Hello,
A few problems so I've actually only been able to post one in about 4 months! Sorry for the lack of comment/messages/general awareness of recent topics etc!!

I was just wondering if you give students christmas pieces to learn? Either leading up to, or over christmas? If so, when do you start looking at them.

I know it is November! Just wondering how many teachers do this sort of thing or if you keep them going with standard repertoire?

Thanks

The older ones I rarely give any to at all. The younger ones, any time from now onwards, they are always so eager to play Christmas Carols and it does wonders for the sight reading. Mind you, I always end up with a bad back playing the duet parts with the really early beginners and not sitting at the right angle.

I start them a few weeks before the end of term - I tend to give ones I know they'll play pretty easily so they sight read them easily and it doesn't take long to learn them. I got asked by one little girl this week if we could start Christmas carols now but I may wait a week or so.

Some time in the next couple of weeks so they've time to learn 3 or 4 at least.
I always ask if they want to first.

My school pupils only have 4 lessons of their 11 lesson quota left this term. I will probably do something Christmas related in the last couple of lessons but keep their 'normal' repertoire etc going at the same time.
Scary - that means I need to start thinking what I'll do with them in the next week or so!

My private pupils have 5 lessons - depending on who wants to do what, I'll introduce Christmas things in the last 3 lessons of term but not work exclusively on Christmas pieces. I would choose things that they can learn very quickly and therefore easier than the other things they are working on. Maybe even do some fun sight-reading or a fun duet.


Louise

My 'term' ends around 19 December - probably the last week of November or later.

I gave the first Christmas pieces to pupils this evening. There are only 6 lessons left before Christmas and I have decided this year to let them have fairly easy Christmas pieces that they can learn purely for pleasure leaving plenty of time for the other things we are already doing. It ties in with my efforts to give them all a certain number of easier pieces to play at ther same time as extending their level. I've never felt I did enough of that so I'm trying to improve that side of my teaching and Christmas seems a good bet. They can choose several easy pieces if they like. I imagine that by the time they want to give a litlle Christmas concert to their families several of them will have a little Christmas repertoire - well you can always be optimistic!

For those who want to, I usually do Christmas pieces from just after the October/November half term holiday.

I start before half term as my pupils play at a local church's Christmas Tree festival on the last Saturday in November, so we need to get them reasonably polished. I make sure that what they play is well within their capability. A few do Christmas pieces as well as carols, and I make sure that these are well underway beforehand. They can also recycle from the previous year - it's the music that is important, not whether it has been played before. I have to say that I'm usually a bit fed up with Christmas carols by the time Christmas comes!

Mrs Next-door Cello teacher started hers before half term and it did make me shudder as well as admire her forward planning

Personally I start my lot at Easter time, and with any luck something which sounds like a carol will come out the other end. Feeling rather at the moment, can't for the life of me think why.

I was thinking about starting mine this week or next. I'm putting it off for as long as possible cos I don't think I can cope with hearing jingle bells being played badly for the next 4 weeks.

Me, too! And then the first lesson after Christmas, they sometimes get out their Christmas pieces!

Note to self - make sure they all get other pieces to take home in the Christmas break!

It depends on the ability of the pupil. For my little ones they've started them this week, especially as some of them are expected to play in school concerts. For the older ones I don't really mention them and wont offer it unless they say they want to do it. I love Christmas but there's only so many times I can hear Jingle Bells played veeeeeeerry slowly!

Does anyone here do Christmas pieces out of season? I ask that because 'Jingle Bells' is very frequently printed early on in many a clarinet/sax/flute tutor book...

I usually skip that and come back to it when the season is almost upon us!

I did once have a pupil though who are teetering on the brink of quitting. She was very musical so it would have been a great shame. However she absolutely LOVED played Christmas music so from November to June (when we stopped for summer) that is all she played.

It sparked her interest again (when eventually she agreed to try something else!) But it did make my Tuesday rather surreal in April!!!

Most of the younger ones seem to want to do carols, but I'd like to introduce some Christmas pieces as well. Do you have any suggestions for resources, Suepea?

I try to wait until the beginning of Advent before I issue anything Christmassy. That seems to be a good time because I find concentration amongst the younger ones tends to dip as parties and other events take precedence over practice.

Me, too. In fact I would absolutely love it if no-one thought about Christmas until then!
When I moved back to the UK in 2003, I was genuinely shocked to find Christmas cards and decorations in the shops in August.
But when it gets to the first of December, out come my Advent candles (Advent was celebrated in a big way in Norway) and I love to be able to have them switched on in the dark mornings and evenings.

One of my students is preparing for Grade 3 piano and is working on 'Les Pifferari' for list B, which is a great piece for Christmas!

That might be the ideal but in reality that would mean most students only managing one or two Christmas pieces.

I start after half term, because there are lots of Christmas performances in early-mid December. As well as teaching clarinet/ saxophone in the evenings, I teach recorder to infants and juniors at a local school and they need some weeks to get the carols really polished (we play in 3 and 4 parts in my year 4/5/6 group and some of the children playing treble haven't been doing it for long!)