...and what will you play as your first song?
Who is going Christmas busking?
- Thread starter jozz
- Start date
…..nothing definite planned but there may be an art pop up show in my near future and if the weather is decent I will busk outside. I’m playing Christmas songs today on my weekly zoom, and my songs are alphabetically arranged so if I do busk I will start with “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.” It’s gotta be above 40 (4.4) though.
Rosie C
Well-known member
Not busking as such, but our band has a Christmas booking on the 22nd. I'll be singing, playing 'guitar' and playing tenor recorder. But I'm hoping to squeeze in a couple of accordion numbers. Stille Nacht or O Tannenbaum are the two I'm hoping to have ready. Unfortunately I've spent the last few months learning folk tunes, and these two pieces will be a bit of work 
OuijaBoard
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Not busking, but playing a 50-minute holiday church date 12/12 with a Scottish fiddle ensemble in my megalopolis that includes non-fiddle instruments. One of the fiddlers is a member of this church, and through that person the church let us use their choir room to rehearse in all last year. So we're doing this kind of as a thank-you. I thought the plan was, mainly Scottish trad tunes plus a couple of carols. But . . . the PDF of the sheet music just arrived and it turns out nearly a half-hour of the gig is Christmas music. Like, ten carols.
I've never done Christmas stuff on accordion, and haven't played Christmas carols on any instrument in like 20 years. But played plenty on piano growing up, so sight-reading the melodies is no problem. I just hope one of the group's two pianists shows up because I hate the chord changes somebody wrote onto the sheets, and if they're depending on me for chords I'll have to go to the hassle of working out new dumbed-down bass chord arrangements. Why do people always get too "creative" with arrangements for what are supposed to be background chords? When you're playing for a bunch of people to sing in a loose, informal, un-rehearsed setting, simple, simple, simple must be the order of the day.
A propos of nothing, I don't think I realized how many of the Christmas Carol Greatest Hits are in 3/4 and 6/8 time. It's fascinating.
I've never done Christmas stuff on accordion, and haven't played Christmas carols on any instrument in like 20 years. But played plenty on piano growing up, so sight-reading the melodies is no problem. I just hope one of the group's two pianists shows up because I hate the chord changes somebody wrote onto the sheets, and if they're depending on me for chords I'll have to go to the hassle of working out new dumbed-down bass chord arrangements. Why do people always get too "creative" with arrangements for what are supposed to be background chords? When you're playing for a bunch of people to sing in a loose, informal, un-rehearsed setting, simple, simple, simple must be the order of the day.
A propos of nothing, I don't think I realized how many of the Christmas Carol Greatest Hits are in 3/4 and 6/8 time. It's fascinating.
OuijaBoard
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BTW: I came across this cool little $1.99 Kindle pamphlet of quick-and-dirty accordion sheets for Christmas Carols. This is my idea of how to survive the horror. It's like a snake-bite kit!
Rosie C
Well-known member
Stille Nacht is something we try to avoid 
We are more in the region of 'Jingle Bell Rock' and Feliz Navidad
We are more in the region of 'Jingle Bell Rock' and Feliz Navidad
I've also arranged simple versions of some classics which is my Christmas gift to all of you! Hope someone finds them useful.
I have them all together in one pdf, attached below. Also I have the abc files if you want to transpose them to Db or A#minor.
Away in a Manger
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
Holly Jolly
Mommy Kissing Santa
Midnight Clear
Jingle Bells
Jolly Old St. Nick
Joy to the World
Over the River
Rudolf
Silent Night
First Noel
Tu Scendi dalle Stelle
We Wish You a Merry Christmas (it's true, I do for all of you!)
I have them all together in one pdf, attached below. Also I have the abc files if you want to transpose them to Db or A#minor.
Away in a Manger
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
Holly Jolly
Mommy Kissing Santa
Midnight Clear
Jingle Bells
Jolly Old St. Nick
Joy to the World
Over the River
Rudolf
Silent Night
First Noel
Tu Scendi dalle Stelle
We Wish You a Merry Christmas (it's true, I do for all of you!)
