THE

ChristmaS
sonGbook

K E V I N C A ST R O & C A R LO S C A ST R O
 THE

ChristmaS
sonGbook

Copyright © 2023 by Musora Media Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-77421-015-4
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods,
without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in critical and certain other noncommercial users permitted by copyright law.
Printed in Canada.

www.musora.com www.pianote.com
2
Table of Contents
4 Foreword
5 Introduction

ORIGINAL SIMPLIFIED

7 10 Angels We Have Heard on High

13 15 Auld Lang Syne

17 20 Away in a Manger

21 26 Carol of the Bells

29 33 Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

35 38 Deck the Halls

39 42 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

43 46 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

49 52 Jingle Bells

55 57 Joy to the World

59 63 O Christmas Tree

65 69 O Holy Night

73 76 O Little Town of Bethlehem

79 82 Silent Night

85 88 The First Noel

91 94 The Holly and the Ivy

95 102 The Twelve Days of Christmas

109 112 We Three Kings

115 117 We Wish You a Merry Christmas

119 122 What Child Is This?

124 Conclusion

3
Foreword
I remember waiting impatiently for that moment when the first notes of “Silent
Night” came floating through the room. Grandpa was at his piano, and suddenly
it felt like Christmas. Every year since I can remember, this has been our family
tradition. To me the holidays were always more about the music than the gifts. In a
way, the music was the gift!

As I got older and more confident at the piano, Grandpa started sharing the
spotlight with me. Suddenly I was the one at the keyboard, with Grandpa
accompanying on his violin. I was so proud to be part of the music in that way
(even though I was always nervous playing in front of my family!). These days my
grandparents are aging more quickly than I’d like, but Grandpa still plays carols at
Christmas.

And I cherish every year a little more.

Because I know we’re creating timeless memories. Memories of family holidays that
come flooding back every time I hear my favorite carols. That’s the power of
music. It brings us together and helps us connect.

Whatever your holiday traditions are, I hope this book will become part of
them. We designed it specifically to help you create your own special
Christmas memories.

We hand-picked classic piano Christmas songs, then created original and

simplified arrangements for you, because we truly believe that everyone
should experience the joy of playing these songs—no matter where
you’re at on your piano journey.

If you’re still working on your skills, we’ve got you: each song
comes with a practice page where you’ll find tips and helpful
notes to make learning them a little easier.

So get those chestnuts roasting, pour yourself a cup of

eggnog, warm up those fingers, and, as always…

Have fun!

Lisa

4
IntRoduction
Christmas has always been a big deal for the Castro family. That’s because Carlos—
my dad—has this crazy love for Christmas tunes. He plays them all the time. ALL.
THE. TIME. You could even say it’s Christmas all year round for us Castros.

But the holidays during the last few weeks of every December were always
extra special, because that’s when all the Castros got together to celebrate. Our
gatherings were loud, fun, and packed with laughter. And music. So much music. We
would crowd around the piano to jam and sing along to those beautiful Christmas
carols.

My dad was at the piano, and I was right there too, trying to keep up.

But it was never about perfection—and it still isn’t, even now that we’re both
professional pianists and music teachers. For us it’s about the joy of making music
together.

That’s what we hope this book will bring you: joy and togetherness through music.

We’ve chosen pieces that have always been our own holiday essentials. And because
it’s not about playing them perfectly, we’ve arranged every song in both an original
and a simplified version for solo piano so that you
can experience what we’ve always loved best
about Christmas… sharing the joy of the season
through the gift of music.

We hope you enjoy these Christmas classics—

and that they help you create timeless
memories with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas,

Kevin & Carlos

5
 Did you know?
Thomas Edison invented electric strands of Christmas lights.
However, it was nearly forty years after his invention when
Edward H. Johnson hung them on a Christmas tree.

6
 Angels we havE
Heard on hiGh
G MAJOR SCALE

KEY
G Major
F

G A B C D E G

P R AC T I C E T I P # 1
This song contains a lot of position changes for the left hand. It never
TIME
S I G N AT U R E rests! Prepare for the position changes by practicing with your left hand
Angels
on its own: take Wewith
time to play Have Heard
the most Onfingers
efficient High to help you
4/4 by James Chadwick
move through each measure. For example, when you play the interval of
a 3rd in measure 1, using fingers 1 and 2, you’ll set yourself up to hit the
final note of that measure perfectly with your 5 finger!

#
G D sus4 G

& 44 .. œœœ œœ œœ œœœ œœœ .. œ ˙˙ œœ œ œœ œœœ

œ œ œ œ .. J w
An - gels we have heard on high, sweet - ly sing - ing

œ œ
Shep - ards, why this Ju - bi - lee? Why your joy - ous

œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ
TEMPO
? # 44 .. œ ˙ œ
= 90-100 œ 2 1 5 1 ˙ ˙ œ5 2 1 5 1
5 2 5 2 5

P R AC T I C E T I P # 2
# j
D sus4 G G D sus4 G

& œœœ ...out for measure œœ mayœœbe a challenge

œœ œœœ ..
œœœ because œ ˙˙ are 8th
4
Watch œ ˙ 15—it there
noteso'erplayed as ˙ œ œ œ œ œ .. J
the octaves.
plains, This
and means
the they’ll
moun feel
- tains fast under
in your fingers.
re - ply
You can prepare for this by playing the top note of each octave using
œ œyouœœ buildœ accuracy
strains pro - long? What the glad - some ti - dings be

? # 1œ fingerœ (thumb), ˙ œ ˙ ˙
your
œ ˙ œ
which will help
œ the movement. When you’re ready, add ˙
and develop
˙ the lower
familiarity with Angels We Have Heard On High, p. 2
note
and play it as written.
D sus4 G G E 7E 7
# j
G Am Bm C G/D D G

