Christmas Violin Play-Along Books - Part 2

This is a continuation of the violin Christmas Play-Along Book Reviews. See the titles and in each book. I have given a general level to each book. Each collection will have easier and harder pieces. The leveling is very broad in these Christmas violin play-along books. I have listed the key each piece is in and some of the techniques that are found in that piece. I would recommend all 3 of these books. They are for different levels of playing, but they all work well for their level.

Lindsey Stirling Christmas Collection: Violin Play-Along Volume 81

Arrangers: Lindsey Stirling
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Level: 6

Pros:

Arrangements are taken from Lindsey Stirling’s album Warmer in the Winter. Students can play what they hear.
Included bowing work well and are not just phrase markings.
These arrangements are idiomatic for the violin.
Good challenge for those who what to play more advanced Christmas music.

Cons:

No printed fingering.
No piano accompaniment available.
There are a couple places where in the recording they layer in some harmony. These are written as double stops in the music. Some of them pretty difficult, if not unplayable as written. In listening to the album, my guess is she did two passes in those places.

Summary: These arrangements were conceived and written on the violin so they work really well. They are for a level 6 or 7 player because of the shifting and even the bowing techniques. There is no fingering included and a good fingering would help a student. The bowing printed works and a student could learn the piece with the articulations and bowings from what is printed. It includes techniques and styles that are not common in classical teaching pieces. The rhythm patterns are a good challenge and requires careful counting.

Titles:

Hallelujah – D Major – 12/8; two measures of double stops. (One measure would be part of Cons #3); Positions – 1st – 5th used; Bowing: martelé, rapid detaché,
(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays – E Minor – 2/4; Slides and glissandos; martelé; fingered double-stops, 5ths, 4ths, 6ths; double-stop tremolo glissando; Slides into notes; 3rd position;
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies – D Major; Glissando from 1st position to 5th position; martelé; measured tremolo; portato; grace notes with chromatic motion; E minor arpeggio in sixteenth notes; fingered double-stops in 6ths, diminished 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd; (one double stop not playable as written;)
I Wonder As I Wander – F# minor; time signature changes; accents with martelé; slides and glissandos; Shifting from 5th to 1st position;
Mary, Did You Know? – A Minor; sixteenth triplet arpeggios; Slides; 7 note run in 1 beat; martelé, accents, spicato; portamento – slide over 2 beats; Quotes Für Elise; syncopated rhythm;
Santa Baby – F Major; Relaxed Swing; Accents; Slides and portamentos both up and down; Chromatic triplets; 5 32-notes slurred in 1 beat; Triplets juxaposed to swung eighths in the same measure throughout.
Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells) – E minor; Begins with pizzicato; Glissandos, octave + runs written as wavy line from beginning note to ending pitch. Extensive shifting 1st – 7th positions; 8 measures of double-stops
Somewhere in My Memory (from Home Alone) – C Major modulating to D Major back to C Major; spiccato; staccato; Sixteenth note triplets; 7 sixteenth note runs in 1 beat; slides; trills; 1st – 3rd position;

The Piano Guys Christmas Together Hal Leonard Violin Play-Along Vol. 74

Arrangers: Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson
Publisher: Hal Leonard

Level: 6 or 7

Pros:

Download the mp3 Tracks from a code in the front of the book. Use Hal Leonards PlayBack+ feature which allows you to adjust speed, pitch, balance and loop.
Arrangements are taken from The Piano Guys album Christmas Together.
Advanced arrangements.

Cons:

Printed fingerings are not included.
Very minimal bowings are printed.
No printed piano accompaniment. There is a piano solo/cello duet book, but the keys are different than the violin part in this Play-Along book. They would not work together without transposition.
Only Play-Along recording is included. Demo recording with solo part is the listening album which you can purchase separately.

Summary: This is an enjoyable collection for any level 6 or 7 student. An lower level student would find these rhythms and key signatures challenging. I would encourage the 8va passages as those are the sections that the melody soars. When played in the lower register, it is ok, but looses some of the brilliance of the arrangements. 5 of the arrangements have vocal parts included on the recording.

