Any books you can suggest please for easy Christmas carols for beginner violin. I will have to perform on whistle and violin this year for the family get together (not at the same time though):):)

Please tell us about your family Holiday get together. We've only had live music once at a family holiday get together and that was because I was showing a new instrument which an extended family member was willing to give a go at.. My family is not musical nor is there any reason for live music to be played if football is on. I'd love to hear about someone else's family.

Brought up Salvation Army ( Mum & Dad were Salvation Army officers) so all four children play musical instruments. Even Mum learnt when she retired and my Dad used to play the accordion. He even once performed blindfold playing the drum
(He writes fantastic poems and stories too.)
Rather than try to buy each other Christmas presents which is increasingly difficult, my husband suggested we all make the effort to see each other instead.
When we used to get together we used to play games but one of my siblings was rather a bad loser and if they lost, would accuse the others of cheating so last Christmas I decided that we would have a musical or talent 'get together' instead.
Dad did a poem
Elder brother couldn't make it
Elder sister sang
Younger sister played cornet
Husband played banjo
I had nothing to do hence the whistle. Rapid learning session to attempt a few carols in time.

Bluegrass came along hence the violin, hence the need for Christmas carol book.

Wow thats a potted history. Now you know.

Joy to the World is a descending major scale for the first line (although only if you know that version) and fairly easy to work out after that. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has the best tune, although Good King Wenceslas also has a cast-iron melody marred by goofy Victorian lyrics (the melody is a much-older Polish hymn to spring, or something similar, & not about Wenceslas or Christmas at all.)

Get this. One of my brothers once video taped my family play a trivia game at Thanksgiving one year so that he could watch the game at a later playback to figure out how my team of my wife and one of my other brothers cheated. And no, we weren't cheating but we did manage to pull some winning answers out our butts. Oh, and my family plays games for money.

The talent show sounded lovely.

I am lucky to be in a family that do get together every once in a while. What will happen when my Mum & Dad pass away is another thing.

The money thing would certainly make it worse!!!

That's a good suggestion. Repetitive enough that
it's easy to practice: get the third and fourth
measures down, and you have 3/4 of the song.

Any good books you can suggest though. I am only a beginner. I haven't done flats yet.

There is a huge choice of books on the internet but when you get them they are just not as useful as you were hoping.

There aren't many music books I've bought
that I haven't said afterwards: "What a waste.
I wish I'd just gotten those tunes on the 'Net
for free."

Here's Good King W. in G if that helps:
http://natetunes.com/christmas/Good_King_Wenceslas.pdf

EDIT: Also, here's a couple sites with lots of
Christmas sheet music. There are others if you
google "christmas carols choral".
http://christmassongbook.net/
http://christmascarolmusic.org/Index_of_Titles.html

Cheers fearfaoin

I don't have a copy of this around to check the level of difficulty, but amazon.com will let you preview some of it, which may give you an idea. I borrowed a copy from my son's music teacher a year ago or so, but I can't remember how beginner-friendly it was:

http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Bay-Scottish- ... 119&sr=8-1

A few times, we've managed to get a kid or two to cooperate on some tunes at Christmas, and it's worth it.

It's often easier to gauge a book in person, but sometimes the easiest tunes for fiddle may be in a book for beginning flute, for example.
Simple, few lines, easy keys.

That looks interesting. I ordered Mel Bay Christmas solos for beginning violin. It has two part violin and the piano accompaniment which was a nice surprise.

Emmline is so right with being easier to gauge it in person as I had no idea that the accompaniment came with it.
My teacher didn't know any to recommend so I did just jump in and buy one.
My husband plays the guitar and it would be nice for him to accompany me but very often books don't have the chords in so seeing the books you can see if they have the chords in. I looked at the whistle books I had and they don't seem to have them in either.
This one you have recommended JS does have the chords in so I may well go for that too.
Cheers both

If my brother is home for Christmas, I can impose upon him to strum chords, while I fiddle. We can put oldest daughter on whistle. The idea, at least, is a good one.

The book you want is called Christmas Calliope. It's really cheap, it's got all your basic carols written in the key of G, and it's got three parts for each of them, so if you have a friend who can play in G on any instrument they can play along.

I can't find it online, but most generic "music stores" will have it. I think there are six volumes, but the first is great.