Did you know that Jingle Bells and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas can be played together at the same time?
They can!
And when this happens, it’s so very special.
I call it A Jolly Little Jingle.
With this piano trio, you can teach the performers and your audience — through experience — what counterpoint is. They likely already know these famous Jolly and Jingle Christmas melodies very well, so their familiarity will make it easier for them to hear the tunes simultaneously.
This builds musical understanding and listening skills, all the while helping students appreciate beauty.
In the United States, the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) is a wonderful supporter of living composers. It’s an honour for me that they’ve chosen my piano trio, A Jolly Little Jingle, for inclusion in their syllabus (Federation Festivals Bulletin) year over year.
This trio is appropriate for the listed NFMC classes and for Christmas, holiday and ‘Christmas in July’ performances!
1. History of the music
One thing these two Christmas numbers have in common is that they are both American originals.
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas is a traditional American carol. It was probably created in the middle of the 1800s, though it is unknown who the songwriter was. Some think it may have been Benjamin R. Hanby, who wrote another Christmas favourite, Up On the Housetop.
It was always a favourite in my house as I was growing up. My dad had fond memories of his big brother singing in the 1930s, “As for me my little brain isn’t very bright….”
Jingle Bells, another popular American song, was written by James Pierpont in Massachusetts for American Thanksgiving in the 1850s. It was published and copyrighted in 1857 under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh.”
It may seem a little strange to Canadians and some Americans that Jingle Bells was originally a Thanksgiving tune. In Canada, Thanksgiving happens in the second week of October when autumn leaves are still bright red and orange. In the 1850s, ‘Christmas creep‘ hadn’t yet begun in the United States. Thanksgiving and Christmas were still separate holidays.
Back in the middle of 19th century, Boston, Massachusetts was as snowy as winter in late November, when American Thanksgiving occurs. People would already have been travelling in their sleighs. James Pierpont wrote Jingle Bells for his Sunday School pupils to perform for their Thanksgiving pageant. But nowadays Jingle Bells is definitely associated with Christmas all over the world.
2. Structure of A Jolly Little Jingle
Here’s how the tunes, Jingle Bells and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, are woven together in three sections:
Jingle Bells section. In the first section, Parts 2 and 3 play together in a languid, slow and expressive rendition of Jingle Bells. Here, the player in the middle of the piano plays Jingle Bells in an Elementary/Prep B arrangement. The lower player accompanies with broken, lyrical chords.
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas section. In the second section, Parts 1 and 3 play together. The lower player introduces a spunky, staccato A minor bass line reminiscent of Carmen’s Habanera. The highest player plays Jolly Old Saint Nicholas in an Early Elementary/beginner arrangement. Even though the lower part is minor, the beginner part in and of itself remains in C major, but sounds minor when blended with the lower part.
Jingle Bells and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas together. In the third section, parts 1, 2 and 3 all play together at the same time with a return to the broken chord accompaniment from the first section. This helps the structure feel like ABA. While the lower part accompanies, Jingle Bells and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas are both played together at the same time. This creates Christmas Counterpoint!
3. Which students?
With the above outline in mind, here are the students who will love to play this piece:
Early Elementary/Beginner. Part 1 (the highest player) is for a beginner and is written in early staff notation. The music for Jolly Old Saint Nicholas is primarily in middle C position, with the ending stepping up to the treble space C. If your beginner has not yet learned to read up to the space C, you may teach the ending by rote. This performer plays two octaves higher than written.
Elementary/Prep B. For Part 2 (the middle player), keep in mind that even though the notation looks easy, playing a trio in and of itself is tricky, so Jingle Bells is just right for a strong Elementary student, or a good Late Elementary student, which is about RCM Level 1 to 2. Even tweens and teens enjoy this challenge. This performer plays in the upper middle of the piano, loco, as written.
For Part 3, the lower part, there’s a choice of difficulty. There are two versions of the trio provided with every purchase of the music. The first option is written for an Intermediate/Level 4 player and keeps the chords in broken triad form. The second option is for an Early Advanced/Level 7 student (or teacher), and the chords are in four-note form for larger hands. There are recordings of both versions below.
