I love the start of each new year; new resolutions that are unbroken and a new calendar with clean crisp pages. When I get around to taking down my holiday decorations my house even looks new again. My piano and violin students are never keen on embracing the new year in the same way. Those familiar Christmas and Hanukkah pieces which they had perfected since October are now a thing of the past and we are going back to those old “boring” books. Today I’ll share my strategy for making a smooth tradition from Holiday favorites to “back to the basics” with a touch of fun!
For each of my Piano AND Violin students I have an arrangement of Auld Lang Syne that is appropriate for their Level or Playing Ability. I think it’s important to get your students excited or at least mildly interested in the piece by explaining the origins and what those crazy lyrics mean. If you don’t know you’ll be learning this year as well! Here is the Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne
Listed below are the links to find each piece/instrument level.
Piano
Pre-Reading Piano
I created this resource myself:
Learn to play “Auld Lang Syne” today with this unique arrangement from veteran piano instructor Mrs. Judy Naillon.
This piece uses floating notes which are notes off of the staff with every note labelled with a fingering. Paired with the accompanying fingering and piano keyboard chart, anyone in their first days or weeks of instruction can decode this unique “Very Easy To Play” Pre-Reading Piano piece! You’ll want to perform this timeless classic for friends and family for years to come! Be sure to look for more “Very Easy To Play” Pre-Reading Pieces by Mrs. Judy Naillon available now from Teachers Pay Teachers and find it all here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Auld-Lang-Syne-Piano-Pre-Reading-Solo-8942965 and purchase Auld Lang Syne from Sheet Music Direct here: https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1248346/Product.aspx
For my Primer Piano students reading notes on the staff I love “Auld School” which is a free resource from
Wunderkeys available here: https://wunderkeys.com/auld-school-a-new-year-primer-piano-solo-with-duet/
For other levels of music I purchased this multi level piano piece from Jennifer Eklund’s Piano Pronto here: https://pianopronto.com/sheet-music/piano-solos/auld-lang-syne-multi-level-solo/
and Jennifer Eklund also has a wonderful mashup of Auld Lang Syne and Simple Gifts available here: https://pianopronto.com/sheet-music/piano-solos/auld-lang-syne/
I think this one would be lovely to perform at a New Year’s Church service or other Holiday Event.
Violin
For my beginner students I created this resource https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1246304/Product.aspx
Learn to play the New Year’s Tradition “Auld Lang Syne” in your first weeks of Violin instruction with this unique big note arrangement by veteran teacher Mrs. Judy Naillon “ViolinJudy.” With fingering help for new notes and labelled landmark notes, you’ll be playing this tune quickly and with ease. You’ll want to perform this piece for friends and family for years to come. You can also purchase this piece from my Teachers Pay Teachers store HERE: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Auld-Lang-Syne-Violin-Solo-8942528
For other harder versions in just about ANY key I headed over to 8notes.com where I have a subscription. My hack is to have my more advanced learners either TRANSPOSE the piece themselves OR play it in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, position and so on. https://www.8notes.com/scores/15314.asp
Sometimes for advanced Violin learners I’ll even download it for a different (band) instrument with loads of sharps or flats and cover the title of the piece, seeing if they can guess the name of the piece.
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