For beginner piano learners, diving into music books and learning to read scores is like unlocking a secret musical language—it makes learning piano way more fun and super effective! It’s your best friend for a smooth and speedy musical journey.
In fact, Superprof wants to help you get a jump on your piano playing. In this article, we present eight easy songs to play on piano that will help you reach beyond your current skill level. As always, we're mindful of learning mechanisms. So we'll point out which aspects of your piano playing these songs help you improve.
| Song | Artist | Key(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Lean On Me | Bill Withers | C major |
| Imagine | John Lennon | C major |
| Let it Be | The Beatles | C major |
| Hey There Delilah | The Plain White T's | D major |
| Clocks | Coldplay | E♭ major |
| Blinding Lights | The Weekend | C minor |
| All of Me | John Legend | A♭ major |
| Beliver | Imagine Dragons | B♭ minor |
Lean on Me by Bill Withers
Bill Withers' timeless classic features a shifting chord pattern. Starting in C Major, you can play almost the whole song with a 1st inversion C Major. Then, follow this E-C-G triad shape up and down the keyboard, keeping the same chord shape throughout. You'll play the melody from the top note of each chord.
If you're tired of running scales, take a break and play this song. It's perfect for moving a fixed chord shape along the keyboard. It's also a great introduction to diatonic harmony - the notes that sound good when played as a chord.
You can learn a lot of technical skills from this one song!
Imagine by John Lennon
C major is a fundamental key; most beginner piano lessons revolve around this scale. This song's basic structure is built around the fundamental triad with a C anchor. To play the piano part's rhythm section, you only need to rock your hand back and forth; working your thumb, middle finger and small finger, making it one of the most easy piano songs to learn.
Obviously, there's more to Imagine than one-note fingering and triads. For instance, you'll go from the F-chord back to C for the verse progression; that gives you a chance to spice things up a little. But not too much! This song helps beginner players build right-hand finger independence and hand strength so focus on those aspects; don't trick it out (too much).
Many online piano tutorials feature this tune. It's great to help you train your right hand toward maximum finger independence. If you're a left-handed player, mastering this song will help you improve your right hand's finger speed and dexterity. For right-handed players, Imagine will hone the skills and strength your dominant hand already possesses.
Let It Be by The Beatles
This timeless classic is popular among older learners and younger generations alike.
Beginners often struggle with chord progressions. These progressions, often called chord changes, are the foundation of harmony. They give songs more body and texture; we identify music genres by the number and complexity of chord progressions. Pop music typically builds on simple progressions while jazz music may have one or two chord changes per bar.
As such, Let it Be is great practice for mastering the four-chord 1-5-6-4 progression. It's one of pop music's most common progressions; once you master it, you can add hundreds of songs to your repertoire. To find it on your keyboard, start in C Major; the chords are C, G, Am, F. It’s an important and useful foundation in your piano playing!
Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T’s
Many mid-90s bands and solo artists gave fans unique new sounds for the decade. They were more raw and personal, and tended towards more acoustic interpretation. Alternative rock was the label we assigned to musicians outside the mainstream pop airwaves. These artists' soon became the mainstream but the Alternative label stuck.
Enter the Plain White T's with their #1 hit, Hey There Delilah. For all its simplicity, it's a two-layer song that offers you the chance to focus on its chords and melody or practise the fingerpicking style of playing. The latter option is trickier because you'll use your left hand to play broken chords. You can hear what that sounds like in the song's original version.
Even though the original song is played on guitar, it’s still one of the best easy popular songs to play on piano for beginners.
Clocks by Coldplay
Coldplay's classic song is the one you need to practise arpeggiated triads. That entails playing each note of the three-note chord one after the other instead of together. You might set your metronome on a slower tempo to train your fingers and build your speed over time. Once you have that fluidity, playing it against a backing pop beat will help you develop your sense of timing.
It’s a simple song that is easy songs to play on keyboard or piano once you understand the finger movements and timing.
Once you have mastered these pieces, you might want to give improvisation a try.
