Holiday Songs

Have you ever wondered what makes a holiday song? We all hear the distinctive bells and chimes on the radio after Thanksgiving, but why are some tunes dubbed, “holiday songs,” and how are they made?

Most of the classic holiday standards were made in the early 1900s. One of the only recent songs that have become Christmas staples is Mariah Carey’s, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” released in 1994. It has become increasingly difficult for any modern songs to stick and be included in the list of standard holiday songs. So what do those compositions have that makes them so special?

Mariah Carey seems to have studied the classics well. In today’s world of pop music, most songs are created using a simple four chord progression. However, in the 1930s and 40s, pop was mainly informed by jazz, which incorporated many different chords and forms of those chords. Using a wide variety of diminished and augmented chords harkens back to that era and makes a song more “jazzy.” In “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” there are at least thirteen distinct chords. But a potential holiday standard has to do more than just sound different from 21st century pop music. There’s a certain chord progression present in most Christmas classics that people innately recognize and associate with the holidays. The key is the minor subdominant chord with an added 6, a minor chord starting on the fourth tone of the scale. The songs go from a major subdominant to that minor subdominant, and then to the tonic chord, or the final resolution. Essentially, this creates an effect where a bright, strong chord “melts” into a dark, diminished chord and finishes back at the warm, safe home. In words we can all understand, the chords produce a cozy, snug mood that has come to be associated with the holidays. Not all winter songs include these chords, but invoking a jazzy, wintry feeling is one step in making the ultimate Christmas classic.

What makes Mariah Carey’s song so great is not the careful chord imitation. Others have tried and failed by simply copying the early 20th century classics. Carey infuses the jazz progressions and rich style of the standards with modern day elements. She keeps the sleigh bells, chimes, and jazzy augmented chords, but adds in her own spin. From the iconic opening notes and the up-tempo drum beat to the use of synthesizers and vocal riffs, Mariah Carey pays homage to the old holiday greats while modernizing the Christmas spirit. So if you’re looking to craft the next hit holiday single, make sure to listen to all the classics. See if you can hear the way the chords shift, creating emotion and scenes of cozy fires with gentle snow falling outside. Even if you don’t know anything about music theory, anyone can be moved by the musical language, telling a story of love and family during the holidays.