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When it comes to jazzy piano ballads at Christmas time, few holiday songs resonate with the warmth and beauty of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).” In today’s Quick Tip, Play The Christmas Song: 5 Levels from Beginner to Pro, John Proulx shares how students of all levels can learn to play this timeless holiday favorite. You’ll learn:

• Introduction
  • The Christmas Song: Song Facts
  • The Christmas Song: Piano Chords
  • The Christmas Song: Lead Sheet
• The Christmas Song on Piano – 5 Levels
  • Level 1 Beginner Piano
  • Level 2 Early Intermediate
  • Level 3 Late Intermediate Piano
  • Level 4 Advanced Piano
  • Level 5 Professional Piano

The best part about today’s multi-level holiday piano tutorial is that as your skills continue to grow, you can keep coming back here for additional tips and tricks.

Introduction

Let’s begin today’s lesson with some general background information about the “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).”

The Christmas Song: Song Facts

“The Christmas Song” is a nostalgic holiday song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. Many listeners associate “The Christmas Song” with its familiar subtitle, which is drawn from the opening lyrics: “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.” Ironically, the tune’s original subtitle was drawn from the final lyrics: “Merry Christmas to You.”

“The Christmas Song” was first recorded in 1946 by the Nat King Cole Trio, which featured Cole on piano and vocals with Oscar Moore on guitar and Johnny Miller on bass. However, the original trio version was not released until 1989. Instead, a trio with string choir version was recorded later in 1946 and released the same year. This version enjoyed substantial early commercial success. However, Nat King Cole went on to record the song two more times in subsequent decades. Nowadays, it is his 1961 version featuring the Ralph Carmichael Orchestra that receives the most widespread airplay.

Song Key

Nat King Cole recorded and performed “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)” in the key of D♭ major. However, jazz pianists frequently perform “The Christmas Song” in various other keys:

• F Major – Vince Guaraldi
• C Major – Beegie Adair
• E♭ Major – Jonny May
• B♭ Major – Ben Paterson

Throughout today’s lesson, the sheet music for the “The Christmas Song” is in key of E♭ major. If you’re already a PWJ member, you can download the chord changes and backing tracks for “The Christmas Song” from the bottom of this page after logging in with your membership. In addition, PWJ members can also transpose the chords for “The Christmas Song” to any key using our Smart Sheet Music. Due to publisher’s restrictions, the featured lesson sheet PDF that appears in today’s Quick Tip video is available through our partners at MusicNotes.com.

Song Form

The musical structure of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)” follows a 32-bar AABA song form in which each section is 8 measures long.

Next, we’ll learn the piano chords for “The Christmas Song.”

The Christmas Song: Piano Chords

The following piano chord diagrams illustrate all of 7th chords that you’ll need to know to play “The Christmas Song” on piano in E♭ major (with a few additional advanced chords pictured as well). Try to play each of these chords with your left hand using the fingering 5-3-2-1. (Note: you’ll need to use both hands to play the last two chords: B♭9sus4 and B♭7♭9)

Once you are comfortable playing these chords, you’re ready to plug them into “The Christmas Song” lead sheet in the next section.

The Christmas Song: Lead Sheet

The following lead sheet shows the chord changes for “The Christmas Song” in E♭ major. This example also includes a harmonic analysis of the chords for “The Christmas Song.”

In the next section, we’ll examine 5 different approaches for how you can interpret the chord symbols for “The Christmas Song” depending on your playing level and experience.

The Christmas Song on Piano – 5 Levels

In today’s featured Quick Tip tutorial, John Proulx demonstrates how piano students of all levels can mix and match various jazz piano skills to create their own personal arrangements. In this section, we’ll look at an excerpt of “The Christmas Song” for each level and analyze which skills have been applied.

Level 1 Beginner Piano

If you are a beginner jazz pianist, then a great way to play “The Christmas Song” on piano is to use chord shells in your left hand. Chord shells are minimalistic piano voicings that contain just 2 or 3 notes. In the following example, the left hand voicings use the root and 3rd of the chord only. Then, play the single-note melody in the right hand.

Level 2 Early Intermediate

If you are an early intermediate jazz piano student, then you can get a fuller sound by bringing the harmony notes into the right hand and dropping the roots in the lower register with your left hand. For this approach, focus primarily on playing guide tones (the 3rd and 7th of the chord) in the right hand below the melody. However, if the melody note is already the 3rd or 7th, then you can include the 5th. For 6th chords like E♭6, the 6th replaces the 7th as a guide tone.

Level 3 Late Intermediate Piano

Even though jazz harmony is based on 7th chords, more experienced jazz pianists often include additional chord extensions in their voicings. Therefore, let’s consider the Level 3 example below for late intermediate piano students. Here, John includes quartal voicings, a unique voicing structure that maximizes perfect 4th intervals for a more contemporary jazz piano sound.

Check out our Mid Intermediate Piano Foundations Learning Track for a guided curriculum on how to construct jazz chords with additional colors like extensions and alterations.

Level 4 Advanced Piano

In Level 4, John creates additional momentum in his arrangement of “The Christmas Song” by including broken chord arpeggios in the left hand and inner voice movement.

Level 5 Professional Piano

Finally, in Level 5, John includes even more professional jazz piano techniques. For example, now we are filling out the melody in the right hand with colorful 4-note block chords and octaves. Then, in the left hand, we are using a stride technique that includes both the root of the chord in the lower register and rootless voicings in the middle register.

Be sure to check out our Advanced Learning Tracks to learn even more professional jazz piano techniques.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve made it to the end of today’s lesson on Play The Christmas Song: 5 Levels from Beginner to Pro.

If you enjoyed today’s lesson, then be sure to check out the following PWJ resources:

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