Blinding Lights by The Weeknd
As you learn more about your instrument, you'll likely want to test its capabilities against your newly developed skills. For that, you need more complex pieces.
The Weeknd's song is a bit deceptive because you can play it the easy way or the hard way. It's a good idea to stick with the easy way to play it at first, something the simple chord progression encourages. That progression consists of Fm-Cm-Eb-Bb in an alternating pattern. These major and minor triads demonstrate how chord quality should be combined to deliver a punchy hook.
Besides giving you a reason to practise mixing major and minor triads, this song gives your left hand a workout. You'll play that progression with your left hand and you can make it as 'hooky' as you want. Don't forget to do your warm-up exercises, first!
Like many other instruments, your piano needs to be tuned regularly to be able to produce the best sound, you can hire a professional to do it for you, alternatively, many music enthusiasts also choose to do it themselves, and you can also learn to turn your piano with our guide.
All of Me by John Legend
John Legend pulls no punches with this romantic ballad, starting as he does with that haunting piano intro. The tune is slow and steady and the melody repeats but don't let all that fool you into thinking it's too easy to play. Before John sings the first lyric, he treats you to a chance to play fifths with your right hand. Master that intro and you'll master that skill. That’s why it’s a great choice for beginner piano songs, even though it’s a bit more complex.
Playing All of Me doesn't call for expansive hand movements; you'll learn how to play inversions by adjusting each hand's fingers just a little. The subtlety of these chord changes gives the song's meaning more weight. This tune's focus isn't on playing prowess but on the power of music. John's elegant phraseology will guide you to becoming that kind of piano player.
Believer by Imagine Dragons
You might not believe Imagine Dragon's drum-led tune is suited to the piano but the sheet music would beg to differ. This song has a 12/8 time signature; it's far more bouncy than the standard 4/4 sheet music most beginners believe music teachers dwell on. As an introduction to new time signatures, it's hard to find a better song than Believer.
Many piano beginners find it challenging to play the black notes. This song's original Bb minor key gives you the chance to build that skill. It's also great to build up your speed because you'll have to play repeated notes in quick succession. For a real challenge, try to play it as a piano duel! For pianists ready to expand their basic skills, this is one of the best easy piano pop songs to learn.
None of these tunes would be counted among the hardest songs to play on the piano. But if you're a beginner, you may find the fingering and chord progressions challenging to master. That's precisely what makes these melodies such valuable practice material. What's more, they're all familiar tunes so don't be surprised if you end up with a chorus singing while you play!
f you are interested in learning or improving your piano skills, visit Superprof and find a long catalogue of piano tutors all over Australia. Interested in piano lessons online? The great majority of tutors and instructors on Superprof offer lessons online.
Learning the Piano as a Beginner
Plenty of piano enthusiasts are keen to tickle the ivories whether or not they know any music theory or playing best practices. I speak from experience, here. As far as I was concerned, repetitive scales and arpeggios, practising etudes and exploring solfège were all obstacles to jumping with both feet into piano-playing greatness.
Fortunately, I learned how to play, but only over time and without any YouTube videos telling me I could be great without formal lessons. Easy access to online self-paced piano tutorials - the kind without direct instructor input, does piano students a disservice. We should worry that legions of future piano players are missing out on music and piano fundamentals simply because they don’t have a skilled teacher to guide them. This lack of guidance could limit musicians' potential and even cause physical injury.
That's why it's best to do as all the world's best piano players did: take lessons with a qualified piano tutor. Learn music and piano fundamentals; work your way into artistry. Build your skills over time; don't rely on free tutorial videos to teach you everything you need to know about the piano.
But that doesn't mean you must discount such offerings altogether; you should learn from them as well as your piano teacher. Nobody said you can't work ahead of your piano lessons, either. For instance, there's nothing wrong with finishing your at-home piano practice with an easy tune or two that doesn't feature in your curriculum.
So, find the best piano lessons for you on Superprof today! Your tutor will teach you all the fundamental skills, context, and techniques you need to become a successful piano player while avoiding injuries.
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