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Why You Should Learn How To Play The Piano
Learning to play the piano can be a very rewarding experience. Not only does it give you the ability to express yourself through music, but it also gives you an outlet for your creativity. To kickstart your piano journey, we have picked out 10 beginner piano songs that you can easily learn to play!
Top 10 Easy Piano Piano Songs To Play
1) Ode To Joy
The first easy piano song on our list is "Ode To Joy". It is a great song to start learning to play the piano with because it can be played with a 5-note hand position starting on C. This means that you would place your left most finger in each hand on C, and place each subsequent finger on the next adjacent white note.
For the right hand, this means that:
Finger 1 (thumb) will be placed on C
Finger 2 (index finger) will be placed on the note, D
Finger 3 (middle finger) will be placed on the note, E
Finger 4 (ring finger) will be placed on the note, F
Finger 5 (pinky) will be placed on the note, G
For the left hand, this means that
Finger 5 (pinky) will be placed on the note, C
Finger 4 (ring finger) will be placed on the note, D
Finger 3 (middle finger) will be placed on the note, E
Finger 2 (index) will be placed on the note, F
Finger 1 (thumb) will be placed on the note, G
See below for an illustration of the 5-note hand position starting on C in both hands
Once you have the 5-note hand position down, you're ready to start. Below you will find the piano sheet music for Ode To Joy
Here's a video demonstration on how to play "Ode To Joy' on the piano
2) Mary Had A Little Lamb
Another easy piano song that you can play as a beginner is 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'. As with "Ode To Joy", the notes of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" are limited to the notes in a 5-note hand position starting on C (see above if you need a recap on what a 5-note hand position is), hence making it a perfect song for a beginner to learn how to play the piano.
Below is the sheet music for Mary Had A Little Lamb:
And, not forgetting a video demonstration of how to play it:
3) Jingle Bells
Next on our list is the Christmas Carol that we are all too familiar with - "Jingle Bells"! "Jingle Bells" is yet another song whose notes are based on the notes found in a 5-note hand position starting on C. (We're almost done with 5-note hand position songs, just bear with us a little longer!) The sheet music for "Jingle Bells" is as follows:
You will notice from the above sheet music, that the length of Jingle Bells is twice as long as the first two songs on our list, thus making it slightly more difficult to play than the first two songs. Here is a video demonstration on how to play 'Jingle Bells' on the piano:
4) When The Saints Go Marching In
And up next, is the last song in this list that is based on the the 5-note hand position starting on C - 'When The Saints Go Marching In', a song that is most famously recorded by Jazz luminary, Louis Armstrong, and his orchestra in 1938. Below, you will find the sheet music for 'When The Saints Go Marching In'
You will notice that in this arrangement of "When The Saints Go Marching In", we have included some harmonic intervals in the left hand part, as opposed to the previous songs, where only single notes were used the left hand part of the songs.
Here's a video demonstration of how to play "When The Saints Go Marching In" on the piano:
5) London Bridge Is Falling Down
And now, for our fifth song, we have "London Bridge Is Falling Down". This is the first song in our list in which we are moving outside of the 5-note hand position; this time round, we will be using two different hand positions in the right hand: a 5-note hand position starting on D, and a 6-note hand position starting on C
The hand positions are as follows:
5-note hand position starting on D
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on D
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on E
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on F
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on G
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on A
6-note hand position starting on C
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on C
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on E
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on F
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on G
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on A
Refer to the pictures below to double check if you have gotten the 5-note hand position starting on D and 6-note hand position starting on C correctly.
5-note hand position starting on D:
6-note hand position starting on C:
You will notice that the only difference between the two hand positions are where the thumb is placed: in the 6-note position, the thumb is placed on C, while in the 5-note position, it is placed on D.
As for your left hand, it will remain in the 5-note hand position (starting on C) for this song, as with the preceding songs in this list.
The sheet music for "London Bridge Is Falling Down" is as follows:
To play this song, your right hand will start in the 5-note hand position starting on D, hence, the first note of the song, G, is played with finger 4, as indicated on the sheet music. The right hand remains in this position for most of the song, until measure 8, where the thumb has to stretch down to reach for the C note at the end, as indicated in the sheet music.
Here is a video demonstration of how to play 'London Bridge Is Falling Down' on the piano:
6) Brother John
The next easy piano song on our list is the popular lullaby, 'Brother John', which is also known as 'Are You Sleeping'. This song utilizes two different hand positions in the right hand: a 5-note hand position starting on C, and a 6-note hand position starting on C
Hence the fingers are positioned as follows:
5-note hand position starting on C
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on C
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on D
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on E
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on F
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on G
6-note hand position starting on C
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on C
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on E
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on F
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on G
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on A
Refer to the picture below to check if you have gotten the correct hand positions.
