For adult beginners · 10 minutes a day

Play 3 Christmas songs with both hands this year

Even if you've never played before. Silent Night, Joy to the World and Auld Lang Syne, each learned in five short days of about ten minutes. Every day fixes one mistake adult beginners make, so by Day 5 the song flows from your hands.

  • Silent Night
  • Joy to the World
  • Auld Lang Syne
Yes, I want to play this Christmas · USD 19

One-time payment. Instant access to all 3 songs. Yours to keep. Works on any 61-key keyboard or piano.

"I also went and played both RH and LH... Thank you for this quick win."

Musicate Academy member, after the Silent Night lesson
An adult's hands playing a digital piano on a cosy Christmas evening, with a lit Christmas tree behind

Picture this

It's Christmas Eve, the lights are low, and someone says, "Play us something."

You sit down, and Silent Night flows out of your hands in one smooth line, from the first note to the last.

On Christmas morning, it's Joy to the World. And at midnight on New Year's Eve, everyone sings Auld Lang Syne while you play.

That's what this course is for.

If this sounds familiar

  • The keyboard at home gets dusted more than it gets played.
  • You've tried an app, YouTube or lessons, and it fizzled out when life got busy.
  • You hunt for the right notes and hope the timing sorts itself out.
  • You've tried both hands at once and felt your brain tie itself in a knot.
  • You were told to learn theory and scales first, and never got to the music.

None of that means you can't play. These are the most common mistakes adult beginners make, and every one of them can be fixed.

One song, five short days

Most piano teaching starts with scales and works towards music. I do it the other way round.

We start with the song you love, then work backwards. The letters, the scale and the chords all come from the song itself, so every bit of "theory" you learn is something you use straight away.

Each song is learned in five days. Each day takes about ten minutes and fixes one common mistake.

  1. Day one

    Feel the pulse

    Before you touch a key, you tap along with my Pulse Tapper until you can feel the beat. Your playing stops sounding rushed and starts sounding like music.

    The Pulse Tapper tool, with a big button to tap along to the beat
    The real Pulse Tapper you'll use on Day 1.
  2. Day two

    Learn the song's letters

    Music only uses seven letters. You learn the ones in the song with a quick letter game, then see them line up as a scale. It's just the song's own notes, standing in a line.

    The letter-name game, showing the seven music letters on piano keys
    The letter game for Day 2. A few letters at a time.
  3. Day three

    Right hand on its own

    Follow my hand in the falling-keys video, then play the tune by yourself over the backing track.

    A still from the falling-keys video: a green note bar lands on the E key, with letter names on every key
    From the falling-keys video. You see which key to press, and when.
  4. Day four

    The left hand joins in

    Each song needs only a few left-hand shapes. Pick your level: one note, two notes or full chords. Then try both hands together, slowly.

    The left-hand chords page, showing Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3
    The left-hand page. Pick Level 1, 2 or 3.
  5. Day five

    Make it smooth

    Learn to join the notes so the music flows, take small breaths between phrases, and play the whole song.

If a day feels hard, stay on it another day. There's no rush. Slow is fine.

What's inside

Silent Night

The gentle one, for Christmas Eve.

Joy to the World

The bright one, for Christmas morning.

Auld Lang Syne

The one everyone sings at midnight on New Year's Eve.

For every song, you get the full 5-Day Fix:

  • A short video from me for each day, showing you exactly what to do
  • The Pulse Tapper, so you can feel the beat before you play a note
  • A letter-name game for the notes in that song
  • A left-hand chords page with three levels, so you play at the level that's right for you today
  • A falling-keys video where you see which key to press and when
  • A backing track, so you sound like you're playing with a band
  • Sheet music with letter names, the same standard used in music exams

All three songs are ready the moment you join, and they're yours to keep. Learn at any hour on your phone, tablet or computer, right beside your piano or keyboard. Play them again next Christmas, and the one after.

Get all 3 Christmas songs · USD 19

Who's teaching you

Photo and signature of MS, founder of Musicate Academy
MSFounder of Musicate Academy

Hi, I'm MS. You might know me from my YouTube song tutorials, or the free sheet music you downloaded.

I've taught piano for 18 years, mostly face to face. I watched so many adults start with real excitement and then stop. It was almost never because they couldn't do it. They were handed scales and drills instead of music, or asked to do too much at once.

So I teach the other way round. The song comes first. Everything else grows out of it.

  • 18 years teaching students of all ages and levels
  • ABRSM Grade 8 (practical and theory), AMEB Grade 8, Yamaha Electone Grade 5 (teaching grade)
  • 60+ free song tutorials on YouTube
  • Founder of Musicate Academy, an online piano community of nearly 250 adult learners

What adult learners say

"I did print out the .pdf and was able to follow you playing the RH notes. I also went and played both RH and LH. This will be a quick song to learn for the holidays... Thank you for this quick win. I really enjoyed this song."

Musicate Academy member, on the Silent Night lesson

"You make us feel like we are the only person in the group even though you have over 100 people in this group."

Musicate Academy member

Your questions, answered

"I can't read music."

You don't need to before you start. The falling-keys video shows you which key to press and when. On Day 2 you'll learn the letters in the song, a few at a time, using a game.

"Isn't this just scales and theory in disguise?"

No. We start with the song. Any scale or chord you learn comes straight out of the song you're playing, so it makes sense the moment you learn it.

"I'm too old to start."

Age doesn't matter at the piano. Everyone I teach is an adult, and many started later than you.

"I've tried before and gave up."

Most adults stop because the songs were boring, there was too much at once, or a weekly lesson felt like pressure. Here it's one song, one small task a day, with nothing to cancel.

"Is there enough time before Christmas?"

Each song takes five days of about ten minutes. Start by 14 December and you can finish Silent Night and Joy to the World by Christmas Eve. Auld Lang Syne gives you an extra week, until New Year's Eve.

"Both hands sounds hard."

That's why the left hand waits until Day 4, and why it has three levels. If one note at a time is right for you, that's a lovely way to play.

"I only have a small keyboard."

A 61-key keyboard is all you need.

"How do I get the songs after I pay?"

Straight after checkout you'll get an email with your login to the course. Everything is there, ready to start.

"How long can I keep it?"

For good. It's a one-time payment, with no subscription.

This Christmas can be the one where you finally play

USD 19

Three songs your family knows. Five short days each. Paid once, yours to keep.

Enrolment closes 24 December

Day 1 doesn't even need your piano. You just tap along with the Pulse Tapper. You could start tonight in ten minutes.

Yes, I want to play this Christmas

One-time payment, no subscription. Instant access to all 3 songs.

Christmas at the Keys | Play 3 Christmas songs with both hands