Titles:

O Holy Night/Ave Maria – D-flat Major; Piano acc based on Bach Prelude in C; Optional 8va that takes melody into 3rd and 5th position;
Mary, Did You Know?/Corelli Christmas Concerto – C Major to A Major to C Major to F Major to A Major; Syncopation throughout; Uses 1st – 3rd positions; optional 8va moves melody into 4th-7th positions;
Ode to Joy to the World– D major to F Major to D Major; 12/8 time signature; very rhythmic with off beat rhythms through first 35 bars; 6 measures of duple eighth notes in 12/8.
What Child Is This? – E Minor; Highest position 3rd position, with 1 natural harmonic; This is one of the easiest of the arrangements in this collection – Level 4
O Little One Sweet – B-flat Major; by J.S. Bach; Can be played all in 1st position; Hymn style; Fermatas at cadence points; This is one of the easiest of the arrangements in this collection – Level 3;
Gloria/Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – E Major to F# Major; The key signatures make this difficult; accented syncopation interspersed with long legato notes;
Little Drummer Boy/Do You Hear What I Hear – B-flat Major to G Major; Playable in 1st position; Optional 8va moves melody into 3rd – 5th position.
Silent Night, Holy Night – C Major; Written part 1st – 3rd position; optional 8va
The Manger – B Minor; Playable in 1st position; optional 8va moves melody into 3rd – 5th position.
The Sweetest Gift – G-flat Major; Challenging key signature; Uses 1st – 3rd position; Free ending with 4 measures of meter changes; rhythmically straight forward;

Ultimate Christmas Instrumental Solos – Alfred’s Instrumental Play -Along

Arrangers: Bill Galiford, Ethan Neuburg, and Tod Edmondson
Publisher: Alfred

Level: 2 or 3

Pros:

A Play-Along CD comes with the book and includes demonstration recordings as well as accompaniment tracks as mp3 files.
The CD contains a pdf of the piano accompaniment.
All in first position (With exception of one song – see below).
Arrangements for violin are only the melody part. Good for beginning student to intermediate student, for the advanced student, these will be too easy.
The keys are good for string players, and the recordings match.
A wide variety of songs and arrangements.
Lots of music for the price of the book. 37 pieces and that doesn’t include the Nutcracker Medley or Folk Carol Suite in which each piece could stand alone.

Cons:

Limited fingering.
Some odd bow markings that contradict the markings – see notes below.
Just melody lines. If you are looking for arrangements this is not the book for you. The arrangement is in the piano accompaniment/track.

Summary: This is an enjoyable collection for any level 2 or 3 student. The arrangements are interesting and well written. The players left hand needs to be comfortable with playing all the fingers both in “low” and “high” or “normal” positions. Meaning, that some arrangements use low 1’s, and the second finger moves back and forth from C# to C. Bowing for the most part is clear and works well. Most arrangements can be played in entirety in first position. Shifting into 3rd position would help make it easier or more idiomatic for a couple passages, but still could be played in 1st position.

Titles:

