Christmas Piano Music for Adults: Six Arrangements to Start With

Knowing a Christmas tune helps you hear where it is going, but it does not tell you how hard the piano arrangement will be. One version of “Silent Night” may share a single melody between the hands; another adds changing chords, pedal and a flowing introduction. The useful question is what you want to be able to play comfortably when December arrives.

For a small first repertoire, we would start with “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in Faber’s Adult Piano Adventures Christmas Book 1. Their opening melodies pass between the hands, so you can work on a recognisable musical line before taking on continuous accompaniment. If you already read both clefs and change left-hand chords comfortably, move further into that book to “Silent Night.” The six choices below refer to specific arrangements, with previews to help you judge the fit.

Start with a melody you can keep moving

Jingle Bells

Faber, Adult Piano Adventures Christmas Book 1, page 12.

The opening verse in Faber’s preview is largely a single tune divided between the hands. That keeps the texture light, though it asks you to follow the melody across two staves. When the right hand stops and the left takes over, the phrase should carry on at the same pace.

This is a useful choice if playing two independent parts still feels like a lot. There is a little more to it than repeated notes: the first page includes a finger crossing near the end of the verse and occasional supporting notes. Practise that crossing before trying to speed up. A comfortable, even verse will sound much more inviting than a hurried one with a pause before each new hand position.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Faber, Adult Piano Adventures Christmas Book 1, page 6.

This arrangement also shares the melody between the hands, but its three-beat bars give you a different rhythmic job. The opening begins before the first full bar. If you treat that first note as a heavy downbeat, the tune can feel awkward even when every pitch is correct.

Count a full bar before starting, then place the pickup where it belongs. Keep the little pairs of shorter notes inside the same pulse. The handoffs are worth practising in pairs of bars: finish one phrase fragment and continue into the next without preparing the new hand in a separate pause. Together with “Jingle Bells,” this makes a manageable pair from one book rather than a shopping list of unrelated editions.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Alfred, Basic Adult Piano Course: Christmas Piano Book 1, page 10.

Alfred’s sample PDF opens this arrangement around middle C, with the melody moving between the hands. The book places it after the lesson on dotted quarter notes. Choose it when you want a broad, familiar carol without a busy accompaniment. Keep the handoff smooth and let the longer notes last; the opening needs room to sing. A separate duet part supplies a fuller harmony when someone joins you.

Add a little more movement and harmony

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Faber, Adult Piano Adventures Christmas Book 1, page 20.

This is the Lewis Redner melody, which matters if you know the carol to a different tune. Check the opening score before choosing it for a family sing-along. The accompaniment is sparse, but the right hand has a sharp and marked finger crossings, so a quiet-looking page still gives you something to learn.

The reward is a melody with more movement than a fixed five-finger pattern. Take the first crossing slowly enough to feel where the new finger lands, then practise the whole phrase at an even pace. Avoid making the crossing note louder simply because it took more preparation. This is a good next choice after the first two songs if you want to work on a gentle, connected sound.

Silent Night

Faber, Adult Piano Adventures Christmas Book 1, page 32.

The preview of “Silent Night” shows a noticeable step up in coordination. It begins with an introduction that travels upward between the hands, including a left-hand crossing, before the tune enters over chords and moving bass notes. Pedal markings appear too. This is a better fit for someone comfortable with basic chords than for a player still finding every note.

Begin with the tune’s entrance at bar 5. Learn how the accompaniment changes underneath it, and add the introduction once that feels settled. Keep the right-hand line audible above the chords. The slow pace gives you time to listen to the balance, but it also makes uneven chord attacks quite exposed. If pedal blurs the harmony, leave it out while you get the hands organised.

O Christmas Tree

Alfred, Basic Adult Piano Course: Christmas Piano Book 1, page 22.

Alfred’s G-major arrangement brings in left-hand chords, right-hand two-note shapes and dotted rhythm. It belongs later in the book than “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” Choose it if you can already change basic chord shapes without stopping. Work through the chord changes quietly, then restore the melody above them; the tune should stay clear when both hands become fuller. It is a useful contrast to a simpler melody-sharing arrangement, with more of the harmony in your own hands.

A teacher duet can change the whole sound

A simple student part can sound much richer with an accompaniment underneath. That is particularly helpful when you like the tune but feel disappointed by a bare melody. Both publishers’ previews include separate duet parts; the pages instruct the student to play an octave higher so the other pianist has space below.

Look carefully at which part a demonstration is showing. A beginner score with a teacher accompaniment does not mean that the beginner is expected to play everything heard. The lower part may be substantially harder, so these are useful for a teacher, a more experienced friend or a family member, rather than automatically being equal-level duets.

Before playing together, agree on a comfortable speed and count in. Practise the start and ending as well as the middle. If one person has to restart a passage, decide where both players will come back in; trying to catch each other by guesswork is frustrating.

Which book should you buy?

One well-chosen collection should be enough to get started. These are supplementary Christmas books, so if you also need explanations of basic reading and technique, our Alfred and Faber adult-method comparison covers the main courses.

Choose two, then get them ready to play

Before committing, look beyond the first line. Find the busiest passage, any new chord shapes and the ending. If the whole page introduces unfamiliar problems, save it for later and choose something closer to what you already play. Our post on choosing your next piece develops that decision.

Give the two songs different jobs. One can be the comfortable tune you keep playing through; the other can receive the slower work on a crossing, rhythm or chord change. You do not need to spend equal time on them every day. That is the same principle we use when planning practice for more than one piece.

As the music becomes familiar, practise an uninterrupted version at a speed you can sustain. Include the count-in, repeats you intend to take and the final release. If someone will sing along, try it with them before the occasion: their breathing may suggest a more comfortable tempo than the one you chose alone.

Keep the book open if it helps. Two songs you can enjoy playing all the way through are a perfectly good Christmas repertoire.

Featured photo: Any Lane / Pexels.