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The library · Christmas

O Holy Night

Adolphe Adam

Adolphe Adam's carol in its version for voice and piano: a broad melody that rises phrase after phrase above an accompaniment in triplets.

C major · 4/4 · 112 beats per minute · 32 bars · 1 min 09 · advanced level

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The form

The sections of the piece and their chords: the map you learn before playing a single note.

A B C D

SectionBarsChordsPhrase ending
A 1–8 C · C/E · C · C/E · C · F · C · C/E · C · C/E · C · F
I · I · I · I · I · IV · I · I · I · I · I · IV		 —
B 9–16 C · Bdim · Em · G/B · C · G/B · C · Am · Esus4
I · vii° · iii · V · I · V · I · vi · IIIsus4		 —
C 17–24 Em · Dm · Dm/F · Am · Em/G · Dm/F · C/E · F · Em/G · G7 · C · G · Dm/F
iii · ii · ii · vi · iii · ii · I · IV · iii · V7 · I · V · ii		 —
D 25–32 Em · Dm/F · C/G · G7 · C · C/E · F · Dm · G7/B · Csus4 · C/G · G7sus4 · C
iii · ii · I · V7 · I · I · IV · ii · V7 · Isus4 · I · V7sus4 · I		 Perfect cadence

The key

C major
No sharps or flats
Scale
C · D · E · F · G · A · B
Pillar chords
I = C · IV = F · V7 = G7

The tricky passages

  • Bars 9–10: fast runs (7.5 notes per second), a melodic leap (perfect fifth), notes outside the key, 4-note chords, lots of notes
  • Bar 15: fast runs (7.5 notes per second), a melodic leap (minor sixth), lots of notes
  • Bars 22–23: fast runs (15.6 notes per second), a melodic leap (octave), lots of notes

The plan: 26 days

Half an hour a day. First I help you understand the map of the piece, then we lay down the chord framework, learn each section phrase by phrase, work on the tricky passages, put it together and bring it up to tempo, until you can play it from memory.

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