Just after Thanksgiving you begin to hear it piped into every department store, those same familiar songs, chord structures, and instruments. Sleigh bells never get as much work as they do during the month of December it seems, and we have generations of songwriters and composers to thank for this.
The holiday season rolls around every year, and pop singers and songwriters know they can cash in big time on a seasonal song. But how do they do this, besides adding the obligatory sleigh bells to the mix?
Songwriters and composers know that the easiest way to tap into the holiday spirit is to hijack our collective nostalgia around the season. Because the celebration goes so far back into history, classical music instruments and techniques are called on often, from harpsichords to brass sections.
Most indicative though is the choir, the preferred ensemble for singing classic Christmas carols. The sound of a choir singing “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World” is embedded in the cultural psyche so that when contemporary artists use a choir in a Christmas or holiday song they are tapping into that bank of collected nostalgia. A quick example comes from A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio—probably best known for the driving baseline of “Linus and Lucy”—in the song “Christmas Time Is Here.” The sound is absolutely jazzy and contemporary for its 1965 audience, but Guaraldi knew what he was doing when he hired not just a choir, but a children’s choir, to sing the song’s melody.
Elvis Presley did the same in his famous Christmas album, but the backup singers sang interchangeably in classical choir, and doo-wop styles. Presley also knew he could take Christmas or holiday tunes already penned and add his signature sound to them. We see that today when the R&B or pop singers get their hands on an old classic, adding their florid vocal riffs to the familiar melodies.
Musicians also have a brimming bag of tricks to choose from when selecting their instrumentation for a holiday song. It’s not just sleigh bells that get overused this time of year. Anything that elicits the sound of bells makes an appearance, like chimes, vibraphones, and glockenspiels. Drummers even play their cymbals especially splashy just to give the sleigh bell feeling.
You might be surprised to find out that many Christmas tunes follow very similar chord structures as well. “Isn’t that true of most songs?” you might ask. Well yes, but certain progressions run like a red thread through many Christmas songs and secular holiday tunes. Songwriters know this too, that if they choose a progression already familiar to listeners’ ears from other holiday songs, they are more likely to have the next hit Christmas tune on their hands. That means next year will include plenty of artists looking to capitalize on the song and help the songwriter see some royalty checks in their stocking.
But not all holiday albums or songs are cynical cash grabs—I wish I could say that much for “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney—a lot of them are about stirring up the feelings and imagery of the holiday season. These singers and songwriters continue to provide a soundtrack to the season. With the steady rhythm of a sleigh ride or harmonies as rich as a strong cup of cocoa, they do their job well.
Arts Editor Joe Payne performs holiday piano music at the Santa Maria Town Center through Christmas. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 22-29, 2016.