B2 - C1 Christmas Music

Warm up

Do you have a favourite Christmas song?

Are there any Christmas songs that you truly cannot listen to anymore?

Do you enjoy singing Christmas songs?

Drag and Drop

Key words
Match the definitions to the terms below.

sing with closed lips​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

airing

hum

earworm

cheesy

chord

key

fondness

Drag and Drop

a great liking for someone or something​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

airing

hum

earworm

cheesy

chord

key

fondness

Drag and Drop

a set of musical notes based on one particular note (e.g. C major)​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

airing

hum

earworm

cheesy

chord

key

fondness

Drag and Drop

a group of musical notes sounded together at the same time​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

airing

hum

earworm

cheesy

chord

key

fondness

Drag and Drop

a very catchy song or tune​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

airing

hum

earworm

cheesy

chord

key

fondness

Drag and Drop

(informal) trying too hard to be funny, sweet, emotional or sentimental​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

airing

hum

earworm

cheesy

chord

key

fondness

Drag and Drop

a transmission of a programme, song or video on television or the radio​

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

airing

hum

earworm

cheesy

chord

key

fondness

You are going to read a short article about our love-hate relationship with festive songs. Before you read, tell me what you think about each statement below and decide whether they are true (T) or false (F).

Half the Christmas songs we hear are annoying.

Regardless of our preferences, Christmas tunes bring people together.

Songs full of sleigh bells are generally regarded as cheesy.

"Under the Mistletoe" by Justin Bieber is the best-selling Christmas song of all time.

When people hear a new song for the first time, they usually do not like it.

Let's see how you got on.

False. "(...) while about two-thirds are pleasant, some can become quite annoying."

True. So we could argue that Christmas music helps bring us together – whether we love it or hate it.

True. "Among the cheesy sleigh bells-filled tunes..."

False. "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin is the best-selling song of all time.
True. "According to some theories, when we first hear a new piece of music we tend not to like it very much."

Christmas earworms

​The science behind our love-hate relationship with festive songs

1. In the run-up to Christmas, we’re exposed to a shower of festive music – on the radio and television, in shops, train stations, restaurants, pubs and bars. In the UK, our favourite old bands are being played everywhere along with newer singers like Kelly Clarkson and Justin Bieber. And, of course, Britain’s two most popular Christmas songs by Mariah Carey and The Pogues are getting their annual airing.

2. So are you humming Jingle Bells or All I Want for Christmas while you wrap your presents? Catchy music, "sticky tunes" or earworms, as they have become known, are songs that get stuck in our heads – and while about two-thirds are pleasant, some can become quite annoying.

3. Musically, earworms seem to come more often from songs which have fairly conventional melodic patterns together with something unusual – a key change, or unexpected repetitions.

4. There’s a popular article written by journalism professor Adam Ragusea, who claims to have identified a mysterious "Christmas chord" that might explain the popularity of Christmas songs and why they give us earworms, although not all commentators are entirely convinced. But research suggests that even though there could be some common features, the specific songs that become earworms are different from person to person.

5. What’s different about Christmas music is that we are all listening to a much smaller pool of musical options at this time of year. Because of the dominance of Christmas music in public places such as shops and bars, we all get a lot more exposure to the same songs than we do at other times of year. So we could argue that Christmas music helps bring us together – whether we love it or hate it.

​Dreaming of a hit record

6. Among the cheesy sleigh bells-filled tunes, there are some great Christmas classics – and it’s interesting to note that White Christmas by Irving Berlin is not only consistently one of the most well-known Christmas songs but is the best-selling song of all time. It also has the characteristics of an earworm, and it contains that funny "Christmas chord". But how does a song like that maintain its popularity over the decades?

7. According to some theories, when we first hear a new piece of music, we tend to not like it very much. But repetition sparks liking – and repetition both within a song and through repeated listening over days, weeks and months will usually increase our fondness.

8. There’s a limit to this repetition effect. Too much of it sends liking down the other side of the curve, meaning that when we have heard something too much we eventually, and quickly, get quite fed up with it. In one research study, we find that people regulate their own exposure to their own music over very long periods of time.

9. A lot of Christmas music, whether we think it’s good or bad, will be more popular than it might deserve to be as it usually only gets aired a few months of the year. By the time we’re taking down the Christmas tree in January, we’ve all become fully sick of Mariah and so we put it away in the attic with the tree, to be dusted off and enjoyed again next year.

Open Ended

Listen to the recording and on the next slide we will discuss five questions.

​Question One

Musically speaking, how are Christmas ‘earworms’ constructed?

​Question Two

According to professor Adam Ragusea, why are Christmas songs so popular?

​Question Three

Why do we tend to listen to fewer songs during Christmas?

​Question Four

What other theory explains why Christmas songs are popular?

​Question Five

What is the downside of this?

​Answer's

1. They have fairly conventional melodic patterns together with something unusual: a key change, or unexpected repetitions.

2. They use a mysterious "Christmas chord".

3. Because of the dominance of Christmas music in public places such as shops and bars, we all get a lot more exposure to the same songs than we do at other times of the year.

4. They are repeated so often.

5. We can get fed up with the songs.

​Talking Point

1. Do you enjoy Christmas music? Why/why not?

2. How do you feel about the commercialisation of the Christmas season?

3. Do you decorate the inside and outside of your home for Christmas?

4. Do people celebrate Christmas in your country? How?