Learn To Play Easy Piano Songs

Learn to play easy piano songs

Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s better to spot yours early so they don’t turn into bad piano habits. Discover the most common mistakes beginners make on the piano and learn how you can avoid them.

It is normal that when you are starting to learn to play the piano it is difficult for you to find simple songs that do not sound bland or boring. You might rather want to play popular pop songs or some famous classical piece, but they seem too complicated. Well, we have good news for you.

In fact, it is possible to play cool songs from the beginning. The trick is knowing how to find great-sounding song transcriptions that are also suitable for beginners. This post will help you do just that, in addition to giving you a couple of examples to get you up and running as soon as possible.

Six clues to identify easy piano songs

As a beginner, you may have a hard time trying to distinguish whether what you are listening to or watching is a simple song or not. However, there are some clues you can look at when you find out.

1. Level of independence of the hands

   The more you have to play with both hands at once, the more difficult it is for your brain to coordinate the movements of both hands independently. Normally, simple songs have a simple left-hand accompaniment consisting of a few chords or single notes, while the right hand plays the melody. If you look at a sheet music, the bottom staff is always for the left hand, so I recommend looking for songs whose scores contain few notes or chords on this staff.

2. Distance to be traveled by the hand

   Naturally, the song will be more difficult to play the more your hand has to reach out or jump to distant notes. With the help of a video, you will be able to tell if your hands need to move more or less often.
   If you have sheet music, you can identify jumps or shifts just by looking at the notes. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an expert in reading music to do it. Just notice if the notes are close to each other or, on the contrary, if they are scattered on the staff. The formula is that the notes for each hand are roughly within the same octave, so try to find songs where the notes are not too far apart.

3. Rhythm

   The rhythmic pattern is another factor that distinguishes easy piano pieces from difficult ones. Complex rhythms contain a lot of syncopated notes or not-so-common figures, such as triplets or dotted figures. They are easy to locate by glancing at the sheet music.

4. Duration

   More than an element of difficulty, this is a motivating factor. If the song is very long, it may take weeks or even months to learn it, so the process can be complicated and you end up frustrated. That is why I advise you to look for scores that do not exceed 50 bars. Don’t take this as a rule of thumb either, that if you really like a song, you should go for it even if it’s 80 bars 🙂 difficult parts.

5. Time

   Normally, easy piano songs don’t need to be played at a fast tempo. As a beginner, your fingers still have to get used to fast movements, so it’s okay to play slowly at first and gradually increase your speed.
   How can you tell if a song is too fast for a novice? Very easy. The trick is to avoid songs that contain a lot of sixteenth notes or faster figures. Those are the notes with two or more brackets (or stems) or that are joined by two or more bars. Of course, you can always search for a video of someone playing the song.

6. Alterations

   Simple songs usually contain little or no accidentals or accidentals. Accidentals require playing the black keys instead of the white keys on the keyboard (there are a few exceptions, but here’s what you need to know for now).
   One of the accidentals is in the shape of b and the other the hashtag symbol: # 🙂 If the accidentals are right at the beginning of the song, that’s what we call a ‘key signature’. This means that the accidental affects ALL notes in the song and does not need to appear again to remind you. You can also find them suddenly in the middle of the song, and then they affect all the notes of the measure in which they are placed. As you can see, the alterations thing is quite complicated, so you should avoid them at first.

List of the best easy songs for piano or keyboard

If you are just starting out in the world of the piano, you will want to surprise your family and friends with easy songs for this beautiful instrument. We show you some options for you to start to get along with it, and with its simplicity, you will surely start to feel more motivated to continue advancing.

These are the simplest songs so that the piano becomes a friendly and familiar element for you.

1. For Elisa – Beethoven – Simplified song

   For Elisa it is one of the most famous melodies that exists, and in addition the mystery about the origin of the author is controversial to say the least. Yes, it is possible that Ludwig van Beethoven was not the composer.

2. Song from the Movie “Beauty and the Beast”

   One of the songs most demanded by my students. Here comes a facilitated version with background accompaniment.

3. “There’s a Friend in Me” – song from the movie “Toy Story”

   One of my favorite songs for its harmonic richness and its addictive offbeat rhythm of its melody. You will love this facilitated version with a backing track.

4. Song from our favorite series “Dragon Ball GT”

   A song I learned as a child, its harmonic richness makes it one of my favorite songs. Also with a background track to enjoy to the fullest and with the possibility of lowering the tempo so that you can study it with the tutorial that I leave you here below.

