We might not always notice it’s there… but when envisioning our perfect winter holiday celebration, the picture is just not complete without music.
Not sure where to begin with setting up your holiday soundtrack? Let’s gather some inspiration for how you can enhance the holiday atmosphere and create the perfect mood, whether it’s a quiet night in or an extravagant party with as many friends and family as could fit in the room.
Bring Up The Energy
Got a party planned? Need to entertain the kids? Decorating the tree? Just gotta get up and dance? It’s time to find a Spotify playlist of party music (or create your own!) and connect it up to your speakers or TV.
You can also make a game out of music. Kids will love a game of musical statues with holiday tunes like ‘Jingle Bells’ or ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ (though you’ll need plenty of space for it). A family sing-along or karaoke session may also be a popular choice.
To test your music knowledge, you might like to play a variation of ‘guess the song’ from one of the many websites on the internet. Remember the viral game ‘Wordle’ and its audio equivalent ‘Heardle’? With this game, you must guess the song of the day from a short preview. There is now a Christmas music version which you can find here: https://christmas.heardledecades.com.
Ambience and Nostalgia
Our childhood memories of the holidays are often fondly remembered when we hear a certain song, whether it is holiday-related or not. You might put together a playlist of music from the ‘early days’, or, if you’re lucky enough, get the old vinyl player out of the attic and give it a spin. One of our students gives the example of ‘Sleigh Ride’ by Leroy Anderson, her favorite childhood song and one which her high school band played every year at the winter concert. Songs like these we can never get bored of, as they remind us of the childlike wonder and excitement of the holiday season.
To get all cozy, a YouTube video with a crackling fireplace is perfect to stream to the TV, and saves cleaning up the mess of a real fire. Soundscapes are very popular on YouTube to create the ultimate cozy atmosphere, for example this one with old-fashioned music muffled as though coming from another room, the sound of people chatting and a fireplace crackling. Lovely! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tfQCcnyUr0
The Holiday Message
There are all kinds of religious tunes out there to take your pick from: peaceful Christian hymns like Silent Night, upbeat contemporary versions like Canadian rock band Downhere’s ‘How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas’ album, traditional Yiddish songs like ‘Oy Chanukah’ (with a wonderful classic rendition by the renowned Klezmer Conservatory Band) or even sweetly romantic synth-pop like Buzzy Lee’s ‘Give You Everything’.
These are perfect for a family sing-along, or perhaps to make sitting around the dinner table all the more sentimental and filled with praise.
We hope you all have a fantastic holiday season and can’t wait to see you all in the new year!
Studio 237 Music Lessons will help you find your beat. Call 850.231.3199 to schedule a visit of the studio. We offer lessons on piano, guitar (acoustic, bass, electric, classical), voice, ukulele, Drumming and song writing. Visit www.Studio237Music.com.
