{"id":13874,"date":"2023-12-04T10:19:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T15:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=13874"},"modified":"2025-10-29T09:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T14:53:06","slug":"how-to-write-original-holiday-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write Original Holiday Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-songwriting-tips-for-creating-original-holiday-music-that-feels-timeless\">Songwriting Tips for Creating Original Holiday Music That Feels Timeless<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although it seems to start earlier and earlier each year, December signifies the official start of the holiday season. One harbinger of the most wonderful time of the year is the flurry of holiday songs coming through the radio and retail speakers. Most of the holiday songs you hear are covers, with only a few originals able to slip into the canon every decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you think you are up to that challenge and you\u2019re feeling festive with your compositional muse this holiday season, here are some tips courtesy of songwriter Brady Rymer, Berklee Online songwriting instructors Andrea Stolpe and Jimmy Kachulis, as well as Berklee\u2019s Joe Bennett, who helped compose what is winkingly known as \u201cthe happiest Christmas song, according to science.\u201d <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-getting-inspired\"><strong>Getting Inspired<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no better time to write a holiday song than when the season is in full swing with plenty of opportunities to get in the spirit. Brady Rymer, a three-time Grammy-nominated children\u2019s musician and member of the band From Good Homes, released an all-original holiday album, <em>Revvin\u2019 Up the Reindeer, <\/em>in 2017.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would get inspired naturally around the holidays,\u201d says Rymer. \u201cThis record was a couple years in the making. I\u2019d start writing a few songs in November and December, and then move on, and then come back to it again.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When approaching a holiday song, Rymer suggests drawing upon personal experiences and traditions. Songs about untangling Christmas lights, making warm latkes with sugar and spice, and even managing holiday-induced stress are all situations that appear on the album.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing a songwriter, I draw on my personal traditions and my personal time with my family, and my personal love of the season,\u201d says Rymer. \u201cIt was an important thing for me to draw on that and to just trust that.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rymer says that inspiration for holiday songs can extend beyond your own traditions so long as you write about them authentically. His holiday album features songs about Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&quot;Holiday Jam&quot; by Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FNGXqZdl2i4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u201cHoliday Jam\u201d by Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have to kind of live it to write about it honestly,\u201d says Rymer. \u201cSpend enough time around other people\u2019s holiday houses and traditions to know that it\u2019s so rich with individuality and difference. You could come back and write about it from a personal perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-writing-the-lyrics\"><strong>Writing the Lyrics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Stolpe and Kachulis agree that writing holiday music requires just as much thought and care as any song you would write.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWriting a holiday song is an exercise that we wouldn&#8217;t normally give ourselves,\u201d says Stolpe, a multiplatinum songwriter and instructor of Berklee Online\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/commercial-songwriting-techniques?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Commercial Songwriting Techniques<\/a><\/em> course. \u201cIt stretches us as writers. On the outside, it seems easy to write songs that are so simple and repetitive and clear in their message when in actuality, it\u2019s pretty difficult.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Establishing a clear and singular focus can be one of the most important steps to writing a hit holiday song. Stolpe points out that one of the downfalls to great songwriting is trying to incorporate too many ideas. Instead, just write one song per message that you want to convey.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA successful holiday song sets the scene,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s intimate and personal. Also, it doesn\u2019t sound like any other song, even if that sensory message culminates in saying something like, \u2018All I want for Christmas is you.\u2019 The concepts stay broad, but it\u2019s how we write the concept that differentiates our song lyrically from every other holiday song.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Write a Song Using Imagery: 9 Songwriting Tips from Andrea Stolpe | American Songwriter\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hDI1b2dXlt8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Berklee Online instructor and multiplatinum songwriter Andrea Stolpe shows you how to write a song using imagery with these nine tips.