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Rosie C
Well-known member
Stille Nacht is something we try to avoid
We are more in the region of 'Jingle Bell Rock' and Feliz Navidad
Oh no, our band plays renaissance music usually and makes an exception for Christmas to play up to 1900
Rosie C
Well-known member
Cool, glad you like it! Tu Scendi dalle Stelle (You Come Down From the Stars) was popular in the Italian American area I grew up in. We called it “Oh Bambino” because of the chorus lyrics. It’s an easy and fun song to play, not always sung in the way I arranged it, but made sense to me.
I printed out and took a look at “Apple Tree Wassail”. I don’t know that song at all but it seems cool, gonna try it later when I’m home with my accordion. Thanks!
If your accordion has the breath and depth for it, Stille Nacht works quite well with just drone basses C, G, F (of course only one at a time and no chords) as accompaniment, assuming the treble can hold its own against the racket.Not busking as such, but our band has a Christmas booking on the 22nd. I'll be singing, playing 'guitar' and playing tenor recorder. But I'm hoping to squeeze in a couple of accordion numbers. Stille Nacht or O Tannenbaum are the two I'm hoping to have ready. Unfortunately I've spent the last few months learning folk tunes, and these two pieces will be a bit of work
Rosie C
Well-known member
Caps
Active member
This is a collection of easy favorite Christmas Music that I downloaded about 15 years ago off the web.
Still good.
Still good.
davidplaysaccordion
Active member
If it’s dry and warm enough at the weekends I’ll be out before Christmas playing in my local down town. I don’t do a lot of Christmas stuff normally, takes ages to learn it all for such a short playing period so I’ll be relying on my book. Few carols a few Christmas pop songs. First up will be last Christmas by wham, easy to play and very popular over the years.
Played 3 hours on floor heating
First song turned out to be Walking in a Winter Wonderland
last one the new/old Brenda Lee hit
First song turned out to be Walking in a Winter Wonderland
last one the new/old Brenda Lee hit
I’ve been throwing in some holiday tunes at gigs lately. Most of the Vince Guaraldi Charlie Brown Christmas album sounds cool on solo accordion. Also, the Pretender’s “2000 Miles,” The Pogue’s “Fairy Tale of New York,” John and Yoko’s Happy Xmas (war is over),
Accordion Eric
Newbie
Yes, Fairy tale in New York goes over well. I always get good feedback on that one. I play in a German restaurant and have been mixing in traditional Christmas tunes with newer, more popular songs, since the clientele age range is like 20 to 80 years old. In addition to the ones listed above I play:
1. Do they know it's Christmas time by Band Aid
2. Christmas lights by Coldplay, but I don't think anyone is familiar enough with it.
3. You make it feel like Christmas by Neil Diamond
4. Mary's Boy Child by Boney M.
5. This Christmas, I do something similar to the Donnie Hathaway version
6. Last Christmas by George Michael
7. Driving Home for Christmas by Chris Rea
On the traditional stuff, I try to play versions that are different from the originals, like Silver Bells in the style of Tony Bennett, a bluesy Blue Christmas, etc. I know I don't want to hear the 1950's version of a Christmas song played live that is overplayed on every streaming service out there, so I am sure the audience doesn't want to hear that either. I keep an ear out for alternative versions and try ton implement them in my sets this time of year.
1. Do they know it's Christmas time by Band Aid
2. Christmas lights by Coldplay, but I don't think anyone is familiar enough with it.
3. You make it feel like Christmas by Neil Diamond
4. Mary's Boy Child by Boney M.
5. This Christmas, I do something similar to the Donnie Hathaway version
6. Last Christmas by George Michael
7. Driving Home for Christmas by Chris Rea
On the traditional stuff, I try to play versions that are different from the originals, like Silver Bells in the style of Tony Bennett, a bluesy Blue Christmas, etc. I know I don't want to hear the 1950's version of a Christmas song played live that is overplayed on every streaming service out there, so I am sure the audience doesn't want to hear that either. I keep an ear out for alternative versions and try ton implement them in my sets this time of year.
