I’ll never forget the first year that I played ukulele for Christmas. I was recovering from a low back injury, and I couldn’t really stand up for too long without a lot of pain. Even though I couldn’t help decorate the Christmas trees, I could provide the soundtrack of holiday cheer, thanks to some of the best ukulele Christmas books in my collection. While my family hung the ornaments and put strands of lights on everything, I sat comfortably in my favorite chair and strummed away on my baritone ukulele. It was definitely a magical Christmas!
As far as I’m concerned, it’s never too early or too late to start practicing Christmas music for the holidays! I usually break out the best ukulele Christmas books in August to start practicing the songs I know I’ll want to play for family and friends throughout the holiday season. And every year, I always make sure to add in a handful of new-to-me Christmas tunes just to keep learning something different and challenge myself.Â
Best Ukulele Christmas Books
Whether you’re a brand-new ukulele player or someone who has more than a few years of experience playing uke around the holidays, it can’t hurt to have a few of the best ukulele Christmas books in your collection of ukulele music. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite ukulele Christmas books!
What Is a Fake Book?
Fake books are a great way to pack hundreds of songs into one volume. Music presented in a fake book includes a melody line, lyrics, and chord symbols – and that’s it! You get the basics of a song, including the key that the song is written in so you can improvise, and then the rest is up to you!Â
I know that a lot of folks these days are using electronic tablets to store their ukulele sheet music, but I’m old-fashioned. I love a good ukulele book where I can scribble notes in the margins, remind myself of any cool riffs or licks I might come up with while improvising, and remind myself of any tricky chord changes that might come up.Â
Finally, a great fake book really gives you the chance to learn the basics of a song and then really make it your own. Playing from a fake book gives you the opportunity to be creative in how you arrange and perform any song!
Christmas Ukulele Fake Book: Over 250 Songs
This volume published by Hal Leonard Music includes an incredible collection of Christmas songs. Each song includes the melody line and the musical key of the song, plus chord symbols and chord changes. All you have to do is hum and strum along and enjoy the music!Â
The Christmas Ukulele Fake Book gets a place on the list of best ukulele Christmas books because it has literally hundreds of wonderful Christmas songs in all different genres! It includes Christmas hymns that have found their way into the secular world like Angels We Have Heard On High, Away In a Manger, Joy To the World, O Holy Night, and Little Town of Bethlehem.Â
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If you love the Christmas songs from the 1950s, 60s, and beyond, this is a great book to add to your collection, too! There are some great nostalgic Christmas tunes in this book that will delight younger and older ukulele players and Christmas carolers. It’s a perfect collection to take with you when you’re caroling outdoors or indoors.
Finally, it includes some of our favorite Christmas songs from more recent years – You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch, and even some pop Christmas songs from the Billboard charts!
Christmas Songs Ukulele Chord Songbook
Another fabulous volume from Hal Leonard Music publishing company, this is a great book if you’re looking for a variety of popular Christmas songs that everyone will know. This eclectic collection of well-loved Christmas songs is perfect for beginners and more experienced ukulele players.Â
This is one of a series of books from Hal Leonard that gives you the full lyrics and chords for 54 wonderful Christmas tunes that will have your audience smiling and singing along. No need to know how to read music with this one – you’ll get all the chord symbols for each song, making this perfect for practicing and performing.Â
The Real Christmas Book for Ukulele Guitar Piano Voice 2nd Edition
For all the multi-instrumentalists out there, the Real Christmas Book for Ukulele is a fabulous option. While this book doesn’t include ukulele chord charts, it does include 248 pages (over 150 songs) of Christmas classics with melody lines and chord names. The alphabetized index at the beginning of the book makes it easy to find your favorite Christmas songs fast!
What I love about this book is that it can be used for not just ukulele, but also for anyone who plays guitar, piano, or loves to sing their favorite Christmas songs. While it may not include the chord charts for each of the songs, like other fake books, it gives you the freedom to be creative with these classic Christmas tunes and really make them your own!
The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book
Last but not least on my list of the best ukulele Christmas books is the Ultimate Christmas Fake Book. This volume is great for multi-instrumentalists and singers alike, with 232 pages of holiday music to get you in the mood for a celebration. The song list includes songs from all over the world as well as your favorite Christmas classics from popular music in the U.S.Â
Because this book is meant to be used by folks who play more than one instrument, there are no ukulele chord charts. Each song includes the full lyrics, melody, and key of each song, as well as chords and chord changes, but you’ll need to look up the ukulele chords on your own. If you’re looking for a collection of Christmas music with international flavor, this is the book for you!
Get ready to rock around the Christmas tree this year and every year with one of these great ukulele Christmas books from Uke Like the Pros!