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To achieve lyrics that are accessible and universal with that singular message, Kachulis\u2014who authored and instructs Berklee Online\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/songwriting-writing-hit-songs?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Writing Hit Songs<\/a><\/em> course\u2014recommends starting with an overall theme, then building in specifics with sensory images. For example, a universal theme could be \u201chome is where the heart is\u201d and the specifics are the images of fireplaces, trees, lights, and the personal instances when you feel at home. Kachulis says that most holiday songs fall into a few popular categories.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCertain holiday themes seem to emerge and they are not just bound by the Christian iconography,\u201d he says. \u201cFor instance, songs are often about comforting people in troubling times, about being home. Not just being in a safe place at home, but surrounded by people you love.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joe Bennett, a forensic musicologist and professor of professional music and songwriting at Berklee College of Music, has studied these recurring themes in holiday music. In 2017, he conducted a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/joebennett.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/12\/musical-and-lyric-traits-in-the-uk_s-favourite-christmas-songs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> that inspired a song titled, \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/2017\/12\/christmas-music-science-berklee\/\" target=\"_blank\">Love\u2019s Not Just for Christmas<\/a>.\u201d <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Love&#039;s Not Just For Christmas\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/96jOezZhlRQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Bennett\u2019s study informed Harriet Green and Steve Anderson\u2019s holiday song, \u201cLove\u2019s Not Just for Christmas.\u201d Using Bennett\u2019s findings, Green and Anderson wrote what was casually dubbed the \u201chappiest holiday song ever\u201d recorded by the London Community Gospel Choir. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After examining the top 78 holiday songs on Spotify, Bennett found the most common themes included: Home (family, gifts under the tree), Love (finding that special someone at Christmas), Lost love (feeling lonely at Christmas), Parties (dancing, mistletoe), Santa (and his reindeer), Snow (snowmen, sleighs, cold winters), Religion (Nativity story), and Peace on Earth.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-writing-the-music\"><strong>Writing the Music<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Holiday songs have musical elements that just make them sound festive. Instruments like sleigh bells and choirs singing indicate to listeners that they\u2019re undoubtedly listening to a holiday song before they even hear the lyrics. Bennett\u2019s study confirmed that 95 percent of the holiday songs he studied are in major keys with an average tempo of 115 beats per minute.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith holiday music, there\u2019s an opportunity to write upbeat, up-tempo, happy songs,\u201d says Stolpe. \u201cI think the very idea of writing a happy song stretches us. So I think within those parameters it implies certain tempos and moods that we might not normally write.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stolpe suggests figuring out how to make holiday music fit into your style as an artist and try not to conform to what you think a holiday song should sound like. If you\u2019re an Americana artist, then write an Americana holiday album rather than trying to write a pop album.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a big proponent of write what you really enjoy listening to, and what you write naturally,\u201d says Stolpe. \u201cThen figure out, \u2018Well, where do I fit? How would it be best to market this? Who\u2019s my listening audience?\u2019 I think it\u2019s an opportunity to figure out how does our artistic style, our own brand, sound within a holiday genre or holiday format.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Write A Song: Creating Vocal Melodies | Songwriting | Tips &amp; Techniques\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fwiztN_D-uA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Berklee Online instructor Jimmy Kachulis shows you how to create vocal melodies when writing a song.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you get started, Stolpe and Kachulis encourage you not to start completely from scratch.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe real secret of songwriting is that we don\u2019t start with a blank page,\u201d says Kachulis. \u201cAnybody who tells you they start with a blank page is not telling you the whole story. We take a song as our model and whether it\u2019s a chord progression or a rhythm or a bass line or a title or a lyrical theme, we start with something and then we write our own version of it.