Pre-Reading Christmas: A First Book for Piano

Pre-Reading Christmas – A First Christmas Piano Book

Let beginning piano students play Christmas music before they're ready to read notes on the staff! Pre-Reading Christmas: A First Book for Piano by Nancy Faber and Randall Faber introduces young beginners to holiday piano music through approachable off-the-staff reading using letter names and directional reading.

Part of the trusted Faber Piano Adventures series, this 24-page Christmas book gives new pianists the excitement of playing familiar holiday favorites such as Jingle Bells, Deck the Hall, Away in a Manger, Good King Wenceslas and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas while they're still developing their earliest keyboard and music-reading skills.

It's an especially fun seasonal supplement for beginning piano students who aren't quite ready for traditional staff notation but are eager to play recognizable Christmas music.

All 10 Songs in Pre-Reading Christmas

The complete book includes 10 Christmas pieces:

• Counting the Days
• Deck the Hall
• Good King Wenceslas
• Away in a Manger
• Jingle Bells
• The Tree Hunt
• The Perfect Christmas Tree
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
• Ring the Bells!
• Merry Christmas to You

Christmas Piano Music Before Staff Reading

One of the biggest challenges for brand-new piano students is that their enthusiasm can develop faster than their music-reading skills. Christmas arrives, they hear familiar songs everywhere, and naturally they want to play them too.

Pre-Reading Christmas is designed specifically for that stage of learning.

Instead of requiring students to already understand traditional grand-staff notation, the book uses off-the-staff reading with letter names and directional reading. This lets beginning pianists focus on finding their way around the keyboard and recognizing musical direction while enjoying the satisfaction of making Christmas music.

What Does “Pre-Reading” Piano Music Mean?

Pre-reading piano music is designed for students who are at the very beginning of piano study and have not yet developed fluent note reading on the traditional music staff.

In Pre-Reading Christmas, students work with letter names and directional reading rather than relying on standard staff notation. This helps reinforce early keyboard awareness and the idea of notes moving higher and lower while allowing students to begin making music right away.

That makes this book different from an “easy piano” Christmas collection. Pre-reading comes before conventional easy-piano notation and is intended for students at the earliest stages of learning.

Traditional Carols & Fun Original Christmas Pieces

The collection combines Christmas songs young pianists may already recognize with seasonal pieces that add variety to their first holiday piano experience.

Traditional favorites include:

• Jingle Bells
• Away in a Manger
• Deck the Hall
• Good King Wenceslas
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

These are joined by festive titles including Counting the Days, The Tree Hunt, The Perfect Christmas Tree, Ring the Bells! and Merry Christmas to You.

A Great Christmas Supplement for Beginning Piano Lessons

Pre-Reading Christmas can add some seasonal excitement to lessons without requiring teachers to jump ahead of a student's current reading level.

It's a useful choice for:

• Brand-new piano students
• Students working at the pre-reading level
• Young children beginning piano lessons
• Christmas piano lesson supplements
• Holiday assignments from piano teachers
• A student's first Christmas piano book
• At-home practice during the Christmas season
• Young pianists excited to play recognizable Christmas songs

Part of Faber Piano Adventures

Pre-Reading Christmas is written by Nancy Faber and Randall Faber, the creators of the widely used Faber Piano Adventures method.

For students already learning through Piano Adventures—or teachers who appreciate the Faber approach—this Christmas collection provides a natural way to add seasonal repertoire at the earliest level of piano study.

Pre-Reading Christmas Product Details

Title	Pre-Reading Christmas: A First Book for Piano
Composers	Nancy Faber and Randall Faber
Series	Faber Piano Adventures
Instrument	Piano / Keyboard
Level	Pre-Reading / Beginning
Reading Approach	Off-the-staff reading using letter names and directional reading
Number of Pieces	10
Pages	24
Format	Softcover
Publisher	Faber Piano Adventures
Faber Number	FF1050
Hal Leonard Number	HL 00420159
ISBN-13	9781616770501
UPC	674398201044
Size	9" × 12"

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pre-Reading Christmas by Faber?

Pre-Reading Christmas: A First Book for Piano is a beginning Christmas piano book by Nancy and Randall Faber. It uses off-the-staff reading with letter names and directional reading, making it suitable for students who are not yet reading traditional staff notation fluently.

What songs are in Faber Pre-Reading Christmas?

The 10 pieces are Counting the Days, Deck the Hall, Good King Wenceslas, Away in a Manger, Jingle Bells, The Tree Hunt, The Perfect Christmas Tree, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, Ring the Bells! and Merry Christmas to You.

What piano level is Pre-Reading Christmas?

This book is specifically designated Pre-Reading Level. It is intended for students at the earliest stage of piano study rather than pianists who are already comfortable reading conventional sheet music.

Does Pre-Reading Christmas use regular sheet music?

The book is specifically designed around off-the-staff reading. Students use letter names and directional reading as they develop the skills that will eventually lead into traditional staff reading.

Is Pre-Reading Christmas the same as easy piano?

No. Pre-reading music is designed for an earlier stage of learning than typical easy-piano sheet music. It is especially useful for new students who are still learning keyboard geography and basic musical direction before becoming fluent with notes on the staff.

Does Pre-Reading Christmas include Jingle Bells?

Yes. Jingle Bells is included along with other familiar Christmas favorites such as Away in a Manger, Deck the Hall, Good King Wenceslas and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.

Is Away in a Manger included?

Yes. Away in a Manger is one of the 10 pieces included in the collection.

Is this part of Faber Piano Adventures?

Yes. Pre-Reading Christmas is part of the Faber Piano Adventures series and is written by Nancy Faber and Randall Faber.

How many pages are in Pre-Reading Christmas?

The print edition contains 24 pages.

Is Pre-Reading Christmas a good first Christmas piano book?

For a student working at the pre-reading stage, it is specifically designed for that purpose. The combination of familiar Christmas songs, seasonal pieces and off-the-staff reading allows a new pianist to enjoy holiday music without requiring traditional staff-reading fluency first.

Give a Beginning Pianist the Joy of Playing Christmas Music

A student doesn't have to wait until they've mastered traditional sheet music to experience the fun of playing Christmas songs at the piano.

Pre-Reading Christmas meets new pianists right where they are, combining 10 festive pieces with an approachable pre-reading format from Nancy and Randall Faber.

Make a student's first Christmas at the piano one they'll remember with Faber's Pre-Reading Christmas: A First Book for Piano.