Holiday Music
'Tis the season: snow, jingling bells in swing time, and choirs aplenty. Acoustic guitarist and Pandora music analyst Todd Haemmerle comes in to talk about holiday music with host Kevin Seal. They look at the swing origin of much modern Christmas music, talk about minor and major tonality in carols, and get into word painting and vocalizing. Did you realize that the "NFL on Fox" theme is really a line from "Sleigh Ride"?
Click here to hear and see more, and for some Holiday Music stations.
MUSICAL TERMS INCLUDED IN THIS PODCAST
| Swing time | Word painting | Major key | Chord extension |
| Straight time | Onomatopoeia | Minor key | Major seventh |
| Swing era | Vocalizing | Hymnal | Ninth |
| Treble | Melodic contour | Carol | Chord color |
THE 1700s: YE OLDE SEASONAL CAROLS
Written by I. Watts and G.F. Handel in 1719. |
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Written by C. Wesley in 1739. |
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Written by F. Oakeley and J. Reading in 1751. |
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Originally a Welsh folk song, and first seen written in a manuscript of harpist J.P. Dall in the 1770s. |
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Author unknown; first seen in the children's book Mirth Without Mischief in 1780. |
THE 1800s: MAJOR
Written by J. Mohr and F. Gruber in 1818. |
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Written by P.C. de Roquemaure in 1847. |
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Written by J. Pierpont in 1857. |
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Written by E.H. Sears and R.S. Willis in 1859. |
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Written by P. Brooks and L. Redner in 1868. |
THE 1800s: MINOR
First published in 1833. |
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The music is believed to be a 15th Century French melody; the lyrics were translated from Latin by J.M. Neale in 1851. |
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Written by J.H. Hopkins in 1857. |
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The melody dates back to the 16th Century; words written by W. Dix in 1865. |
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An instrumental theme composed by M. Leontovich a bit later, in 1916. |
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1940-1959... HIGH TIDE FOR MODERN HOLIDAY SONGS
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WORLD WAR II-ERA TIDINGS
Written by I. Berlin for the film Holiday Inn in 1940. (Pre-war in the U.S., but just barely.) |
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Written by K. Gannon and W. Kent in 1943. |
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Written by H. Martin and R. Blane for the film Meet Me In St. Louis in 1944. |
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Written by D.Y. Gardner in 1944. |
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Written by M. Torme and R. Wells in 1944. |
POSTWAR CHRISTMAS
Written by L. Anderson in 1946. |
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Written by G. Autry in 1947. |
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Written by B. Hayes and J.W. Johnson in 1948. |
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Written by J. Marks in 1949. |
THE 1950'S: TINSEL, WREATHS, AND THE BABY BOOM
Written by S. Nelson and J. Rollins in 1950. |
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Written by J. Livington and R. Evans for the film The Lemon Drop Kid in 1951. |
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Written by J. Beal and J. Boothe in 1957. |
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Written by K. Davis, H. Onorati and H. Simeone in 1958. |
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A DOZEN GREAT HOLIDAY STATIONS
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Choral Carols
Swing-era Santa
Fingerpicked Festivities
Contemporary Country Christmas
Yuletide Folk Guitar
Classical Christmas Vocals
Smooth R & B & X-mas
Rat Pack Holidays
Rockabilly December
Punk Rock Eggnog
Holiday Hip Hop
Instrumental Bebop Tinsel
Darian Gray, drummer and rapper from 
The herbivores and carnivores were waiting outside my door...
The warped wave-twisting microedits of artists like 
If you are familiar with the films of Woody Allen, you've heard examples of gypsy jazz. Pandora engineer and lead guitarist Vic Wong brings in other hot club players to demonstrate how gypsy jazz is played.
Guitarist Russell Johnson talks with us about the history of dissonance in art music, and the rise of atonality in classical composition.
Why does it sound more like Britpop when you play hi-hat with two hands, and more like American rock when played with one hand?
Melody Parker sings and speaks about building melodic lines, from the broad leaps of 
Leather, spikes and blood, as we dive into the diversely metallic styles of 
Check out how songs can shift from 4/4 into 12/8 and more, using parts of the beat to pivot.
From the drummer's British-style swing to the method they used to alter the piano's tone with a tissue box, we hear how "You Gave Me This" was constructed, layer by layer.
Alan Lin and Yair Evnine pull back the curtains on string playing and the emotional impact of strings -- the bow and the pluck, the double-stops and more.
This shows you which episodes talk about which aspects of music -- a handy little reference page for all y'all.
Time to warm up your mouthpieces, empty your spit valves, and get your brass going.
