Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar

All it takes to bring me "home for the holidays" is a familiar melody like the ones included in this book. This particular collection was put together for my students to enjoy, and to help them in their quest toward playing songs as soloists. The use of familiar melodies, such as these Christmas carols, can be a comfortable starting point for solo-guitar study. These arrangements vary in difficulty, and many will help the student to explore fresh harmonic ideas.

In an effort to make the arrangements easier to read, some left-hand fingerings have been provided, but right-hand ones have not.  Much of the music is playable in first position. Occasionally the music reaches into higher registers, and may require the use of bar chords. For those students requiring assistance, a competent instructor should be able to make fingering suggestions and even alternate harmonic ideas.

Included with the book is a CD that contains two versions of each song, the first is at the recommended performance tempo, and the second is at a slower/practice tempo. These were recorded as MIDI tracks derived exactly from the arrangements.

Sometimes there is no better way to share our feelings than through the voice of a musical instrument. As an instructor, one of my primary goals is to encourage my students to experience the joys and challenges of making music, and sharing it with others.

John Wynn

Last modified: August 03, 2008