œœ œœ œœœ œœœ ˙˙˙ ˙˙˙ œœ œ

& œœwœ ˙˙ œœ .. # ˙˙# ˙˙ œ œœ œœ
713

œœ œ œ ˙ œ. œœ œ Œ˙˙ ˙ ˙
œ œcho œ
f
e - - ing their joy - ous strains

œ œœ œ
? # œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œœ ˙ ˙
which in - spire
your nly song? Glo

Œ˙
heav' -

œœ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ ˙ ˙
œ ˙
œ œœ

Am D Em C C # dim D sus4 D

# ˙
D/F #
œ œ œ œ
C # dim

œ ˙˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ j
16

&# ˙˙˙ ˙˙˙˙˙ œ œœ œ œ # œœ œ œ œœœœ.œ ...

Am Em C D sus4 D

jœ ˙
10

& ˙ ˙˙ œ ..
œœ #œ œ P ˙ 7
ri j- a,
? # œœ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ. jœ ˙
œ œ
 Angels we have heard On hiGh
Angels We Have Heard On High
by James Chadwick
Traditional
Words by James Chadwick
( = 90-100) Arranged by Carlos Castro

#
G D sus4 G

& 44 .. œœœ œœ œœ œœœ œœœ .. œ ˙˙ œœ œ œœ œœœ

œ œ œ œ .. J w
An - gels we have heard on high, sweet - ly sing - ing

œ œ œœ œ
Shep - ards, why this Ju - bi - lee? Why your joy - ous

? # 44 .. œ œ ˙ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ
œ 2 1 5 1 ˙ ˙ œ5 2 1 5 1
5 2 5 2 5

# œ. j
D sus4 G G D sus4 G

œœ œœ œœ œœœ œœœ .. œ ˙˙
4

& œœ .. œ ˙
˙ œ œ œ œ œ .. J
o'er the plains, and the moun - tains in re - ply

œœ
strains pro - long? What the glad - some ti - dings be

?# œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙
œ œ ˙ œ ˙ ˙

D sus4 G G E7

# œœ j ˙˙ œ
& œœw œœ œœ .. # ˙˙ œ œ œ
7

œ œ œ ˙ ˙˙
œ. ˙
e - cho - ing their joy - ous strains

œœ
which in - spire your nly song? Glo

œ ˙ œ
heav' -

?# œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
œ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙

D/F # C # dim
#
Am Em C D sus4 D

& ˙˙˙ œ œ œ œ ˙˙ œ œ œ j
10

˙˙ ˙ œœ #œ œ œœœ ... œ ˙

?# œ œ j
ri - a,

˙ œ œ œ #œ œ. œ ˙
œ œ ˙ œ œ œ #œ œ. œ ˙

8
 Angels We Have Heard on High

#
G Am Bm C G/D D G E7

˙˙ œ
œœ œœ ˙˙ Œ # ˙˙ œ œ œ
13

& œœ œœ œ œœ ˙˙
œ œ œ ˙ œ
œ œ œ œ
in ex - cel - sis De - o! Glo

?# œ œ ˙ Œ œ œ œ ˙
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
œ

C # dim
#
Am D Em C D sus4 D

& ˙˙˙ œ œ œ œ ˙˙˙ œ œ œ œ j

16

˙˙ œœ œœœ ... œ ˙
#œ
?# œ œ œ œ ˙ j
ri - a,

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ. œ ˙
˙ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ. œ ˙

#
G Am Bm C G/D D G

œœ œœ ˙˙ ..
19

& œœ œœ œ ˙˙˙ ww
œ œ œ ˙ w
œ œ œ
in ex - cel - sis De o!

?# œ œ ˙ Œ w ..
œ œ œ w
œ

9
 Angels we have heard On hiGh
Angels We Have Heard On High SIMPLIFIED ARRANGEMENT
by James Chadwick

Traditional
Words by James Chadwick
Arranged by Kevin Castro

# 4 œ
G D G

œ œ œ œ. œ ˙ œ œ œ œ
& 4
3

J
˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙˙
An - gels we have heard on high, sweet - ly sing - ing

? # 44 ˙˙ ˙
Shep - ards, why this Ju - bi - lee? Why your joy - ous

# . j
D G D G

& œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ ˙
4

œ ˙ J
˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙˙
o'er the plains, and the moun - tains in re - ply

? # ˙˙ ˙
strains pro - long? What the glad - some ti - dings be

# j
D G G E

œ œ œ œ. ˙ œ œ œ œ
7

& œ œ ˙
4

˙ ˙˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙˙
e - cho - ing their joy - ous strains Glo

? # ˙˙ ˙ œ œ
which in - spire your heav' - nly song?

˙
2

D/F #
#
Am G C/G D

œ
& ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ j
10 2

œ œ œ œ.
3 1

œ ˙

?# œ œ ˙˙˙
ri - a,

˙ œ
1
œ ˙ ˙
5

10
 Angels
Angels We Have
We Have Heard
Heard On High,
on High p. 2
(Simplified)

#
G C D G E

œ œ ˙ Œ ˙ œ œ œ œ
13

& œ œ œ
2 4

in ex - cel - sis De - o! Glo

?# œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ œ œ ˙

#
Am D Em C D

œ
& ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ j
16

œ œ œ œ. œ ˙
ri - a,

?# œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ ˙ ˙˙˙

#
G C D G

œ œ ˙ ..
19

& œ œ ˙ w
www
in ex - cel - sis De o!

?# œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ ..

11