We Will Jingle

We take our jingling very seriously around here and we know you do, too. After all, jingle bells are one of the classic, iconic sounds of the holiday season and they are all about music and rhythm. Which is why we like to offer various ways to showcase performances that use jingle bells while implying that unmistakable holiday vibe. We're pretty sure that despite the edgy, hard rock style of "We Will Jingle," the overall message will be consistent with our mission. We also think your kids will dig this.

The first thing you'll need is a lot of jingle bells. Ideally, every performer would have some, but you use what you've got. (Take care – loose, single ones can be dangerous for little kids.) Locate players centrally where they can be featured. (Jingle bells are readily available through music dealers including us at MusicK8.com) The second thing you'll need is a lot of stompers. Now, these could be the same kids as the jingle bell players or not, as you prefer. But we think it would be most fun for kids to be able to do the whole ongoing rhythm of stomp, stomp, jingle if possible. This rhythm continues throughout the piece once it begins. And there's a big ol' drum fill to get them started at the top.

The song itself is not particularly challenging, and our kids had a blast singing it in the studio. We kept it that way so it wouldn't upstage the action/jingling. We did write in a few scoops, which we think add to the familiar rock expression. We also had our kids sing in their chest voices so they could really belt. As you can hear, it worked.

In performance, consider letting students wear sunglasses. Maybe even have a "rock band" to "play" back-up using prop instruments, like inflatable guitars. If you have access to a couple of long-haired '80s style rock wigs for featured "soloists" in the band, that might be kind of amusing, too.