Hi everyone!
Today I have a special Christmas surprise for piano beginners! 😉
Who said that Christmas Carols cannot be played by using the professional playing principles of the Russian piano school? They certainly can :D, and that’s what we are going to do in today’s video tutorial!
So let’s combine the fun with the useful! Let’s enjoy the magic atmosphere of the winter holidays while improving our technical and expressive piano skills! 🙂
We’ll analyze and practice (mindfully and correctly, by keeping a good posture and using the whole-arm action principle) 5 famous Christmas songs in an easy arrangement adapted for beginners!
You can download all the needed scores by clicking on the links below this video! 
Enjoy!!! 😀
Video highlights:
01:29. Jingle Bells – demonstration in the final tempo.
02:27. Jingle Bells – detailed analysis.
05:27. Jingle Bells – practice tips.
13:03. The First Noel – demonstration in the final tempo.
14:08. The First Noel – practice tips.
17:23. Silent Night – demonstration in the final tempo.
18:15. Silent Night – practice tips.
21:37. Joy to the World – demonstration in the final tempo.
22:32. We Wish You a Merry Christmas – demonstration in the final tempo.
23:12. We Wish You a Merry Christmas – practice tips.
25:11. We Wish You a Merry Christmas – another (more advanced) arrangement.
Here are the scores that I used for today’s lesson (click to view and download):
Jingle Bells
The First Noel
Silent Night
Joy to The World
We Wish You a Merry Christmas – Easy Version
We Wish You a Merry Christmas – More Complex Version
At the end of a year it’s always interesting (and instructive! LOL) to look back and highlight the most special moments. This year was a really amazing (and busy!) one – because it taught me that dreams DO come true (of course, with lots of dedication and perseverance :)).
I am sooooooo happy that on 15th of February 2012 I ‘brought to life’ one of my biggest piano dreams: PianoCareerAcademy.com – a Holistic Piano Coaching Program based on interactive learning where I share the professional principles of the Russian Piano School via my holistic approach to piano playing, music and lifestyle.
Very soon, in February 2013, our Private Members Forum forum will be 1 year old – and I can’t believe how much distance we have covered during these 10 months! We already have hundreds of video and written tutorials available for our members – not to mention the thousands of exciting piano conversations where everyone shares their experience, recordings, piano goals, dilemmas and their dreams!
Another special moment was the launch (in the beginning of September) of an exclusive Step-by-Step Video Course based on Nikolaev’s Russian School of Piano Playing – the most important method book for beginners (grades 1-2) that we use in the Russian Piano School. Twelve Lessons are already LIVE in the Members Area – and I continue to post a new lesson each week. By the way, Lesson No. 1 is also available here, on PianoCareer.com! 😉
Inspired by the questions of my online students, I also designed hundreds of other piano tutorials (in video or written form). A couple of these tutorials are available on this site – and you can get access to all the other ones by joining my Piano Coaching Program ;). Here is the Complete List of Available Tutorials that you can find on PianoCareerAcademy.com!
I have many new interesting plans and projects for 2013 – and I hope you’ll enjoy the new tutorials that I am currently designing ;). I will not spoil the surprise – but I’ll certainly send an email notification to all my email newsletter subscribers each time I publish a new tutorial!
And now – a little advice:
Most of us set goals at the beginning of a new year. However, many of these goals get lost in the middle of our daily routine, until they’re totally forgotten on a little ‘dusty shelf’ of our mind. We blame it on lack of time, on stress, on our demanding job…
However, the real reason behind ‘forgotten’ goals and dreams is fear. We’re reluctant to begin a new musical (or non-musical) project because we’re afraid of failure. We dream about learning a beautiful new piece, but we keep procrastinating because we fear that we’re not ready to play it yet. We would love to play in a big concert, but performance anxiety keeps us ‘paralyzed’.
We’re afraid of change. We’re afraid of the unknown. We’re afraid to get out of our comfort zone. We’re afraid to try new things.
For this reason, we invent tons of excuses to keep us from doing the things we really love (or from learning a difficult piece, or from playing on stage, or from getting our piano degree).
So how do we let go of this fear? The answer is much simpler than most of us imagine: by taking the first step. Simply take the first step in the direction of your new dream! DO instead of plan! Today – yes, even during the holidays! Print (buy) that score. Then place it on your piano. Then decipher the first line. And then tomorrow take another tiny step. And the next day do the same. And when you look back after one week, you will be amazed to see how much you have accomplished!
And now imagine what you can do in ONE YEAR! 😀 😉
Believe in yourself, dream big and have courage! Things are always much easier (and less scarier) than they seem.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and have a Happy, bright, successful and fabulous New Year!!!
See you in 2013!!! 
Ilinca
P.S. Many new articles and video tutorials are coming soon on PianoCareer.com! Follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Google + (and now also on Pinterest!) to get instant updates, support and motivation!
If you enjoyed this free online piano lesson, here are some other piano learning and practice topics you’ll like:
Christmas Tutorial for Piano Beginners and Intermediates!
Chopin – Impromptu No. 1 in Ab Major, op. 29. Piano Tutorial
No Time to Practice? 5 Powerful Solutions for Lack of Time
The Key Principles of Correct Piano Practice: A Step-By-Step Holistic Guide
Bach-Liszt – Organ Prelude in A Minor, BWV 543. Detailed Piano Tutorial and Real-Time Practice
easy christmas carols for piano, christmas carols for piano beginners, christmas songs on piano for beginners, easy christmas songs piano, how to play christmas songs on piano, christmas songs for piano easy, christmas carols piano, easy christmas carols piano, best christmas songs to play on piano, easy christmas songs to play on piano, christmas piano tutorial easy, easy christmas songs on piano, christmas songs to play on the piano, how to play christmas songs on the piano, easy christmas songs for piano, christmas songs to play on piano, piano christmas songs for beginners