Saturday is ASK BRIAN, where we post actual questions from Rock Dojo students. Today’s question: “Brian, Can you teach me how to play Jingle Bells on the guitar?”
Jingle Bells History
Jingle Bells is one of the best-loved and well-known songs in the world. It was composed by James Lord Pierpont under the title of ‘One Horse Open Sleigh’ in 1857. Ironically, Jingle Bells was written as a Thanksgiving holiday song with no connection to Christmas. All that changed, however, in 1889 when Jingle Bells appeared on the world’s first Christmas-themed record.
Jingle Bells in Space
Believe it or not, Jingle Bells was the first song broadcast from space! In a Christmas theme prank by Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra. On December 16, 1965, the astronauts smuggled a harmonica and sleigh bells aboard the space shuttle and performed Jingle Bells for Mission Control.
Jingle Bells on Guitar
Jingle Bells is the perfect melody on guitar for kids who know the moveable minor pentatonic scale in A or the C major scale. For the best results, set aside 15-minutes every day to practice the melody for a full week before Christmas. Even better, have a friend play the power chord progression on guitar along with you for some serious holiday fun!
Free Backing Track Provided by Band-in-a-Box
Click on the play button below to jam along with the free guitar backing track. This guitar backing track for kids is provided by Band-in-a-Box, an incredibly powerful backing track generator! Learn more at Band-in-a-Box.
GET A BLACK BELT IN ROCK!
The Rock Dojo offers award-winning, introductory-level guitar lessons for kids after-school in Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Lake Oswego. You can check out the Rock Dojo FAQs to learn how our colored-belt systems works (hint: it’s like karate. As your students improve on the guitar, they graduate belt levels just like the martial arts). Do you have a specific question about our guitar lessons for kids? Drop us a line at (503) 484-6417 or contact us on the Rock Dojo Facebook page.
