Do you want to achieve greatness in playing the piano and engrave your name among piano legends? Then, you should take the learning process step by step. Accordingly, you should begin by practicing easy piano songs to learn the basics and then move on to more complicated pieces.
Here, we’ll tell you all about the songs you should start with. All you have to do is read on!
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The Short Answer
Although you may think they’re too simple, songs like Twinkle Twinkle and Jingle Bells make for a perfect start to a fruitful piano learning experience. Then, continuing with Hallelujah and Havana and ending with a classical music piece like Fur Elise, you’ll be a piano music expert in no time!
Now that we’ve given you a brief about what to expect in this article, it’s time to jump into more details!
1. Twinkle Twinkle
No matter what your age is, you can significantly benefit from playing Twinkle Twinkle on the piano. It’s a perfect beginner piano song for practicing simple notes and finger movements on the piano. Moreover, it has a repetitive tone and a narrow finger range, making it the most straightforward song to learn.
You can print its sheet music and follow it closely while focusing on both your right and left hands’ movements. If you’ve ever gone to a music school before or even taken online piano lessons, you’ll notice that most of them start by teaching this song or the Alphabet Song, which mostly has the same notes.
2. Jingle Bells
Not only does it mark the beginning of a very jolly season, but Jingle Bells also works wonders for piano beginner players. It has a pretty simple chorus that nearly everybody is familiar with. Accordingly, although it’s a bit more complicated than Twinkle Twinkle, you won’t face any difficulty learning it.
In addition, Jingle Bells has a repetitive melody and only a five-note range, making it a perfect fit to teach you the basic chords. Just read the sheet music carefully and start playing!
3. Happy Birthday
In addition to the fact that this song falls nicely on ears, Happy Birthday is also a great piano song for beginners. Most people are familiar with its tone due to singing it for years on birthdays, so it won’t be challenging to memorize. Moreover, you can practice it at any birthday party to impress your friends.
Luckily, practicing this song will be easy because the whole melody line is centered around middle C. Accordingly, your fingers will get used to playing it fast. Also, you can play the sheet music with one hand at first and then include the other when you’ve practiced more.
4. Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
Once you’ve practiced the songs we’ve mentioned, you can move on to Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. It takes a proud stance among simple piano songs because although it’s easy to learn, it includes playing chords with one hand while playing the melody with another. This enhances your piano skills and gets you readier for even harder piano pieces.
In addition, it has a slow tempo and a lovely melody that’ll let you get used to playing it smoothly. To start practicing Hallelujah, you can play chords with your left hand, leaving the right one for the melody.
5. Havana – Camilla Cabello
The off-the-beat rhythm and the complex melody of this song will take you to a more advanced level in playing piano. It acts as a nice challenge for beginners to motivate them to work on themselves more.
In the chorus, you can use your left hand to play the repetitive tones. Meanwhile, you can use your right hand to practice the chords. And voila! You’ll have an excellent tone to listen to and practice after reading the sheet music.
In the beginning, you might think that this song is a tad harder than other piano pieces, but if you take it slowly, you’ll ace it in no time. After all, it’s one of the most fun piano songs for beginners.
6. Swan Lake Theme – Tchaikovsky
The worldwide famous ballet’s title theme is one of the best beginner piano songs that you can practice. Of course, you must be thinking that it’ll be too hard for you, but it has a smooth flow and many repetitive melodies. That’s why it’ll be fun and easy to learn.
In addition, you’ll get to simultaneously use your hands in this piece, which will enhance your motor skills and finger movements even further. Other than that, the song has an even distribution of right and left hand movements.
Apart from the music playing benefits you’ll get out of this song, playing it is also a perfect outlet for emotions and thoughts. Not to mention you’ll get to show it off to your friends and family. It’s a legendary music piece, after all!
7. Prelude in C Major – Bach
If you want your ears to get used to some classical music pieces, then Bach’s Prelude in C major is a beautiful song to start with. You can step up your game with this piece and use both your hands to breed a flowing melody.
Although this piece is evenly divided between your hands, you won’t play two notes at the same time. To elaborate, while your right hand plays its notes, your left hand will hold down a bit on other notes.
Bach’s Prelude repeats every note pattern twice, which will help you memorize it fast once you play the whole song. You might feel discouraged at first while reading the sheet music, but don’t worry! It looks more complicated than it is. Just take it carefully and slowly, let your hands get used to the notes gradually, and you’ll eventually get there.
