"O Holy Night"

Learn how to play "O Holy Night" on piano in this how to play Christmas songs video by Howcast. Expert: Paul Sandberg

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Impress family and friends this holiday season by playing a few Christmas songs on the piano. Paul Sandberg shows you how in these Howcast videos.

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How to Play Christmas Songs on Piano: "O Holy Night" My name is Paul Sandberg. I am an actor, singer and teacher in the New York City area. For more information, please visit my website at paulsandberg.net. [singing/playing here] So that was "O Holy Night," also known as "cantique de noel" by Adolphe Adam. This song has many, many verses, each with a slightly different melodic variation. I just did the first verse which is also probably the best known verse. This is one of the harder Christmas songs to really sink your teeth into, but it can be made easier if you notice that really the left hand is just playing some blank cords, those chords being B flat, E flat, D and F, then we're back to B. The most tricky part would be the pattern in the right hand, that pattern being 1/3, 2/5, 2/1, and those just block out the main chords. We're still just playing a B flat chord here. You will have a slightly easier time, you can just play the melody with the right hand, nothing stopping you from doing that. Put that in with the left hand's chorus and you just have [singing/playing here].

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  • Paul Sandberg

    Paul Sandberg is an actor, vocalist, and teacher who is passionate about education in the arts. Paul has taught as an adjunct instructor of voice at New York University in the Steinhardt School's department of Music and Performing Arts Professions and currently teaches through his private vocal studio. Paul holds a Bachelor of Music in opera performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at Cal State Univ. Long Beach. He also holds a Master of Music in vocal performance with a concentration in Music Theater and an Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from New York University.