time is Here

Do You Hear What I Hear

Edelweiss

Frosty the Snow Man

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I'll Be Home for Christmas

In the Bleak Midwinter

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Little Drummer Boy

My Favorite Things

O Tannenbaum

Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Silver Bells

Some Children See Him

White Christmas

Winter Wonderland

 

Traditional Religious

Angels We Have Heard on High

Away in the Manger

Coventry Carol

First Noel

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Good King Wenceslas

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

Joy to the World

O Come All Ye Faithful

O Come O Come Emmanuel

O Holy Night

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Silent Night

We Three Kings

What Child Is This

 

Traditional Secular

Deck the Hall

Jingle Bells

Up on the Housetop

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

 

New Years

Auld Lang Syne

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve

Mike
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With the female singers I've worked with, in addition to the usual suspects (most noted above) I've also played:

 

All I Want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey)

This Christmas (Donny Hathaway)

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt, et.al.)

Feliz Navidad (as a bossa)

Last Christmas (George Michael)

Pretty Paper

Someday at Christmas (Stevie)

 

 

Hal Leonard publishes a "The Real Christmas Book" which has been really helpful for these kinds of gigs.

 

 

..
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Jingle Bell Rock is a lot of fun, but be prepared as the chords are a little more involved than you might think (not difficult, just making sure the band has all the changes down). 1-4-5 it ain't!

 

I DO NOT recommend Father Christmas by the Kinks. For whatever reason our singer picked that one and it's a nightmare to learn "like the record"...fills were coming out in the middle of beats (though it wasn't a mistake, the whole band was doing it) and every little chorus and verse had a *slightly* different way of playing it. Not to mention nobody knows it LOL!

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Whenever I've done these types of events - whether as a piano player or as a DJ - I've always over-prepped. Chances are very good that they will quickly tire of a steady diet of Christmas songs - especially (rather counter-intuitively) the closer you get to Christmas itself (the saturation parallax).

 

If every other song is a Christmas song, it will probably be too much. Every third or fourth - maybe, but don't be surprised if the group will want even less than that once the event gets rolling.

 

 

Edit: I just noticed this event is only an hour (maybe 15-18 songs if you're just brushing through them). Work up the four they gave you, work up four or five more that you have in common, and call it good.

 

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Some Mannheim Steamroller-style reharmonizations of standard Christmas tunes work nicely and change up the sound a bit. "Silent Night" is a good example.

 

I also stole the idea of a New Orleans piano version of "Silent Night" from a guy in town.

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I pretty much play what has already been mentioned for my one hour Christmas solo performances. In the middle of the set I play five songs from Charlie Brown Christmas in this order with no breaks:

 

Linus and Lucy

What Child Is This?

Skating

Christmas Time Is Here

O Tannenbaum

 

Recently learned this medley which makes a great set closer and/or encore number:

 

[video:youtube]

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If you want to have a little fun with it, throw in the lyrics from one of the Twisted Christmas albums.

 

"Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire" is sure to get some giggles (& applause) from anyone who is paying attention.

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Wonderful Christmastime or Last Christmas? Dont get the hate they all get.

 

Probably a good place to ask: what synth is used for those prominent parts on Wonderful Christmas Time?

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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