Christmas Pak - Various Public Domain
Christmas Pak
30 Christmas Carols and songs that are in public domain.
These are intended for sing-a-long, or as simple background instrumentals.
Each has the melody, chord symbols and lyrics included, and multiple verses where applicable.
The arrangement if pretty straight-forward, with a bit of reharmonization.
The format is as follows:
MASTER RHYTHM
The basic piano part can be played as is, or improvised, with melody and lyrics included.
The bass part is provided and can be played as is or improvised.
The guitar player will play using the chord symbols or double the melody.
The drums will play a light rhythm, brushes most likely for the carols.
HORNS
The trumpet carries the melody, with the Tenor Sax and Trombone harmonizing.
If used as instrumentals, some of these can by played in various styles including:
JAZZ WALTZ (What Child Is This?, Silent Night, We Three Kings, etc.)
DiXIELAND (Jingle Bells, Up On the Housetop, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, etc.)
SWING (God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, Go Tell It On the Mountain, etc.)
LATIN (We Wish You a Merry Christmas, O Come All Ye Faithful, etc.)
A typical sing-a-long would be:
Verse one, all play.
Verse two, rhythm section only.
Verse three, all play.
This will give the brass some needed lip rest, as they are playing the whole way through.
OR
Verse one, all play
Verse two, horns come in on refrain.
OR
Any combination of the above.