KEYS
THE KEYS TO CHRISTMAS KEYBOARD | David Pfaltzgraff
Friends , by the time you ’ re reading this article , your church has likely fallen into one of two camps .
Camp A has had their entire Advent and Christmas season planned out since August . Camp B hasn ’ t even started thinking about any service past this upcoming Sunday .
Whichever camp you ’ re in , planning for and playing Christmas tunes poses a particularly daunting challenge for the keyboard position . In this article I hope to give you a jump start on your planning if you ’ ve yet to begin , or a shot in the arm to help you keep going if your prep is well underway .
THAT CHRISTMAS FEELING
Let ’ s start by discussing what separates a regular worship song from a ‘ Christmas ’ worship song ? There ’ s not a one-size-fits-all answer . Sometimes it ’ s obvious , ‘ O Come All Ye Faithful ’ and the like are so clearly intended for and associated with the season that they don ’ t really need any window-dressing for them to clearly bring tidings of comfort and joy .
But when it comes to more modern takes on Christmas classics , or entirely new contemporary Christmas tunes the arrangements often focus just as much on evoking a Christmas feeling as the lyrics focus on delivering a Christmas message .
The keyboard can go a long way in achieving this by strategically approaching the keyboard sounds you choose to use , but you should be very cautious not to put too much sugar in the sugar cookies . Meaning , a little dash of Christmas vibes goes a long way . A big dash gets cheesy fast .
Here ’ s a few more subtle avenues to explore bringing some Christmas cheer from the keyboard .
TAKE YOUR PIANO TO THE LIVING ROOM
To me , few sounds evoke memories of family Christmas gatherings than the sound of a small , slightly out of tune upright piano in the carpeted living room of a loved one hammering out a boisterous rendition of ‘ Joy to the World ’.
You can bring a sense of that intimacy , closeness , and warmth to your sound by simply swapping out that epic grand piano patch for an upright or felt piano , with less or no reverb . This will draw the listener in and when done correctly they ’ ll feel like the piano is right next to them , instead of on the other side of a giant concert hall .
You can do this with a grand piano too , for what it ’ s worth , by simply drying up the sound
80 November 2023 Subscribe for Free ...