Learning how to play the piano isn’t easy. You have to learn theory, practice, develop a sense of rhythm, and tens of other things. It will be a while until you are able to play Moonlight Sonata, even if you practice for hours a day. The hardest part here is to stay patient and determined to master the instrument no matter what.
It’s essential to have fun throughout the process. Otherwise, you’ll burn out. One of the best ways to relax is to play something easy, like a pop song, because they have simple structures and easy chords. Therefore, they can be learned incredibly fast, no matter whether you are a seasoned piano player or someone who is just starting out.
If you are looking for a sweet list of easy pop songs for the piano, you’ve found one. Putting together 20 songs isn’t the easiest thing, but it’s well worth the effort if it helps the beginners to keep pushing. I’ll make sure to talk about each piece a little bit to describe what musical structure is like and what chords to play.
Don’t have a piano? Don’t worry – you can get a MIDI keyboard or a digital piano for a fraction of the price, and you’ll be good to go.
Alright, let’s go over the list of 20 easy pop songs to play on the piano!
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1) One Call Away
Number 1 hit for many weeks back in 2017, One Call Away by Charlie Puth is a great song to play on the piano. Honestly, it’s hard to find an easier chord structure out there.
Bassline and melody move one after another, which makes playing the song on the piano even simpler. First 3 notes of the bass line are D♭, C, and B♭ (♭ means flat for those who don’t know). Then it moves up to E♭, D♭, and C. As a result, harmonies are formed, which are essentially D♭ Major, inverted A♭ major, and B♭ minor. Pretty simple so far, isn’t it?
Chord pattern follows the same idea (II, I, V), and the chords can all be played with your left hand.
Verse’s chord structure is B♭ minor, A♭ major, D♭ major, and G♭ major (numerals VI, V, I, IV).
The bridge is a 3-chord structure (IV, I, V) in the key of D♭ major.
Here is a video tutorial of One Call Away (as it’s definitely easier to learn to play easy pop songs on the piano when you visually see what’s going on), so you can see how the song is put together.
2) Despacito
No matter if you like or hate Despacito, it’s definitely the biggest song of 2018 that’s still popping like crazy. While it may seem rather complex, it can be covered on most instruments, such as piano, guitar, ukulele (even banjo). Let’s look at how it’s all done.
The chord pattern repeats throughout the songs. Starting from B minor, it moves to G major, followed by D major, and, finally, A major. That’s it.
The chorus has the same structure, but with a little more energy. It’s hard to control that without training your ears. Also, a little bit of improvisation has to be added with the right hand, adding accent to certain parts of the melody to increase the dynamics and intensity.
Overall, a fun pop song with Latin vibes that’s easy to play on the piano!
3) A Thousand Miles
Released in 2000, this song is known for having the most famous piano riff in pop music. The sequence of notes is somewhat repetitive, and it won’t take long to master the song just right. Moreover, harmonies in the piano song repeat throughout the entire song, which makes it even easier to play.
Learning to play this easy song on the piano by rote is your best bet. The right hand starts with the octave B, adding A and F# later. The left hand then goes on playing E, F#, D, and E (your left hand returns back to it). The rhythm here is syncopated, so counting out loud and practicing continuously will definitely help you play the piano song in no time.
4) Titanium
Titanium by Sia is an easy song to play on the piano that has incredibly simple chord structure. Once you get a grip on it, you’ll realize that the pop song is one of the most beginner-friendly out there. As long as you understand the chord structure, leaning Titanium will be hassle-free.
The song starts with E♭ major, followed by the chords B♭, C major, and A♭. Then in the chorus chords move a little, to A♭, B♭, C, and G major. By the way, the bridge chord progression of the pop song is identical to the chorus.
The entire melody is played by the right hand alone. If you want to challenge yourself, you can also add bass notes with your left hand.
5) All Of Me
John Legend’s songs are one of my personal favorites out there. All Of Me is a fantastic and easy-to-play piano song recorded in 2013 with simple chord structure.
The song is written in A♭ minor, and each verse has an identical chord structure, which is I, VI, III, VII. Pretty simple, isn’t it? The transition section alternates between B♭ minor, A♭ major, and E♭ major, with E♭ minor being the dominant of the A♭ major chorus. During the bridge section, we return to B♭ minor from the transition before.
Overall, definitely a must-learn piano song for beginners!
6) Happy
Happy by Pharrell Williams is one of the most popular songs of this decade that still gets played on the radio despite being released 5+ years ago. Despite being a soundtrack for a movie (Despicable Me), it quickly caught the attention of the listeners and was soon playing on the radio and TV, in the stores, etc. Who doesn’t love a groovy pop-jazz soundtrack with the elements of blues?
The song is played in F minor throughout the song with a quick shift to F major during the chorus. When playing the song, the left hand is only used when playing the chorus as the chords are changing. The rest of the song can be played by your right hand, as the melody dominates the track.
If you are more seasoned at playing the piano, playing counter melodies in the original track may be interesting for you, but it’s not necessary for beginners who are looking for an easy pop song to play.
The song’s melody isn’t dominating over the lyrics, so what you can do is sing the verses and simply support it with chord progressions. Then go hard on the chorus – works wonders every time!
7) Let It Go
While some people may believe that Let It Go is only suitable for a child’s birthday, it’s actually a really easy piano song for kids to learn. The best thing is that the song is already piano-based, so you can learn to play it by simply listening to it (that is if your ears are trained and you can tell the chords apart).
There are tons of piano arrangements for Let It Go available. You can either buy sheet music for the song or search it up on YouTube and get the live instructions and simply take notes (the video tutorial of Let It Go just down below).
8) Uptown Funk
Massive success in Bruno Mars career from back in 2014 is still a popular funk song that gets played on the radio all the time. It’s not just catchy and fun-to-play, but also easy-to-learn. Accented rhythms and an ostinato bass line just make it more interesting for a pianist.
Because Uptown Funk is funk genre (duh), intervals between each note of the bass line may vary. This requires extra effort on your side but will make you better at locking down the rhythm and playing accents in the right spots.
For most of the melody, you get the same 3 notes with a few outliers here and there. Everything is put together rather nicely in the video below!
9) What a Wonderful World
Everyone loves this old tune by Louis Armstrong, that’s defined itself as a staple of American culture. Featured in movies, shows, and musicals, played at events and gatherings, the song is always a joy to play. What a Wonderful World has been around for many years now, so there are tons of arrangements of the masterpiece that fit every level of expertise. You can start from the easiest one and work your way up to more complex melodies and chord progressions. This song definitely fits the “easy piano song that sounds complicated” category – great to impress your friends and family.
The song was recorded in F major, but there is a lot of variance in arrangements. Find the one that sounds authentic (recorded in the right note). While having sheet music helps a lot, you can get away with just a list of chords here, so you can play and sing at the same time.
10) Don’t Let Me Down
Halsey and Chainsmokers collaboration is the one to remember. Their hit track Don’t Let Me Down has been on top charts for months and is still loved by many listeners. The piano song is rather easy and straightforward, which is always a plus.
The entire track is in E major, followed by a basic progression of B major, F# major, and G# minor. The chorus section of the original song is mostly instrumental that plays G# minor with a sustain pedal engaged. The bridge follows the identical progression as the opening.
The song is really hyper and upbeat, which is why it’s so loved by its listeners. It will take some time to get adjusted to the overall rhythm. It hardly ever changes, so once you nail it, you’ll have no issues playing the piano song for beginners over and over again.
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