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-try-it-yourself\"><strong>Try it Yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Five exercises from Jimmy Kachulis to help you get started:<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pick a popular holiday song and write down a few words that stand out to you. Next, start listing rhymes to the words that you selected. Then, build your own lyrics around these rhymes. For example, take the song \u201cSilver Bells.\u201d You can start by listing rhymes to the word \u201cbell\u201d: spell, dwell, yell, sell, smell. Then rearrange and add on to create a verse or chorus.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Write down phrases that stand out to you in a holiday song. One phrase from a traditional holiday song could be a focal point in your original song. Take the line, \u201cIt\u2019s Christmas time in the city,\u201d from \u201cSilver Bells.\u201d This one phrase could become the chorus to your song.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take the chord progression from a traditional holiday song. Change the tempo to give it a new feel or write a new melody.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Incorporate major 7ths which invoke a \u201cwistful\u201d feeling.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Borrow the chord progressions from non-holiday songs like John Lennon\u2019s \u201cImagine,\u201d Jim Croce\u2019s \u201cPhotographs and Memories,\u201d or Simon and Garfunkel\u2019s \u201cOld Friends.\u201d All three use major 7ths.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/songwriting?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">STUDY SONGWRITING WITH BERKLEE ONLINE<\/a><\/em><\/strong><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2019Tis the season to spice up your catalog of originals with holiday songwriting tips courtesy of songwriter Brady Rymer, Berklee Online songwriting instructors Andrea Stolpe and Jimmy Kachulis, as well as Berklee\u2019s Joe Bennett, who helped compose what is winkingly known as \u201cthe happiest Christmas song, according to science.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":20068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,35,9566,9560],"tags":[6157,6683,5954,6682,6688,6690,6691,6687,6681,6684,735,6606,6689,854,899,900,6693,6560,1318,1319,6685,1623,6686],"class_list":["post-13874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-instructor-profiles","category-songwriting-articles","category-spotlight","tag-andrea-stolpe","tag-brady-rymer","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-music","tag-commercial-songwriting-techniques","tag-from-good-homes","tag-hanukkah","tag-hit-holiday-song","tag-holiday-music","tag-holiday-music-songwriting","tag-jimmy-kachulis","tag-joe-bennett","tag-little-band-that-could","tag-lyric-writing-tips","tag-melody","tag-melody-writing","tag-new-years","tag-song-lyrics","tag-songwriting","tag-songwriting-tips","tag-vocal-melodies","tag-writing-hit-songs","tag-writing-with-imagery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Write Original Holiday Songs - Berklee Online Take Note<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to write an original holiday song with the help of Brady Rymer and Berklee Online&#039;s songwriting instructors through these tips and exercises.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Write Original Holiday Songs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to write an original holiday song with the help of Brady Rymer and Berklee Online&#039;s songwriting instructors through these tips and exercises.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Berklee Online Take Note\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/berkleeonline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-04T15:19:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-29T14:53:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/how_to_write_original_holiday_songs_article_image_2021.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Talia Smith-Muller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@berkleeonline\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@berkleeonline\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Talia Smith-Muller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Talia Smith-Muller\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/#\/schema\/person\/69dd3d17525a08ddce6c9b59d683cf9a\"},\"headline\":\"How to Write Original Holiday Songs\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-04T15:19:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-29T14:53:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/\"},\"wordCount\":1446,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/#org\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/how_to_write_original_holiday_songs_article_image_2021.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Andrea Stolpe\",\"Brady Rymer\",\"Christmas\",\"christmas music\",\"commercial songwriting techniques\",\"From Good Homes\",\"Hanukkah\",\"hit holiday song\",\"holiday music\",\"holiday music songwriting\",\"Jimmy Kachulis\",\"Joe Bennett\",\"Little Band That Could\",\"lyric writing tips\",\"melody\",\"melody writing\",\"New Year\u2019s\",\"song lyrics\",\"Songwriting\",\"songwriting tips\",\"vocal melodies\",\"Writing Hit Songs\",\"writing with imagery\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\",\"Instructor Profiles\",\"Songwriting\",\"Spotlight\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/how-to-write-original-holiday-songs\/\",\"name\":\"How to Write Original Holiday Songs - 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