Top 10 Beginner Piano Songs

When learning to play the piano, it can be daunting to find the right piece of music to learn.

Playing the piano is a skill many of us wish we had or would ideally like our children to have. While getting lessons are great, they can be daunting as a prospect, especially if you are unfamiliar with music or want to introduce playing music to a younger child. As such, learning at home can be a good way to start to best judge whether you have the patience to learn as well as to allow you to have a good starting point to work from. As such, it can be tricky to find where to start and what music you should start playing. Here are ten beginner friendly pieces of piano music to investigate, that not only help you get started but can help you build up your skills.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

If you have a young child wanting to learn to play, they are going to want to demonstrate what they have learned to build confidence. As such, you need music for them to learn, that is easy to learn and memorise with no need for using both hands when first learning. It can be tricky to get your brain to fully process using both hands in tandem, especially when they’re playing differently. Nursery rhymes are familiar songs that they can sing along to with many repeated notes and can be played using the right hand only while still being recognisable as a tune.

Music blogger Kimberly Young, from Academized, says

 

One of the best songs to start with is ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’. Most of the notes are repeated twice in a row and you stick within the same octave, so you don’t have to move your hand too far on the keys.

For those who don’t know how to read music it’s easy enough to play by ear and starts on middle C which is one of the first keys you’re likely to recognise on the piano. This is also a good place to start for any beginner to get used to the keys and become familiar with where they are.

This can even be a great place to start learning to read music if you can get a very basic laid out version. The limited number of notes mean that you can begin to easily pick up how they look on paper and for those who learn more practically you can assign the note in your head to what is on the score in front of you.

Jingle Bells

Like nursery rhymes, Christmas carols are pieces of music that are familiar to our ear and so are likely to be easier to pick up. ‘Jingle Bells’ has the bonus that as you begin to learn more you can build on the tune. The chorus is the most basic part of the music and the part we’re all most familiar with. While a left hand can be incorporated and you can up the tempo as you gain more confidence, the basic rhythm and repeated notes make the most memorable part of the music easy to play.

This is particularly great for younger children who want to show off what they are learning and makes a great seasonal lesson that brings a bit of festive cheer.

Happy Birthday

Another song that children are familiar with, which they would love to show off and build their confidence with is ‘Happy Birthday’.

Again, this is something you can learn to play by ear and helps you to build your familiarity with the keys and moving your hand up and down the keys. While again starting on middle C, the song has a full octave jump and uses the note B flat as well which adds a little challenge for those becoming more comfortable in their practice. Flats and sharps can be tricky and can catch you out, especially when written on sheet music. This is a good way to begin to introduce these concepts to your lessons with the added bonus of making sure you’re likely to stay on tune next time you have to sing the song as well.

Heart and Soul

I’ve deliberately avoided putting ‘Chopsticks’ on this list as while it’s a simple piece of music that is infamous among beginner students, it is also one of those songs that has the potential to irritate you with its sound after a while. Some music shops have even banned people from playing it on the pianos when trying them out. Instead, I recommend learning ‘Heart and Soul’ as you begin to look to incorporate your left hand into your practice. The music itself is fun and bouncy, the tune involving a repeated pattern on the left hand while the right plays the melody. If you are a parent teaching your young child, you can even make this a fun bonding experience by turning it into a duet if you don’t feel they are ready to learn the left hand at the moment.

This song may become repetitive but it at least feels more of a complete piece of music and helps build up some of the basics of piano playing.

Baby Shark

Apologies to the parents out there for this one.

‘Baby Shark’ was a smash hit that was popular not only amongst young children but people of varying ages.

The simple tune of four notes played by the right hand make it a great starting point, mentions Leo Garcia, an editor of Oxessays.

Using only D, E, G and F sharp, this tune is easy to pick up and again easy to learn by ear. It helps you to familiarise with the keys and sharps while being a tune you enjoy singing along to. You just need to be careful it doesn’t get stuck in your head and that if you do teach it to your children you don’t have to hear it all the time.

