Piano Tips for Beginners

Learning how to play piano, no matter what stage of life you’re in, is an ambitious but achievable goal. It is important to remember that practice truly makes perfect. Even if you are already taking lessons once or twice a week, take time every day to make sure that you put your hands on the ivories to give them at least a little tickle. Learn more about building your skills with easy piano songs for beginners. 

Building Knowledge

Scheduling a weekly practice session with an instructor can be the best way to structure your progression, running your skills by an expert to check your form. An experienced teacher can evaluate your current ability and direct you to take your practice to the next level by instructing you in these essentials.

Musical Notation

Reading sheet music is the beginning of professional practice and music playing. Learning what musical notes are, where they fall on the piano keys, and how they translate to sounds is important for learning piano and any other instrument, including your voice. Often, self-taught musicians first learn to play or sing by ear and then learn to read music later. Combining the two can make for a musical force to be reckoned with on stage or in the recording studio. 

Scales 

If you aren’t already a student of music or the piano, scales are often one of the first items you learn as a part of your practice. Scales are a series of consecutive musical notes spaced apart on the piano keys and played one note at a time. They are listed alphabetically; for example, the C major scale is played C, D, E, F, G, and then A and B, while the G major scale is G, A, B, C, D, E, F#. Practicing different scales helps you with finger dexterity and speed.

Chords 

Chords are a group of notes. On the piano they are played by hitting more than one key at a time, up to five keys simultaneously. Chords can be challenging for new piano players because they require fast fingerwork and memorization of key placement in addition to chord theory knowledge.  

Rhythm 

Another vital element of learning piano is adding rhythm to your scales and chords. Rhythm is the specific and purposeful arrangement of sounds by duration and stress on both silence and notes. Keeping the “beat” of a song is crucial for it to sound correct. Your instructor may use a metronome to help you focus on the appropriate tempo to follow the rhythm of the music. When you add the right rhythms to notes and chords, you have the foundations of the first easy piano songs for beginners that you can master. 

Practice

Piano beginners can sometimes feel that progress is slow and that development is hard to observe. This feeling is accurate, as playing any musical instrument well takes many hours of practice, but it can be frustrating for new learners, especially when the practice itself isn’t engaging. Adult learners especially can become frustrated with playing simple children’s songs or nursery rhyme melodies. 

Remain patient and consider your piano practice similar to learning to walk. You first learned to crawl and then to walk over months, but eventually you were able to run. Take it slow and steady. To make your practice more interesting, find music that engages you. While drilling scales and fingering exercises is vital for building basic skills, make sure some of your practice time is dedicated to the music you want to play.

Playing Easy Songs

Aside from practicing scales and chords, look for different versions of your favorite songs that are written in simpler forms for beginners to play. Even the most complex pieces can be reduced to single-note progressions that you can learn to pick out on the keys. As you develop your pianist skills, the songs you begin to play note by note can turn into chords and then into more elegant progressions. Pieces you can find easy versions of as you learn include but are not limited to: 

Classical

• Johann Pachelbel, Canon in D
• Ludwig van Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata (abridged)
• Ave Maria, Franz Schubert

Pop

• Justin Bieber, Anyone
• Lil Nas X, Old Town Road 
• John Legend, All of Me

Rock

• The Beatles, Let It Be
• Billy Joel, Piano Man
• Guns N Roses, Sweet Child O’ Mine

Movie 

• Judy Garland, Over the Rainbow 
• Celine Dion, My Heart Will Go On
• Adele, Skyfall

Musicnotes has a massive selection of piano music for all skill levels, including easy piano songs for beginners to build progression, stamina, and a foundation for the more extraordinary things to come. Choosing a few easy pieces that you are familiar with along with consistently practicing your scales is a great way to continue your journey with the piano. You can play whatever song you like; you just need a version that has been modified for your skill level.