Writing a Christmas Classic

Whether you’re Christian or not, a Christmas song can be a yearly treasure trove of streams. Such is the case for the classic greats - like Mariah Carey and Nat King Cole - and more recent stars - like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. So too is this true for lesser known artists who get upchucked into Spotify users the world over. From a calculated, business perspective, it behooves you as an artist to have a holiday song or two in your repertoire.

So! What makes a Christmas classic? 5 years ago, Vox did a deep dive into this question and discovered that “classic, early 20th century Christmas sound” is defined by an incredibly straightforward 4 cord cord progression: i, i7, iv, ii minor 7 flat 5. It’s a widely applicable cord progressions that explained the success of songs of “All I Want For Christmas is You.”

Production-wise we see certain flourishes make their way into our holiday headspace: slay bells and vocal choruses of oo’s and ah’s. Lyrically, words like Santa, snow, home/family, Christmas are commonly featured. You can take these classic Christmas song tropes and apply them to your own holiday-themed songs.

My challenge to all of you artists and songwriters is to write a Christmas song for network. Take an angle that speaks to you that synthesizers elements that have worked in the past. Of course, make sure to account for you own personal style and pizzaz.