5-note hand position starting on C:
6-note hand position starting on C:
The sheet music for Brother John is as follows:
The first four bars of the song are played with the 5-note hand position starting on C. However, from bar 5 onwards, because the melody utilizes the 'A' note, which is outside the range of the 5-note hand position, we will have to switch over to a 6-note hand position so that the 'A' note is covered within our hand position.
Refer to the video demonstration below to see how the hand position changes at bar 5, from a 5-note hand position starting on C, to a 6-note hand position starting on C
7) Lavender's Blue
And for our seventh easy piano songs for beginners, we have 'Lavender's Blue'. The hand positions that we will use is exactly the same as the ones we used with 'Brother John'. (click here if you need a recap)
Here's the sheet music for Lavender's Blue:
For this song, we will be using mostly the 5-note hand position starting on C, with the exception of measures 3-4 and measures 11-12, where we would have to switch to a 6-note hand position starting on C (these are the same hand positions as "Brother John"; if you need a recap, click here), in order to reach for the 'A' note.
Here's a video demonstration of how to play Lavender's Blue on the piano; take note of the hand position changes in the video demonstration:
8) Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
The next song on our list is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Once again, for this song, we will be using the same two hand positions as "Brother John" (click here if you need a recap).
Here's the sheet music for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:
The hand position changes are as follows:
Measures 1-2: 6-note hand position starting on C
Measures 3-8: 5-note hand position starting on C
Measures 9-10: 6-note hand position starting on C
Measures 11-12: 5-note hand position starting on C
These hand positions are the same as those used in "Brother John" and "Lavender's Blue". Click here if you need a recap
Refer to the video demonstration below and pay special attention to the hand position changes.
9) Chopsticks
For our next song, we have 'Chopsticks', a waltz written in 1877 for the piano. For this song, we will using a 5-note hand position starting on F for the right hand, and a 5-note hand position starting on C for the left. Hence the hand position is as follows:
Right hand: 5-note hand position starting on F
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on F (inactive**)
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on G
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on B
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on A
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on C
Left hand: 5-note hand position starting on C
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on C (inactive**)
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on D
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on E
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on F
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on G
**You will notice that there is some overlap between the right and left hands, namely the thumbs of each hand cutting into the other hand's space. To get around this problem, our thumbs will be mainly inactive throughout the duration of the song, hence do not place them on any key. If you are not sure, refer to the video below to see how this is done. Here's the sheet music for 'Chopsticks'
And here, a video demonstration of how to play Chopsticks on the piano
10) Happy Birthday
And for the final song in our list, we have 'Happy Birthday". The song uses two new hand positions:
5-note hand position starting on G (above middle C)
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on G
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on A
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on B
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on C
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on D
5-note hand position starting on C (one octave above middle C)
Finger 1 (thumb) of the right hand is positioned on C
Finger 2 (index finger) of the right hand is positioned on D
Finger 3 (middle finger) of the right hand is positioned on E
Finger 4 (ring finger) of the right hand is position on F
Finger 5 (pinky) of the right hand is positioned on G
Do take note that the 5-note hand position starting on C in this song is different from the songs before as it now starts on the C that is one octave higher than middle C. Take a look at the following images to check your hand positions:
5-note hand position starting on G (above middle C):
5-note hand position starting on C (one octave above middle C):
These are the things to take note when playing Happy Birthday on the piano:
From measure 5 to 6, we are changing from a 5-note hand position starting on G to a 5-note hand position starting on C (one octave above middle C) by stretching from the last 'G' note in measure 4 to the first 'G' note an octave higher in measure 5
From measure 6 to 7, we will cross finger 3 over the thumb to play the 'B' note. If we reposition the rest of the fingers around this 'B' note, we will find that we are now back in a 5-note position starting on 'G'
In measure 8, we would have to lift the hand entirely and reposition to a 5-note position starting on C, in order to play the 'F' note. The 'F' note will be played with the 4th finger
Here's a video demonstration on how to play "Happy Birthday" on the piano:
How To Play Piano Songs Like A Pro
To play the piano well, the best chance you can give yourself to achieve that, is to find a piano teacher or instructor. This will help you learn what you need to know about piano playing and will ensure that you are practicing correctly. These are some things that online videos and courses can never give to you as a piano student, but having a piano teacher will give you:
Feedback - This is by far, the most important thing in learning to play the piano. Be it feedback on your technique, missing details in your musical performance that you might not be aware of, bad habits that you might be forming, and so much more
Customized Pacing and Curating Of Educational Material - The keyword here is 'customized'. A good teacher is able to identify a student's needs that he or she might not be aware of (eg development of certain kinds of techniques to play specific types of passages, how to organize practice, etc), and curate material specially to meet those needs.
Having a good piano teacher saves you a lot of time figuring out what works and what doesn't. Here at Alpha Piano Studio, we offer piano lessons in Classical, Pop and Jazz styles, to students of all ages. Sign up for two free trial lessons here to supercharge your learning process today!
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