Christmas Carol Time (Piano Solo/Duet): Really Easy Piano Solos With Optional Duet Accompaniments

Sorry, this one is getting returned. I'm a piano teacher of nearly 30 years' experience, trained at the Royal College of Music. I'm always looking for fun Christmas music for the little ones, but this one is simply not suitable for its intended purpose i.e. giving young pupils of a few months' tuition some easy carols to play. What are the problems? They are:1. The pupil parts nearly throughout have both left and right hand scored in treble clef - this is very confusing for young beginners who have spent a few months learning LH notes in bass clef.2. The left hand is nearly always placed above Middle C - again, this is very confusing to them.3. The RH parts use every note up to top G over the course of the book. That is 12 notes, including Middle C. Realistically, how many young beginners are learning to read 12 notes in their first term? I haven't met any.4. A variety of key signatures is used, meaning that the pupil is faced with the awkwardness of hand shape involved in playing F sharps and B flats - not to mention the unfamiliarity of a new hand position for each piece!5. These are written with many moves out of a standard 5-finger position i.e. making a finger stretch to another note, rather than simply playing the note it is already placed on, as well as some turning under of the thumb and general shifting of hand position.6. Awkwardly written hand exchanges whereby the RH has to move out of the way to allow the LH to play the very same notes it has just played.To sum up, young beginners need familiarity, and these pieces are written very awkwardly to provide just about as difficult a playing experience as possible for someone pretty new to the piano. I know Fanny Waterman has an amazing reputation as a piano teacher, but I wonder how many young beginners of average ability she has taught recently? Piano teachers: if you want to give yourselves a major headache in the lead-up to Christmas, then inflict this book on your young pupils. Alternatively, use Piano Time Carols by Pauline Hall - thoughtfully scored carols which show real awareness of the reading and playing ability of your average pupil of a few months' tuition. My bet is this lady actually teaches real small children...

Everything Mrs Waterman does is outstanding incluing this one.

I teach piano to child and adult beginners, and we always use this book in the half-term up to Christmas. Even a beginner can learn the melody parts, and the accompaniments are easy too. A child can do a duet with their teacher, or with another child for their school Christmas concert. They can play solo for family Christmas gatherings, or with a parent or friend who has basic ability. After the new experience in moving hands around and playing with another person (learning to 'count-in' and keep time with someone else) their playing will have moved on considerably. Older children will be able to move through the book quickly, creating an enjoyable family Christmas concert. These are lovely arrangements, very evocative - Fanny Waterman deserves many congratulations for this delightful book.

My daughter is using the My Piano and Me programme. This Christmas book fits in well but you need to be beyond book 1 to use it. There is a solo version and a duet version for each song. A good variety of Christmas songs and I am sure it will provide a lot of entertainment at Christmas. Would recommend it as it will come in handy for years to come.

This book is suitable for the youngest players. Some with duets and some with simple LH accompaniment. large print. A good first carol book

These are a little trickier than 'really easy' and the duets are set out in a complicated way for very young children for example the left hand notes are written in the treble clef.

My 7 year old plays the piano. We have lots of piano books. By far our favourites are always books by this lady! My daughters piano teacher recommended her, and we haven't looked back. This was our 1st Christmas with songs around the piano-Long may it continue!

Lovely kids piano book recommended by LGs teacher.