Music and the Holidays

When we think about what makes the holiday season special, many aspects come to mind. We cherish our time with family, cookies, candy canes, snow, lights, and of course, the music. Music and the holidays go hand-in-hand, and I can't imagine what this time of the year would look like without the soundtrack that brings it to life. Every movie, every church, and every radio station is currently full of music that brings us such joy.

No other holiday has such a deep tradition of music as Christmas time. Countless carols, hymns, and secular pieces of music have been written to celebrate this time of the year. On top of that, countless covers of traditional music have been created to give new life to old songs. Every great band has at least one Christmas album where they put their own spin on traditional holiday music. Even Weezer has their own Christmas song:

This time of year, musicians are often more stressed out than others due to the high demand for Christmas music in churches and concerts. Churches hire brass quartets or form a choir for Christmas services. Schools have concerts showing off the many talents of their young performances. We find our schedules filling up fast and many musicians actually dread the busy schedule.

All in all, the holidays are a great time for musicians to perform and advocate for music education. None of us want a holiday season lacking the soundtracks that we all love. In order to keep the magic alive at this time, we must continue to educate musicians and help our youth learn music, or we will soon live in a world that a pre-large-heart Grinch would be happy to live in.

This past month, ukulele and piano students from Noted Studios had the opportunity to play music at a local nursing home. Students played and sang Christmas carols and played piano songs from their lesson books. The residents were so appreciative that these students shared the gift of music with them. They sang along and listened politely while the students performed. Did they all play perfectly? No. But they still shared their music with others and it brought the residents and staff great joy.

Are you looking to spread Christmas joy to those around you? What better gift than the gift of music? Buy your family a keyboard, a guitar, or a ukulele. This is a great time of the year to dive in and start learning how to play an instrument. If not for yourself, give the gift of an instrument or lessons to a loved one. Give them the opportunity to learn a skill that will last them a lifetime. Let them learn holiday carols and by next year they can be spreading the joy of music to those around them during the holiday season. Christmas is magical--and so is music.