8. Clair de Lune – Claude Debussy
Clair de Lune is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs to play on the piano. Moreover, once you hear it a few times, you’ll be able to understand the melody flow and the notes. However, the musical piece gets a bit complicated once it reaches the middle section. That said, you might want to start with only its introduction, which is pretty easy to learn.
It mainly consists of a slow melody that you play with your right hand while your left one practices broken chords. Luckily, you won’t have to use your hands at the same time for most of the song. As a result, you’ll be able to focus on the rhythm and memorize the sheet music nicely.
9. Clocks – Coldplay
Clocks by Coldplay isn’t just an outstanding pop song. It also has a unique piano part that gained it its respected place in piano lessons. If you print the sheet music, you’ll notice how it’s easy to learn and fun to play. Also, it won’t be a challenge to memorize since it’s somewhat unique. However, its tempo is pretty fast, so you’ll need to slow down to master it.
The piano part of this song has three primary chords. If you simultaneously play the three notes together, you’ll hear them. When you master this sheet music, you’ll have developed your piano skills significantly.
10. Let It Be – The Beatles
When it comes to pop songs, the Beatles have no competition. Accordingly, if you want to up your pop game, you’d do great with a classic like Let It Be. The worldwide-famous band used one of the most remarkable chord progressions while recording this song.
In addition to the fun you’ll have while playing it, it can develop your motor skills and aural awareness. Luckily, this song has many repetitive chords so that you won’t face much of a challenge while learning it.
11. All of Me – John Legend
The heartwarming, fun song that John Legend graced us with definitely falls at the top of our choices as an easy piano song. If you focus, you can memorize and learn it in just a few hours. You’ll get to use both hands during playing this song as your right hand will play the first parts, while your left one will come to use at the end.
To further improve your piano skills, you can use the sustain pedal while playing this song. Over time, you’ll have more experience, and you’ll know when to release and press it.
12. Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers
If you’re into pop songs, you’ll love playing Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers on the piano. It’s also romantic, making it perfect for practice sessions with a dash of emotional expression.
In this easy piano song, you’ll use your right hand to arpeggiate the chords. Meanwhile, your left hand will focus on playing all the notes. The chords you’ll play in Unchained Melody are G, A, Bm, and D. You’ll get the grasp of it after reading the sheet music a few times.
13. What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Although trumpets immediately come to our minds when we think of Louis Armstrong, he has one particular masterpiece that you can practice on the piano. In addition to the uplifting nature of What a Wonderful World, it also has one of the easiest piano patterns.
Simply put, you’ll use your right hand to play the smooth melody and your left to play two-note chords. The smooth movements and straightforward sheet music effortlessly gained this song a place on our easy piano songs list.
14. Amazing Grace
To take a break from pop songs, you can play this comforting melody on the piano as a part of practicing easy piano songs. Luckily, it has pretty short sheet music so that you won’t feel overwhelmed when you start playing.
In the beginning, your right hand will focus on playing the soft melodies, while your left will play the ever-haunting broken chords. Since this music piece is relatively easy, you can learn it in such a short time before moving on to something more complicated.
15. Lean On Me – Bill Withers
Most beginners like to play famous songs on the piano to show off to their family and friends. Lucky for you, Lean On Me by Bill Withers found its way to our list with its simple tunes and smooth melody. As a bonus point, you’ll be tempted to sing along with it!
The notes you’ll play in this great song are C-D-E-F, and you’ll work with both of your hands to finish the piece. When it comes to simple piano songs, you’ll always find Lean On Me on the list.
16. Fur Elise – Beethoven
Saving the best for last, you’ll have a fun time learning the ever-classical Fur Elise by Beethoven. You’ve most probably heard it before, so it’ll feel familiar to your ears. As a result, you’ll memorize it in a short time and with minimum effort. That’s why it’s one of the best piano songs for beginners.
If you’ve had enough practice with the songs we’ve mentioned before, it might be time to tackle this masterpiece. However, don’t be fooled by its reputation. Fur Elise isn’t that challenging to learn. You’ll merely have to work through some black notes and a couple of jumps between different notes.
The first part of this piece is marked the easiest by many beginners, while it’s widely known that the second part is more of a challenge. That’s why you should start slow and practice the first part before jumping into the second.
To Wrap Up
If you have a piano, fingers aching to move elegantly over the keys, and a dash of beginner’s motivation, then all you need is a couple of easy piano songs to practice. You can start with simple pieces like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday and then go classical and learn Fur Elise and Amazing Grace. This way, your piano playing will sound impressive in no time!