Hallo
Does anyone else here play Christmas carols on autopilot? I find them so repetitive, I just switch off, keep half an eye on the music and my brain wanders off elsewhere. Its annoying! But is it a bad thing? (Obviously I'd be better off paying attention, but how bad is it?) How do I keep my attention on the music?
Thanks
Rosemary.

I don't play, I sing - so what with church choir, carol singing around the village and various concerts with other choirs I sing many, many carols at Christmas time. It's funny, but no matter how many times I sing them (alto) I never tire of them - the words and harmonies are superb - and as for "that" chord in the last chorus of the arrangement of Hark the Herald - well, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time!

I have no objection to singing them, especially alto parts But really, the same 3 lines repeated for 6 verses and then on to the next concert.......

I know the feeling...

Yes, to a certain degree, I'm on the auto-pilot, but I am always thinking ahead to change voicing (organ). If I'm playing on the piano, I sometimes add one or two jazzy chords to spice up a bit...

All i do, look at the key, the structure and play whatever I feel, 9 times out of 10 it's what is written

I treat carols the same way I treat hymns - play the tune at normal pitch for some verses, switch to the alto line for others, play the treble line up an octave for some, etc. (this is for flute/clarinet obviously).

T.

I make them more interesting by randomly chosing what instrument I want to play about 5 seconds before we start playing, and then have fun transposing them as I go

Oh, and playing things up the octave and adding random trills is always fun with a piccolo!! Even if it does result in killer looks from the conductor when he gets his ears blasted out by it!

*grin* There's /nothing/ random about which instrument I use for which hymns/carols if I have both flute and clarinet with me. It's determined by the key signature. ;-)
I'd rather sight-transpose than deal with more flats than I have to, but I'm not going to transpose into 4+ sharps unnecessarily.

T.

sight transposing even Jingle Bells seems an unattainable art - think I'll hibernate!

I love playing Carols, I'm going to a fiddle session next week where we'll be jamming some Christmas songs.
Luckily, on the violin, if I can hum a tune in my head I can play it pretty much straight off, especially fairly simple melodies like Christmas songs and carols.
I was jamming along to Slade, Wizzard and The Pogues last night.

No, I find they come alive again every year.

I tend to go onto auto if I'm playing the tune. I'm praying that tonight (I'm conducting) that I won't and I'll at least remember to keep track of which verse we are on! Last year when I was leading from the clarinet somewhere during the 5 verses of Once in Royal a small child made a bid for freedom past the band....I managed to catch hold of her and keep her next to me rather than risking her running into the back room. The front row of the congregation got a serious attack of the giggles at me trying to hiss to them 'how many more verses?' Trying to use a clarinet as a baton whilst holding hands with a todler made me decide to come out of my comfort zone and actually attempt to conduct this year.

I sing the main ones on auto pilot, but I called for reverential hush this morning for Warlock Bethlehem Down. It was making me go all goose pimply. Oh how I wish the rest of the family would respect that effect.

At church I used to get so bored of playing the same carols over and over again that I'd just improvise and pretend not to have the music. Got some funny looks from the pianist and clarinettist though!

I dislike Christmas

My cousin are musical, They play the Recorder, Violin and Piano.

Because I'm a grade 7 I'm suppose to be amazing and can play ANYTHING easily very well. I don't so I spend 2-3 weeks before hand learning christmas carols so they can apperciate christmas carol I play however if played by their kids play it, they dislike it and I don't htink it is fair and disregard them because they are at a lower standerd of playing.