Carol of the Bells

Welcome back! Today we're gonna learn one
of my favorite Christmas songs "Carol of
the Bells.” Let's go to the piano and
check it out.
Let's look at the score.
The first thing we'll notice is the key
signature. We have two flats which tells
us that we are in the key of G minor.
G minor has a B-flat and an E-flat.
Our right hand is going to start this one
and it's going to start in a G minor
position right here in the treble clef.
Our 3rd finger starts on that B-flat.
Let's look at the rhythm there. It says TA TI-TI TA,
and it starts with 3 2 3 1.
♫ME RE ME DO♫
Try that by
yourself. Make sure that it's a nice even
rhythm with TA TI-TI TA
Good, now let's
look at the second measure.
TA TI-TI TA
Hey that's just the same as the first measure and
look at the third measure.
and the fourth.
This melodic pattern that repeats is
called an ostinato, and it's gonna repeat
the first sixteen measures of this piece.
So
we have to get this down really really
good so that we are comfortable with
what's gonna happen in the left hand.
Let's try that first four bars all by
itself.
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
Go ahead and try this measure by yourself,
and see if you can repeat it sixteen
times without stopping.
Press pause now to try it on your own and then press
play when you're ready
Good, now let's look at the next four
measures.
You see our right hand is still repeating that same pattern,
but let's
look at our left hand. Our left hand is
going to start not in G position but in a C
minor position.
You see we play that G,
but it says there with our finger 1
and
if you look at those dotted half notes,
they're gonna feel really slow
and they just go right down. Finger 1
2 3 and 4
Now let's try that
while we're saying TA TI-TI TA each time
because that's the rhythm that our right
hands gonna play
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
Good, now if you can do
that, let's try putting that right hand with out left hand together.
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
Now pause the video and
practice that on your own a few times
until it feels comfortable,
then press play when you're ready.
Great, now let's look at the next four
measures.
Our left hand just finished
getting all the way down to D on our
4th finger. Now look where it goes.
It goes back up to E-flat on our 3rd
finger,
but now it goes back to D but not with our finger 4,
but with finger 1,
which means we have to cross that under
our 3rd finger like that,
and then
finger 2 on C and then finger 5 on G.
This is a really sneaky way to get
down from C position down to G position.
Let's see that one more time. I'm going to
start on E-flat on the 3rd finger.
I'm going to play 3 1 2 5
One more time. That's E-flat, D with our thumb,
and then 2 on C, and 5 on G.
Good, let's try that while we say the TA TI-TI TA.
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
Now we're ready to try that with both hands together. We're gonna play that pattern remember?
With our left hand starting on 3rd
finger on E-flat. Ready, go,
TA TI-TI TA, thumb,
2 finger, and then G.
Good, now I recommend going back to
measure five and practicing those eight
measures together five through twelve,
and they sound like this:
The first D is with our 4th finger,
back up to E-flat
and then our thumb.
2 and then G.
Good job.
Go ahead and pause the video
and try those eight measures on your own
until they feel comfortable, then press
play when you're ready.
Before we go to the next section, take a
look at that last measure twelve.
You see that arrow going up after the G?
and you
see that little treble clef at the end of the measure.
That's to warn us that we
have to move way down here,
to way up in the treble clef.
Measure thirteen starts with
a middle C in the treble clef
but with our left hand 5 finger.
So let's practice
that transition, it's a big one.
We're going to be way down here in this G minor
position with our 5 finger on G,
and then we have to get all the way up to middle
C with our 5 finger.
from G down here to C up here
Now, we have to do this at the same time that we're saying
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA
So you're going to want to be really good at that
transition.
Try that along with me three times.
Ready, go,
TA TI-TI TA
TA TI-TI TA