If you’re completely new to the piano then you may not have fully grasped how to read sheet music. Having easy piano songs with letters means you can still play recognizable and fun songs without having to learn the ins and outs of classic music. We would always suggest that you do eventually pick up on musical theory but we’ve given you a starting point to learn to play just using letters.
Piano playing typically involves using both of your hands. In our list, we have a selection of songs that use one hand and then adding in the left to improve your skill level. A great tip is to learn each hand separately and then combine them together.
We haven’t given you the finger notation for these songs so just use the most logical option as you play through the piano songs. You want to be able to get around each note easily and in order. Never use the same finger to play all of the notes. Get used to using all of your fingers as this will be essential for you to grow as a pianist.
What Are Piano Songs?
There is no doubt that music plays an important role in a person’s life. When you’re listening to a song, you can feel the emotion associated with it. For example, when you listen to happy music, you’ll get a feeling of happiness. If you listen to sad music, you might start thinking about your own problems. And, of course, you can’t forget the power that music has over you.
In fact, many people use music in their everyday lives. Some people like to sing along to the radio while driving to work or school. Others enjoy dancing to the beat of the music that they are playing. Still others prefer to simply sit down and listen to a favorite album.
One thing that most people don’t realize is that they can actually make money by creating their own musical compositions. In fact, there is a whole industry devoted to helping musicians create new songs. This is known as the “piano” business.
The Basics of Learning Music
Learning piano songs is a great way to improve your skills as a musician. If you want to learn how to read sheet music and understand the chords, then you should check out the following article. This guide explains everything that you need to know about the basics of learning piano songs.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to buy yourself a good quality keyboard. In fact, many people choose to use an acoustic grand piano instead of a digital one. However, you might prefer a more portable option.
When it comes to choosing a new instrument, make sure that you pay attention to the size and weight. Your goal is to find a piece that you will enjoy using.
It’s important to practice regularly when you first begin learning to play the piano. Make sure that you set aside enough time for practicing each day.
Don’t try to master every song on your own at once. Instead, focus on mastering just one or two pieces. By doing this, you can ensure that you will become a better pianist.
Tips for Playing the Piano
Once you have learned to read music, you can move on to practicing your skills. If you practice regularly, you will eventually be able to master the instrument.
One of the best ways to improve your ability at the piano is to listen to recordings of other pianists. This way, you can study the techniques that they use. You can also look online for videos of people who are great at the piano. By watching these videos, you’ll get an idea of the different things you need to focus on.
Another thing you could try is taking lessons from a professional musician. The benefit of this is that they will know exactly what you’re doing wrong and they can help you to fix it.
When you are ready to purchase your first piano, make sure that you choose one with good quality keys. Also, you should consider buying an acoustic piano instead of an electric one.
In addition, you might want to take advantage of a keyboard. A keyboard allows you to play chords and melodies without having to press individual notes.
5 Piano Songs For Simple Playing:
1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle Twinkle is probably the first song anyone ever learns on the piano, especially younger students. Adults can benefit from learning this song at the beginning of their playing too. Get prepared to play by placing your right-hand thumb onto the middle C note. All of the notes you need for the song will now be sitting under your fingers apart from the highest note in the piece. This note is only one note above your pinky finger though so it won’t take much stretching.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
C C G G A A G
How I wonder what you are
F F E E D D C
Up above the world so high
G G F F E E D
Like a diamond in the sky
G G F F E E D
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
C C G G A A G
How I wonder what you are
F F E E D D C
2. Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday is always a great song to keep in your back pocket because there will, at some point, be an occasion where you can play for someone else. Much the same as Twinkle Twinkle, you will take your right thumb and place it onto the middle C for the first half of the song. All of the notes fall under your fingers which makes it so ideal for beginners. However, to play the second part of the song you will have to jump up an octave from the middle C up to the next C on your keyboard. Play the highest C note using your little finger and then the rest of the song should fall back under your right-hand fingers once again. There is also an F# you will need to learn here too so make sure you understand where all of your sharp and flat notes are on the keyboard.
Happy birthday to you
D D E D G F#
Happy birthday to you
D D E D A G
Happy birthday dear name
D D B G F# E D
Happy birthday to you
C C B G A G
3. Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells has a chorus that is made up of a few simple notes which makes it a really easy piano song for any beginner to learn. The music notes are repeated over and over again and you should already know the tune. Knowing what a song sounds like before you play it makes it a lot easier to learn the piece compared to playing something that you’ve never listened to before. The verses are a little bit more complex here but they’re not so difficult that they will become impossible for a beginner.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
E E E E E E E G C D E
Oh what fun it is to ride in a
F F F F F E E EE
One horse open sleigh
E D D E D-G
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
E E E E E E E G C D E
Oh what fun it is to ride in a
F F F F F E E EE
One horse open sleigh
G G F D C
4. Hallelujah
Now that you can play a few songs using only your right hand we’re going to start introducing your left hand into the mix. Any piece of music is built up of chords so making sure you know a few of the basic ones will be a great step towards playing anything you like. Hallelujah is the perfect song to start introducing some basic chords into your repertoire which will be easy to mix in with the melody of your right hand.
This song has been written in the key of C. First, let’s give you the left-hand notes which make up the bass progression. You will be using the C, A minor, F, G and E chords. Below you will see what notes make up these simple chord progressions.
C – C E G
A minor – A C E
F – F A C
G – G B D
E – E G# B
Here is the melody for your right hand to play. Please note that the up and down arrows mean to play either the higher or lower note for that specific letter. For example, in this piece the low E is the one by middle C and the high E sits an octave higher.
I’ve heard there was a secret chord
↓E G G G G A A A
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
↓E G G G G G A A A
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
G A A A A A G G F G G
Well it goes like this
↓E F G G G
The fourth, the fifth
G A A B
The minor fall, the major lift
B C C C C C C D
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
C D D D D ↑E E E D E C
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
↓E G A A A G ↓E E
Hallelujah, Haelelu-0000-jah
↓E G A A A G E F E D C
5. Bach’s Prelude in C Major
If you want to take a leap into more classical music then Prelude in C Major by Bach is probably the best place for you to start as a beginner. The song is a step up in terms of difficulty than the other songs we have mentioned to you in this list. You will be using both hands again but they will be moving up and down the keyboard more than the previous entries we’ve given you. The song has to be played with two hands to get the right feel and sound. However, it’s on the easier side of things because you don’t play two notes at the same time so they can still move almost separately from each other, even though you’re using both hands.
Take a listen to the piece and because some notes are sustained and held down, you don’t really even notice that the music notes aren’t played at the same time. Another thing that makes this an ideal piano song for a beginner is that the note patterns happen twice over. Once you understand the pattern for each measure of the song and you can play through it smoothly, you can repeat the same notes over again to form the same pattern for the next section of the song.
Looking at the sheet music for this piece may put you off because it does look complex and difficult. Don’t let this deceive you. Take the letters and play one note at a time to get the right end result. You can take advantage of the patterns that are repeated to look ahead at the next measures and make sure you are ready for what is going to be played next. For the letters below the RH refers to your right hand and LH refers to your left hand. This is only the first part of the song but we’ve also provided you with a tutorial video to play through the rest of the piece.
RH: G C E G C E G C E G C E A D F A D F
LH: C E C E C D
RH: A D F A D F G D F G D F G D F G D F
LH: C D B D B D
RH: G C E G C E G C E G C E A E A A E A
LH: C E C E C E
RH: A E A A E A F# A D F# A D F# A D F# A D
LH: C E C D C D