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Thread: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

  1. #1

    Default Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    I'm curious:
    What are some favorite Christmas and winter/holiday pieces, tunes and songs to play on mandolin and mando family instruments?

    I'm asking to get ideas for church, work and my own amazement.

  2. #2
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Man, I like any of the standard Christmas hymns/carols because the melodies are so well known and generally easy to play. I also like the traditional tune Cold, Frosty Morning. That one was a tune of the month in Newbies group awhile back.
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by BluesPreacher View Post
    I'm curious:
    What are some favorite Christmas and winter/holiday pieces, tunes and songs to play on mandolin and mando family instruments?

    I'm asking to get ideas for church, work and my own amazement.


    The Rocking Carol, aka The Shepherd's Rocking Carol.

    Can be found in Paul Hardy's Christmas tunebook.

    http://pghardy.net/concertina/tunebooks/#xmas

  4. #4
    Registered User Steve Lavelle's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    White Christmas (Chords are easy and it's great tremolo practice when you play the melody) and Blue Christmas.
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    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by BluesPreacher View Post
    ... ideas for church, work and my own amazement.
    I like to take simple and familiar melodies as I mentioned in my first post, and figure them out, then try adding in doublestops or chords with the melody. It's a fun thing to do for your own amazement IMO. Here's an early one I did, December 2016. I haven't gone back to polish it up, but the fun was in figuring it out as a relative newbie on mandolin.



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcsfCBsk7rI
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    My 2-cent contribution . . . .

    (No refund requests, please!)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqlI-PEhx48

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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Here is one I did last year. I don't think it started out as a holiday piece but it felt like one to me.
    http://honketyhank.com/2017/12/21/20...-of-savannagh/
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  11. #8
    I really look like that soliver's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    We did this version of Joy to the World at our church staff meeting today... I hadn't heard of this group until the Band leader shared this YT link with me yesterday... great version IMO:

    Last edited by soliver; Nov-29-2018 at 10:29pm.
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    Registered User John Flynn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    My favorite to play by far is Butch Baldassari's arrangement of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" off his Evergreen album and the Evergreen instruction book. The arrangement uses "double picking" (two notes picked for every one note of the tune) which sounds really cool. It's exciting to play and sounds unique and really great.

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    String-Bending Heretic mandocrucian's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Play this one at your church; they need to hear it.



    the original LP version from 1974, Lyrics/sound are clearer on this


    NH

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    Registered User Randi Gormley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    The Wexford Carol is a beautiful piece and a little out of the beaten path.
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    How about " Grand Ma got Ran Over by a Reindeer ?

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    Registered User Tenzin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    I came across this and the few that I looked at were accurate.

    http://howardknight.net/mandolin/christmas-songs.html

    And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.

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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin


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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Roland White has some real neat arrangements with video/tab on his website, and his Christmas carols book is also excellent. The doublestops are super.

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    String-Bending Heretic mandocrucian's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin


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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    they got a lotta nerve

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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    My trio has put together a short list of Christmas songs to mix in with our regular swing and ragtime set. Songs, meaning we sing the lyrics, not just play the melodies.

    All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
    Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (from Meet Me In St. Louis) - we play it more up tempo than the version Judy sang
    Calypso Carol
    Jolly Old Saint Nicolaus
    Jingle Bell Rock
    I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
    Grandma's Killer Fruitcake
    Mary Had a Baby

    That is not all of the tunes, but ones that I recommend.
    "Those who know don't have the words to tell, and the ones with the words don't know so well." - Bruce Cockburn

  25. #19
    String-Bending Heretic mandocrucian's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin



    Cool hipness that Ray Benson may aspire to, yet never, never achieve. You're either born with it or you're not!

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    Registered User Al Trujillo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by John Flynn View Post
    My favorite to play by far is Butch Baldassari's arrangement of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" off his Evergreen album and the Evergreen instruction book. The arrangement uses "double picking" (two notes picked for every one note of the tune) which sounds really cool. It's exciting to play and sounds unique and really great.
    Baldassari was amazing! He was taken from us to soon. Here's his arrangement:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWD07i8ct3g

  28. #21
    Michael Reichenbach
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    A great tune that I have just arranged for two mandolins:
    God rest ye merry, gentlemen



    Sheet music is available on my musicaneo site:
    Homepage: www.mandoisland.de / Blog: www.mandoisland.com / Freiburg / Germany

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  30. #22
    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Very nice. One of my favorites and I like your interpretation.
    New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.

    Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and he will email you a copy of his ebook for free (free to all mandolincafe members).

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  31. #23
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    Speaking of Butch, here's a festive number, with hip improv solos by Aubrey Haynie and Richard Kriehn

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  33. #24

    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    One of my favorite Christmas Carols is the German Maria durch ein Dornwald ging.
    I recorded it with mandolin and guitar:

    Martin Jonas has arranged it as a nice trio:

  34. #25
    Michael Reichenbach
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    Default Re: Favorite Christmas/Winter Tunes on Mandolin

    A German Christmas song found in an old book with songs with lute accompaniment "Deutsches Lautenlied":

    Homepage: www.mandoisland.de / Blog: www.mandoisland.com / Freiburg / Germany

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