Holiday Bells

by Teresa Jennings, Paul Jennings, Karl Hitzemann, and Mike Wilson

A Merry Collection For Young Singers & Players

Celebrate the season with this very versatile collection. Holiday Bells has eight wonderful songs full of options for your classroom or performances. Introduce your students to part singing and playing bells or other percussion instruments in Holiday Bells. This collection includes:

Hark, Hear The Bells! - Nothing says "Happy Holidays!" like the merry sound of bells... or Boomwhackers®, tone chimes, mallet instruments, Joia Tubes®, or any other C scale instrument. "Hark, Hear The Bells!" is a great song that gives you the flexibility to use just vocals or vocals with your choice of any or all of the aforementioned instruments.
Christmas In The Valley - You know that feeling on Christmas morning, just before dawn? All is quiet and maybe you can hear bells start to ring in the distance, perhaps from a valley. That's the inspiration for this lovely song. To make it feel even more special, we added handbells (optional).
Jingle As We Go - This seasonal performance piece gives you the opportunity to shine a spotlight on several groups of students with their respective instruments and/or voices all at once. Everything is optional except the melody vocal line, but it's the combination of elements that makes it fun. Vocal parts 1, 2, and 3 are simple and repetitive. Instrumentation includes jingle bells, ukulele, guitar, mallets, Boomwhackers®, bells, and any non-pitched percussion.
Mozart's Sleigh Ride (German Dance No. 3) - Here's another fun classical music piece you can introduce to your students. The work is the third of Mozart's Three German Dances, subtitled "Sleigh Ride." Our adaptation is in the original key of C Major, but at a slightly slower tempo. Our arrangement features handbells, jingle bells, and sleigh bells. You could add in or substitute other instruments if you wish – tambourines, triangles, finger cymbals, etc.
Christmas Bells Are Ringing, Ringing - Here's a delightful little Christmas tune for your young choir. It's a partner song between vocals and bells – hand bells, tone chimes, or any pitched bell-like instrument.
Boogie Of The Bells - A little rap, a little jazz, a little holiday, a lot of bells – that's how you might describe this happy boogie woogie. While it was written to feature your handbells and jingle bells, the song itself is cute and fun to sing. It starts with a verse that is spoken, then switches to a sung chorus that is all unison until the final (optional) divisi note.
Ringing, Ringing - This lovely concert piece is not only a partner song, it's also a feature for your bells players. Part 1 sings the first time, part 2 sings the second time, and on the third time, both parts sing together. The combination of the voices and the bells truly makes for sweet harmony.
Ding Dong Ding - Bells, bells, bells! Singers and bells perform call and response in this bright, happy song. An optional second bell part adds harmony, if you choose to use it. It's a very versatile little song.