Fur Elise

Moving away from the easier materials into more complex beginner friendly music, it is unsurprising we begin to turn to the Classics. Beethoven wrote several pieces of music that it’s worth looking into as a beginner, but ‘Fur Elise’ is possibly one of the most famous pieces of music and one you are likely to already be familiar with in some way or another.

The first section is the area that you should focus on as a beginner, it becomes more technically advanced in the second section, and is the bit that you are probably going to recognise. The tune can be learned in stages and is a good way to start building a reliable practice and improving your skills. With repeated notes and patterns in the music, once you’ve started to get the hang of it the song becomes easy to play and impress your friends and family with.

Moonlight Sonata

Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ is the other really well-known piece of music that beginners should look to try and learn. It has a slower tempo which means you don’t feel so daunted as you feel the notes out and learn the music. Like ‘Fur Elise’ you can learn this piece in stages with the first movement being the place to focus as a beginner. These pieces of music are great to come back to as you learn and grow to build upon, helping you to see your own improvement.

In any case, this is a piece that is well suited to any repertoire and again helps you build up a solid practice to improve your skills.

Clair de Lune

Whether you recognise the name or not, Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ is a tune you’ve probably heard somewhere. The music is gentle and beautiful, with a delightfully peaceful feeling that makes it a joy to play. This is the perfect piece of music for beginners who are looking to build up some confidence in their playing. Especially for those who are trying to build confidence using both hands.

The music is written in such a way that the left and right hand are rarely playing at the same time, so your focus isn’t too divided. For those beginners who are self-conscious about their playing this song gives you enough time to think about what you’re about to play, which is great to help it become almost second nature to you.

Hallelujah

Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ is one of those pieces of music that is infamous though perhaps a bit overplayed. With its inclusion in many soundtracks and the many covers people have done of it the tune is likely to be familiar enough to help you as you’re playing the melody at least.

This is one that some people find surprising as it sounds more complex as a piano piece than it is. All the music is built up based on chords and broken chords. This means that you can begin to learn the basics of chord progression to build your skills while staying in a more familiar vein that doesn’t require too much of a differentiation between the right and left hand.

You will likely be playing similar notes just on different octaves in slightly different patterns. If you’re uncomfortable with sharps and flats you can even find versions of this music that has been transposed to even more beginner friendly keys.

Ain’t No Sunshine

Bill Withers is one of those composers whose music is familiar and comforting, you likely know at least one of his songs without realising it. While ‘Lean on Me’ is also a very familiar tune that is easy to learn, ‘Ain’t no Sunshine’ is just one of those pieces of music that sticks with you. This beautiful, bluesy ballad is very beginner friendly and for the most part has you playing with only one hand at a time. This is a good option for those looking to build up those skills of trying to play with both hands but are self-conscious about your focusing abilities. It also makes a great alternative to people who just aren’t interested in more classical music like Debussy.

Conclusion

Starting to learn to play the piano is daunting and exciting, no matter what age you are there is such delight in being able to get a familiar tune out of the piano. For young children, the excitement can be enhanced with a desire to show off their skills and for other more mature beginners there is still that desire to build your confidence by playing familiar music that you know.

While there are many pieces of music you can start with and there are loads of more modern pop songs you could probably try as a starting point, these ten pieces of music tend to be the building blocks I would suggest to help you build and improve your skills.

There is enough here to help you move from playing with one hand to both hands, as well as enough of a variation that if you really don’t want to play a certain type of music you don’t have to. For those with young children who are learning, it’s important that you encourage them to practice and listen when they want to play for you. Building confidence is the key to becoming a great piano player. Just be careful to not allow yourself to get irritated hearing the same piece of music on repeat for hours. For more mature players, don’t skimp on practice and look to learn music you can build on in order to see for yourself how your skills are improving. If you have a piece of music you feel confident playing, don’t be afraid to show off to friends and family yourself. In the end these are just a starting point, and if you can afford lessons you definitely should take them up in order to work with a professional who can help you build your skills. But bringing along these pieces as a suggestion would be a good idea.

 

Do not miss our post about the Saddest Piano Songs.