4. FREE printable game for listeners/audience
If your performance is at a group party or a recital, you may include a game for your listeners.
A Jolly Little Jingle is a performance piece that lends itself well to audience participation. Take advantage of audience familiarity with Jingle Bells and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, and use this opportunity to educate your listeners on what exactly counterpoint is. And it’s fun!
Prior to the performance, prepare several red and green cards to represent the two tunes in this piece. On each green card write “Jingle” and on each red card, “Jolly.” Get your FREE printable here.
Invite children in the audience to come forward and gather in an open space on the floor in front of the piano. These participants may be piano students, younger siblings or friends. Give each child two pieces of coloured paper to hold, red for one hand, green for the other.
Explain that in music, the melody is the tune that you can sing. Sometimes composers write two melodies that can stand on their own, but also be played or sung together, at the same time. When two melodies happen at the same time, it is called counterpoint.
In A Jolly Little Jingle there are two familiar tunes. When you hear “Jingle Bells” hold up the green card and when you hear “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” hold up the red card. When you hear them both at the same time, in counterpoint, you know just what to do! Hold up both cards!
To see this game in action, watch this video!
4. Performance with Part 3 arranged for Intermediate (smaller hands)
Here is A Jolly Little Jingle with Part 3 arranged for Intermediate/Level 4. Those with smaller hands will enjoy playing this version. The broken triads keeps the lyrical lower part simpler.
At this time I prefer this version, myself, after a computer-related injury in my right wrist. It means I can still play this piece.
5. Performance with Original Part 3 for EA (larger hands)
Here is A Jolly Little Jingle with Part 3 for Early Advanced/Level 7. Those with larger hands will enjoy playing this version. The right hand’s expansive four-note chords enrich the lower part.
This was recorded with multi-tracking, with me playing all parts, layering my performances one on top of another.
6. My story of composing and arranging A Jolly Little Jingle
As the arranger, I’d like to lift the lid on how I created this.
My brain can work like a freight train in the middle of the night and sometimes I have a difficult time falling and staying asleep. One night in 2005 as I lay awake, I ran both tunes (Jolly Old Saint Nicholas and Jingle Bells) through my head simultaneously and figured out in the dark and without a piano that they could be performed together.
It wasn’t long before I’d worked it out on my piano which chord progression would tie the two together. The Em7 chord is the key.
At the time, I had a six year-old and a three year-old. In 2008, I had my third child. A piece like this takes a lot of editing to publish, so it had to wait until I had time. Ten years after I first created it, in 2015, I published it for the first time.
A Jolly Little Jingle is now available as a print book, which comes with individual sheets. So, you’ll only have to purchase one package and everyone will have a sheet to take home to practice. You may also choose to purchase a studio-licensed eBook, which gives you allowance to print all the sheets you need for your own studio performance.
Get the trio for yourself!
This trio has spark!
It demonstrates hands-on and with a game what counterpoint is! Kids learn so much more when they’re having fun.
And it adds beauty to any Christmas (or Christmas in July) music event! And it is a great NFMC trio selection!
Here’s the link where you may order the 9×12 print book package, which includes practice sheets for Parts 1 and 2, plus the main score for Part 3: A Jolly Little Jingle print book.
Here’s the link where you may order the 8 1/2 x 11 eBook, which you may download and print. It includes a license to print for your own studio for as long as you teach. You may print practice sheets for Parts 1 and 2, plus the main score for Part 3: A Jolly Little Jingle eBook.
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Video of the Week
Winter Daydream (Levels: US, Late Elementary. AMEB, Level 1. ABRSM, 1. RCM, Level 2.) weaves a brooding impression of a dance between the winter wind and glittering snowflakes. In the key of A minor, the left hand plays a descending chromatic line that might be the wind, while the right hand plays rotating thirds, which might be the snowflakes. As hands alternate, the student can create a delicate balance between the rich melodic lines, and the sparkling eighth notes. It all builds to a dancing frenzy in a storm of wintery delight, before settling back into a quiet dream. Available as the studio-licensed Winter Daydream eSheet!
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