A Holly Jolly Christmas – C Major – 1st position – ties over the bar line; low 2’s; all separate bows
Angels medley (Angels from the Realms of Glory, Angels We Have Heard on High) – C Major to G Major; low 1 on E string – F natural; 2 note slurs; 1 hooked bow.
Believe (from The Polar Express) – D Major; Low on G string G#; High 3 or low 4 on G string for C#; ties sixteenth to eighths; off beat syncopation;
Blue Christmas – G Major; two eighths are swung ( only 1 set eighths in solo part); High 3 on D string G#;
Folk Carol Suite – Individual pieces/movements; each has an introduction and could stand alone.
Noël Nouvlet – E minor; Low 1 D#; staccato, emphasized detached; • Masters In This Hall – E minor; 6/8 time signature; High3 D#; Coventry Carol (Lullay, Thou Little Tiny Child) – F# minor; High 1 (or low 2) E#, A#; High 3 G#s; Resolves to F# Major; Legato bowing; O Du Fröhliche/ Echo Carol (How Great Our Joy)- D Major; Odd bowing marks – marked as a down bow slur into an eighth note, but then above the last note of the slur is an up bow symbol; dotted eighth sixteenth rhythm; Modulation D Major to A major back to D Major; multi measure rests; High 1 or Low 2 E#
Carol Medley Hark the Herald Angels Sing • O Come All Ye Faithful • The First Noel – This one piece with many carols included – G Major modulating to D Major; End of the phrase has double up bows – up-bow half note up followed by 2 slurred eighths. The eighths are marked with up-bow symbol; 112 measures
Celebration Medley (Hallelujah Chorus & Joy to the World) – Also a medley; D Major; 106 measures long; 4 eighth notes slurred; tied whole notes – marked with stagger bowing; tied quarter note to eighth note with another hooked eighth; martelé strokes; 2 sixteenths;
Do They Know It’s Christmas? (Feed the World) – G Major; Syncopation using eighth quarter eighth pattern as well as tied eighth notes and dotted quarters; Careful counting is required for sections of this piece; includes multi measure rests;
Feliz Navidad – G Major modulating to A Major; Uses repeats with first and second endings; S.S. al Coda; Syncopation; tied eighths; dotted quarter followed by 2 sixteenths all slurred; 3 slurred eighths; Staccto and martelé stroke; dotted
Frosty the Snowman – D Major; Swing rhythm; Syncopation; off-beat; Chromatics for 2 notes;
Gesu Bambino – G Major modulating to B-flat Major; 12/8 time signature; Dotted eighth sixteenth slurs; A couple of accidentals – D-flat, G-flat;
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – C Major; 1 accidental;
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – C Major;
I’ll Be Home for Christmas – C Major; Accidentals – Low 1 A# or B-flat; High 3 G#; Staggered bowing; Syncopation – eighth quarter eighth;
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly – G Major; 3rd position for 7 measures;
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – D Major; 3/4 time signature; B-flat low 1;
Jingle Bell Rock – D Major; Swing rhythm; staccato bowing; syncopation; ties over the barline; A# or B-flat – low 1;
Jingle Bells – G Major; Staccato and accents; Circle bow/ retakes;
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! – F Major; Swing rhythms – 2 eighths and dotted quarter, eighth;
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming – G Major; Legato bowing; ties over the bar line;
Manger Medley • Away in a Manger (Cradle Song) • Away in a Manger • Silent Night – G Major modulates to C Major; two tunes normally sung to Away in a Manger; multi-measure rests that transpose between tunes; Dotted quarter, eighth;
Mary Did You Know – E Minor; Syncopation – melody changes on off-beat through verse; ties over the bar line; multi-measure rests; Some hooked bows that are only marked with 1 up bow at start of phrase;
My Grown-Up Christmas List – F Major modulating to D Major; Sixteenth tied to eighth; Uses sixteenth notes more than the other arrangements in this book, but all are in the melody so it shouldn’t be too difficult.
O Christmas (O Tannenbaum) – G Major – First half is the traditional tune in 3/4 time; The tune repeats using a swing rhythm in 4/4 time;
O Holy Night – C Major; 12/8 time; portato bowing ;
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – D Major; Eighth notes are swung; eighth note to quarter are tied; A Measure of alternating B to A# – half position fingering needed. martelé bowing;
Rudolph The Red nosed Reindeer – C Major; Begins freely and slowly;
Sleigh Ride – G Major; Staccato bowing; Repeat with first and second endings; Some chromatic movement with no fingering – for example D# (Low 1) slurred to E (1). Teacher/ student should decide if there is a sliding first finger, or half-position; High 3 C#; Low 1 – A#… Several accidentals;
Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town – C Major; Syncopation with ties over the bar line; eighth notes are played in swing rhythm; Low 1 – B-flat;
The Little Drummer Boy – G Major; First and second ending; legato bowing; low 1 – F-natural;
We Wish You a Merry Christmas – C Major; Moderate funky groove; Syncopated melody; Low 1 needed for F-natural;
Ukrainian Bell Carol – G Major; High 3 – C# and Low 1 D#; martelé;
Winter Wonderland – D Major; Swing the eighth notes; m. 21- 24 would best be played in 3rd position, but fingering is needed; melodic fifths in sequence; uses first and second endings;
You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch – G Major; Marked “campy swing”; 3 Measures of straight eighths in minuet style triplets; High 3 – D#, High 2 – C#, Low 1 – B-flat;
Themes from the Nutcracker – Overture – A Major; Odd bowing mark with sixteenth slurred to and eighth note, but marked with up bow and down bow; D.S. al Fine with Coda; Melodic fingered 5ths and fingered melodic 4ths; Chromatic eighth notes for 2 measures; accents; March – G Major; Dotted eighth sixteenth pattern with 3 and 4 notes slurred; (Author suggests a teacher check the bowing in m. 43-46, hooking the sixteenth note at the end of the measure is suggested; B Major scale; Staccato bowing; Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy – G Major; Sixteenth notes; High 3 – D#; Chromatic signs used throughout Russian Dance (Trepek) – G Major; circle bows; chromatic notes/fingers in same measure; accents; martelé; staccato or optional spicato; D.S. al Coda; Waltz of the Flowers – D Major; author suggest some shifting into 3rd position to eliminate string crossings in slurs; accents;