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Music Notes: The Art, Science, and Technique of Music

By Staff on December 10, 2025

Music Notes – An Xperience Column – by Peak Music Studios.

Peak Music Studios – December Edition

Ho Ho Ho! ’Tis the season of cookies, chaos, and if we’re honest, questionable office-party caroling. Every December, I’m asked: “Jeff, why does every group version of Jingle Bells sound like a trio of confused cats?” Or, “Why does Happy Birthday instantly transform into a tonal crime scene unless Pentatonix is present?” The answer?

It’s human nature.

Why We Go Off Key (The Science)

Humans are wired to match other humans. Daniel Levitin (author of ”This Is Your Brain on Music”) notes that pitch-matching is both empathic and socially cohesive. It signals that we’re safe with one another. Johan Sundberg’s research on acoustics shows that when a group sings without an agreed-upon pitch, the brain attempts to lock in with *any* dominant frequency. This creates what I lovingly call “frequency drift.” Everyone tries to move to everyone else’s frequency, and then you just give up and either quit singing or try to drown everyone else out.

In plain language: Everybody chooses a key that feels comfortable for *them*, not for everyone else. Thus, the holiday warbling begins.

The Practical Fix (Technique Meets Neuroscience)

If you want your crowd, classroom, or family to sound like they intended to sing together:

Pick a note on a piano app—start with middle C (C4).
Tell the lower-voice folks (altos and bassy uncles) to simply octave down.
Have everyone *hum* the pitch first. Humming locks in the frequency better than singing.
If middle C feels low or dull, try A3—a golden pitch most kids, teens, and adults can match.
Then sing away, proud and unified.

This little “pitch ceremony” will instantly eliminate 90% of the chaos. As I’ve said in past classes: Humans sing better when the brain knows where home base is.

Technique: The Christmas Survival Guide

Technique is half the battle, but it’s also the part most people get tangled up in. So, here’s the reminder straight from Peak’s teaching hierarchy:

THE SINGING HIERARCHY

Pitch – Hit the note
Rhythm – Place the note
Vowel – Shape the note
Tension – Don’t kill the note

Tension, especially tongue tension, creates harsh, icy frequencies that crackle like a broken ornament. A lowered, relaxed tongue frees the resonating chamber and smooths tone production. (Titze’s research points directly to this.)

Holiday Tip: If your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth like a candy cane in January, the sound will reflect that.

Sing Within Your Technical Range

Here’s where the art meets the honesty:

If you can’t nail the opening riff of “All I Want for Christmas is You,” don’t force it. Choose a song that serves you, not one that showcases your limitations.

As I remind students all year, technical capability in voice is earned, not wished for. There’s a reason Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, and many others bring their voice coaches on tour–the myth of “I was born with talent” is just that, mostly a myth.

Performance Is the Other Half

Every month, I say some version of this: Technique is the engine. Performance is the soul.

And look, if Joe Cocker, Lemmy Kilmister, and Bob Dylan can deliver iconic, world-moving performances without “perfect voices,” then so can you.

The heart matters more than the flawless scale. The story matters more than the shine.

As Bruce Lee said (and a mantra we often call back to at Peak): “Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.” That is the essence of holiday singing.

The Holiday Singing Mindset

Smile.
Get your hands out of your pockets.
Take a breath that actually reaches your ribs.

And remember: The holidays belong to joy, not judgment.

When you choose the right pitch, honor the hierarchy, keep tension low, and embrace the imperfect humanity of your voice, holiday music becomes what it was always meant to be, a shared, communal ritual of warmth.

Now get out there and sing a few carols. Loud, proud, and in tune—mostly. And if all else fails, bring cookies or a pocket flask of cheer.

This Month in Music History

December 4, 1956 — The “Million Dollar Quartet” (Elvis, Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins) recorded gospel & Christmas tunes during their legendary Sun Studios session.

December 5, 1791 — Mozart dies while working on the ”Requiem.”

December 7, 1964 — ”A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi is released.

December 10, 1942 — Nat King Cole Trio records ”The Christmas Song” for the first time.

December 15, 1965 — ”A Charlie Brown Christmas” TV special premieres, cementing Guaraldi’s music as seasonal canon.

December 18, 1892 — Tchaikovsky’s ”The Nutcracker” premieres in St. Petersburg.

December 22, 1808 — Beethoven’s mega-concert premieres his Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral), Piano Concerto No. 4, and Choral Fantasy, all in one winter night.

December 24, 1818 — ”Silent Night” is performed for the first time in Oberndorf, Austria.

December 26, 1960 — Elvis Presley releases ”It’s Now or Never”—not a Christmas song, but its December release marks the rise of winter pop singles as a marketing strategy.

December 30, 1944 — Frank Sinatra records “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Weird But True

“Silent Night” was first performed because the church organ broke.

On Christmas Eve 1818, mice disabled the church organ in Oberndorf, Austria.
With no instrument available, Franz Gruber grabbed a guitar, rewrote the accompaniment on the spot, and ”Silent Night” was born as an emergency guitar carol. Thank God for guitars!!!