The Easy Piano Christmas Collection

Nice arrangements!

I loved the selections in this book. One reviewer said pages fell out on the first use--I will have it bound for use every Christmas. I love the look of the layout and I liked the paper. The songs are in big note style and for a first year student that is perfect. I needed the book for a first recital Christmas party and found most of the songs perfect for appropriateness for a short play at the piano. The songs are not too long, 2 verses are just right for a party. Thanks to another reviewer a list of the songs were provided! I recommend this book as a good buy for years to come.

I purchased this book to add to my limited repitoire. I gave it two stars because it does have a lot of Christmas songs in it, some of them unique, odd, hard to find, etc. However, I only gave it two stars because I find the arrangements to be really off. Mostly because of the super simple style in which its written, the left hand accompaniment is often odd, or just plain sounds wrong. I am not a beginning pianist, so I have improvised my own fills and noodling to help round out the simplistic sound, but if I follow the chord progressions as written, I find many of the songs sounding awful. For the beginning or intermediate pianist this would be rather unhelpful I would think. I played a gig at a pizzeria bar tonight, and pulled this book out for the first time in two years. Yep, still awkward to play from. A warning to a more advanced player who may wish to use this music like a fake book. You will be doing more faking than you think.

This is a great book for beginner / novice piano players. I haven't tried all of the songs yet but everything I've played so far sounds as expected - no strange arrangements or anything. You also do not need to play the songs with both hands in order for the songs to sound good, so if you need to you can start with your right hand only and then add your left when you get better. The book is pretty comprehensive in that it includes most Christmas songs you can think of and more.

In recent months I've spent a lot of money trying to find Christmas books. They usually are to difficult, to easy, or sound like crap. This fell right in the middle. Easy enough to sight read though some require a little more practice than others. I practice from it everyday, I can't wait until Christmas.

There are many easy piano Christmas/holiday books out there today...but none are as good as this one. Why, you ask? Well, for one, there is the name Bill Boyd. If you are not familiar with this name, shame on you. Mr. Boyd does amazing things with very few notes. His easy piano arrangements are some of the most full, complex sounding arrangements around. The other reason why this book is a must have, the hlidays come once a year, I only play about, oh, once a year. So, even though I can read fairly well, I just do not practice like I should (now shame on me) and the easy piano arrangements are perfect for people like me.Get it and have a great holiday!Here's the table of contents (59 songs):Away In A MangerAway In A MangerThe Boar's Head CarolBring A Torch, Jeannette, IsabellaThe Chipmunk SongThe Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)Christmas Time Is HereThe Christmas WaltzCoventry CarolDeck The HallThe First NoelThe Friendly BeastsFrosty The Snow ManGo, Tell It On The MountainGod Rest Ye Merry, GentlemenGoin' On A SleighrideGood Christian Men, RejoiceGood King WenceslasHark! The Herald Angels SingHere We Come A-WassailingA Holly Jolly Christmas(There's No Place Like) Home For The HolidaysI Heard The Bells On Christmas DayI Saw Three ShipsI'll Be Home For ChristmasIt Came Upon The Midnight ClearIt's Beginning To Look Like ChristmasJingle-Bell RockJingle BellsJingle, Jingle, JingleJolly Old St. NicholasJoy To The WorldLet It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!March Of The ToysA Marshmallow WorldMerry Christmas, DarlingThe Merry Christmas PolkaThe Most Wonderful Day Of The YearNuttin' For ChristmasO Christmas TreeO Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)O Come, O Come ImmanuelO Holy NightO Little Town Of BethlehemO SanctissimaParade Of The Wooden SoldiersPretty PaperRockin' Around The Christmas TreeRudolph The Red-Nosed ReindeerSilent NightSilver And GoldSilver BellsSuzy SnowflakeToylandUp On The HousetopWe Three Kings Of Orient AreWe Wish You A Merry ChristmasWhat Child Is This?While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

After only about 6 months of learning the piano and just getting into some "basics", I was impressed that I could break down the music as well as I could. The book is written for a "beginning piano student" to be able to pick it up and start playing. I would recommend it to anybody who just wants to start playing "real" music!

There is a good selection of Christmas songs. However - many of the songs only have 1-2 verses. Also - about 10 pages fell out after using the book once - poor binding.