Greg and Kelly from 
Guitarist Bob Coons breaks out the fluid bends, blue notes and heptonic scales that great blues musicians from 
Why are so many Christmas songs swung? What are the stories behind the origin of these classic songs?
A look at great lyrics and the imagery in the words of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Eminem and others.
A pocket guide for sight-singing, with well-known melodies that will help you hit sixths, tritones, and other tricky leaps.
Producers from 
Marimba man Matt Cannon gets into soft and loud dynamics, using songs by Sinead O'Connor, Shirley Bassey and others.
Hip-hop history in ten minutes, from the lengthy phrases of 
Guitar heroes all have signature riff styles: 
Global rhythms have more in common than in difference, from Indian tabla to Indonesian gamelan and Brazilian samba drums. We hear how they can fit together.
When that singer's voice grabs you by the throat, you know it's been mixed right. Explore what the studio experts do to make it happen.
It's the yin and yang. The 
When he's not touring with 
A modern history of Jamaican music, from 
Explore the ways that composers from 
Breaking down the different percussive patterns played in mambo and salsa, and a look at the music's Cuban roots in cha and son.
See what a great singer does in the studio to make sure her vocal tracks hit just right.
Many guitarists have used effects to great (ahem) effect: 
How a basic backbeat can go from disco to hard rock with the subtlest of changes.
Singing in combination was central to the sound of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Temptations, R.E.M. and ABBA -- this show is all about harmonizing.
Comments
i just love the xmas music! thank YOU !!!!!!
Posted by: elaine greaves at November 24, 2007 11:46 PM
Just love it
Posted by: Alan Mitchell at November 26, 2007 12:07 PM
It has always been, and will always be, Christmas music. Holiday and xmas does not represent the season correctly.
Posted by: Elizabeth Scott at November 27, 2007 09:25 AM
I think these two guys are out of touch with assuming people do not relate the song of where it was first heard. And why would you have a classical guitarists playing Swing Style? And their is no such style of "Swung style"
Posted by: George at November 28, 2007 12:44 PM
Hi, George,
Well, maybe that's just us, then. But when I hear "Silver Bells," it doesn't call to mind the Bob Hope film in which it premiered. It could be a product of us two guys being youngins. Neither of us were alive during that Golden Era (1940-'59), and if we had been, I'm sure we'd be more immediately cognizant of these songs' origins.
Why would we have Todd playing in a swing feel? Just to exemplify the way that these songs were written in a swing feel, rather than straight. Classical guitarists can play swung eighth-notes just as well as the rest of us.
And Elizabeth,
Merry Christmas to you. Granted, these are Christmas songs that we spent our time on in this episode. But, in the interest of inclusion, the spirit of multi-culturalism, and the warmth of the season, I'd like to think that those who don't celebrate Christmas may appreciate and enjoy these songs as well.
Posted by: Kevin Seal at November 28, 2007 02:11 PM
Todd rocks! We are HUGE fans! Can Todd sing more now?
Posted by: Michelle and Amy at November 28, 2007 10:27 PM
Would like to listen to Christmas traditionals in Spanish.
Posted by: Juan Rodriguez at December 3, 2007 12:19 PM
does todd speak espanol? feliz navidad!
Posted by: tony at December 7, 2007 11:33 PM
I remain in awe of your holiday contributions!
Posted by: va at December 8, 2007 12:52 PM
For those of us who like their music a bit heavier try "Twisted Sister (holiday)"
Happy Holidays!! :oD
Posted by: Jilkes at December 18, 2007 12:31 AM
Blue Christmas, one of my favorites, but was Elvis the first to sing and can we not hear the original song by orig artist??? Also Twisted Sister has some really cool Christmas songs too. Interesting history on when these songs were written. Happy Christmas to everyone and may you all experience the wonder of a truly Silent Nite.
Posted by: Sunshine/Rainbow at December 18, 2007 02:30 PM
Great series. I listened to all 8 episodes today, but I had to download the episodes. Clicking "Listen Now" changes the button to yellow, but I don't hear any audio. Also, the Reggae episode cuts off at 7:37. I look forward to listening to the next episode. Thanks!
Posted by: san at March 31, 2008 11:07 PM
Hi, San, and hello everyone,
I'll get with tech support to see why you might be having playback troubles, San.
Michelle and Amy, happy to hear that you're huge Todd fans. Go Todd. Go Todd!
Posted by: Kevin Seal at April 18, 2008 02:37 PM
Todd rocks! We are HUGE fans! Can Todd sing more now?
thank you
Posted by: برامج at May 5, 2008 06:49 AM
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