5. Easy Melody of “Hymn to Joy – Beethoven”

   I have finally been able to prepare you this simple arrangement of the piece Hymn of Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven. You will love the tutorial!

6. Song from the movie “Aladin”

   Another mythical childhood song. Also made for easy piano and accompanied by its corresponding tutorial. I love Disney songs, have you noticed?

7. Song from the Pixar movie “Intensely” or “Del Revs” in Spain

   My first piano tutorial and cover on Youtube was of this song. Here I leave you with this simple version. Take a look at my cover, I think it’s interesting!

8. Song from the movie “Frozen”

   Make me a Snowman. Highly demanded subject among my students. I leave it here for the little ones. They sure love it.

9. Another melody from the movie “Frozen”

   Having included the previous one, how can I not present this simple song to you?

10. Song from the movie “Coco”

    Another of the songs that my students ask me the most. Very pretty, and with a melody that reminds you of those early Disney songs.

11. Song from the movie “Pocahontas”

    It’s beginning to show that I love Disney songs. But don’t worry, I have a shipment that will be released very soon, about another style of songs.

12. Song from the movie “The Aristocats”

    How much we love Disney songs! Here you go Everybody Wants to Be a Jazz Cat, from the movie The Aristocats.

13. “Reflections”- Song from the movie “Mulan”

    I’m not going to say that it’s an easy song, but it’s very beautiful, and for those who already have a certain level, they’re going to love it, here you go, Reflections of the Mulan movie.

14. “For the First Time in Years” – Song from the movie “Frozen”

    Each time the level of the songs is increasing, whoever has already played more easy tutorials like the ones I upload on my YouTube channel, this one will not require too much effort.

15. Easy version of the piece “I’m a Pirate” from the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean”

    It is not a simple song, because the melody itself is not simple, it is fast and rhythmic, but I have simplified it as much as possible. I hope you like it!

16. Happy Birthday

    To become the soul of any party, it is best to start by learning to play Happy Birthday on your piano . It is a very helpful and simple style of music that you will surely learn quickly. It is a popular style that can not be missing in your repertoire.

17. Jingle Bells

    A classic of an essential musical genre. You will play it every Christmas year after year. Jingle Bells is simple but, at the same time, it manages to gather all the people in the family in front of the piano to sing its lyrics and celebrate these beautiful holidays. A not at all rejectable option, don’t you think?

18. The Simpsons

    Who hasn’t played The Simpsons to death on the recorder? Well, now you are going to become the center of any meeting by playing it on the piano. A more original and different way to leave all your friends open-mouthed by playing this tune so familiar to everyone.

19. Titanic

    The same thing happens with this theme as with the previous one, we all played Titanic with the recorder, and probably few of us went beyond that. This song doesn’t have much mystery, but we have to admit that it sounds infinitely better played on the piano than with the destruction we did with the flute.

20. Hymn to Joy

    Also known as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Classical songs are preferred by many to play the piano, and we can feel like true artists making them sound. In addition, they are not particularly complicated and have a spectacular result on the piano . Would you like to be able to play the Hymn to Joy with your piano?

21. The Exorcist

    We also want to highlight the Tubular Bells tune, better known as The Exorcist for the film of the same name. We really must admit that it is scary to listen to it in any of its versions or with any instrument, but it is easy to play and you will be scared.

22. Harry Potter

    If you are one of those who has seen all the movies of the young magician, Hedwigs Theme is not going to leave you indifferent. It is part of the list of songs that can be easily played on the piano and look fantastic. Are you ready to interpret Harry Potter with your fingers from now on?

23. Mission Impossible

    If you want to add tension to a family or friends moment, this song is one of the most appropriate for it. It is the melody that sounds in the movie and everyone will be able to recognize it easily. You’re going to love playing Mission Impossible.

24. The Godfather

    The piano is for the classics, above all. That’s why you can’t stop learning to play the Godfather . An option that you are going to love, since this theme manages to create an atmosphere of real tension. You’re going to start playing it from now on, right?

25. Indiana Jones

    If you loved the movie and want to relive the best moments of Indiana Jones without having to watch it in its entirety, playing it on the piano may be the best option for you. You will surely be able to set the adventures of this film in your home.

If you want to motivate yourself to learn to play more complicated songs, you should start with the easy piano songs . Learn with these, surprise your friends and family with your skills with the piano and your evolution will come later.

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