The 15 Best Easy Piano Songs For Kids To Learn (In 2024)

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Written by Robert Jackson
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Are your kids or young students learning piano? Want to find some easy songs for them to learn? When they first start learning, it’s vital that they enjoy what they’re playing. We all know scales and arpeggios are important, but let’s be honest, they’re pretty boring. Learning fun but easy pieces can help them develop the basic skills and techniques but without feeling like practice.

In this post, we’ve put together a list of 15 of the best easy piano songs for kids to learn to help them improve and get their journey with the piano started. Let’s jump in.

1. Mary Had a Little Lamb

One of the easiest songs to learn on the piano has to be Mary Had a Little Lamb. This classic melody and song is learned by children all over the world and makes a great first piece to learn no matter their age.

It only uses four notes so can help you get used to playing in time, and can be played in lots of different keys (although we’d recommend learning it in C major to start with).

2. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

One of the first songs that anyone learns on any instrument is probably Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It’s a popular lullaby based on the French melody“Ah! vous dirai-je, maman” from the 1700s.

It’s a great first song to learn for kids as it’s in C major and so only uses the white notes. It’s also a memorable melody that they probably know how to sing already so makes it a lot easier to memorize and learn quickly.

3. Chopsticks

Learning the classic piano tune chopsticks is a rite of passage for every pianist and is one that you simply must learn how to play!

The simple melody that is memorable and rhythmic is a great first piece to learn on the piano for kids and is one that they’ll have fun playing.

4. Ode to Joy – Ludwig Van Beethoven

Ludwig Van Beethoven was a German pianist and composer who was known as a visionary and virtuoso pianist.

He wrote some of the most memorable melodies of all time one being “Ode to Joy” which is a popular theme within the last movement of his famous 9th Symphony.

The above video teaches you that theme in four ways that range in difficulty. The video teaches a one-handed theme and also incorporates the left hand with chords to accompany the theme. This exercise helps build coordination in both hands. 

5. Amazing Grace 

Next on the list of piano songs to learn for kids is Amazing Grace which is a classic hymn based on the melody “New Britain” and lyrics by John Newton.

Though commonly used in religious settings, this is a song that can develop your familiarity with chords and play them as broken chords while playing the melody in the right hand.

6. Brahms’ Lullaby – Johannes Brahms 

Johannes Brahms was another German composer who rose in popularity during the romantic era. He wrote many symphonies, concerti, chamber group pieces, and piano works.

Brahms wrote this lullaby in 1868 for a good friend of his who had a baby. Aside from going by the name “Brahm’s Lullaby“, this piece also goes by the name “Wievenlied: Guten Abend, Gute Nacht and is a great piano song for children to learn too due to the simple, memorable melody.

7. Ave Maria – Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer known for being somewhat of a transitional figure between the classical and romantic periods of music history. Schubert’s version of Ave Maria was inspired by a poem.

This version of Ave Maria is meant for beginners and helps bring this tune to life at any level. It’s a great tune to introduce children to classical music repertoire and is one that they can learn more complicated versions of as they improve their piano skills.

8. Let It Go – Frozen

Sometimes the best way to get kids interested in playing the piano is for them to play their favorite songs. I know I don’t need to tell you but the song “Let it Go” is an Oscar-nominated song from Disney’s movie, Frozen.

For students who are familiar with the song, it helps develop the connection between the ear and the motions of fingers and hands. The instructional video helps develop skills in playing and reading eighth note rhythmic patterns with eighth notes and becoming more familiar with musical notation, like ties and rests. 

9. Gymnopedie – Erik Satie

Erik Satie was a French composer who started his career as an organist who rose to fame when notable composers like Claude Debussy played his works.

Gymnopedie was written in 1888 and is known for its relaxing and minimalist style. The piece itself is deceptively simple in the sense that it is rhythmically predictable enough to keep it at the beginners’ level, but still develops your ability to memorize the long-distance shifts in the left-hand part.

10. Hello – Adele

If your child is more into learning easy pop songs on the piano then one good option is Hello by Adele, an English singer-songwriter who is known for her ability to sing ballads and pop music.

Learning this tune will help your child become more adept at playing chords, developing their use of the black keys, and keep a syncopated rhythm in your left hand. All important skills for any budding pianist.

11. Trouble – Coldplay

Another popular pop song is Trouble by Coldplay, a rock band group from England, and is a song included in their album “Parachutes”.

This song also helps with coordination between learning chords in the left hand and maintaining the melody in the right hand. Another essential skill in the toolbox of piano players.

12. Skinny Love – Birdy

Skinny Love is a song that was originally written and performed by Bon Iver on guitar. But, the piano version was brought to life by a teenage musician called Birdy in 2011. 

Her version became quite popular and is a good tune to study for the development of shifting positions on the piano.

13. Imagine – John Lennon

If you enjoy learning to play Beatles songs on the piano then you’ll probably be keen to learn some of John Lennon’s songs whose solo music became very influential in the era of the 1960s due to its activist themes.

This version of the iconic song Imagine is in the key of C and teaches you how to play chords in C, F, G, A minor, D minor, and E. This helps train your ear to understand tones that transition between minor and major keys.

14. Your Song – Elton John

Written back in 1970 by Elton John, Your Song is a bit more of a challenge so will be one for your kids or students to work towards.

It incorporates larger intervals, more complex chords than the simple major and minor that we’ve looked at so far and some complex rhythms that will require a lot more practice. But, it’s a great song to learn and is very fun to play! 

15. The Entertainer – Scott Joplin 

And finally, we come to Scott Joplin, a composer, and pianist born in the 1800s in Texas and was known as “the king of ragtime.” Ragtime is a genre of music that was very popular during Joplin’s time that used syncopated rhythm which mimics a two-step marching rhythm.

The Entertainer is a widely known piece that incorporates various shifts in position and repeating melodies. This is a bit more ambitious piece to learn but the version presented here is meant for intermediate beginners and so is one to work up to.

Summing up our list of Easy Piano Pieces to Learn

We hope our list of easy songs for children to learn on the piano has helped inspire you with their next piece.

We’ve tried to include a range of difficulties to take them all the way through from the beginning stages of learning piano to tackling some harder pieces.

We’ve also tried to include a range of styles as there is great benefit from incorporating the different techniques used in classical and ragtime music to pop and gospel.

Good luck!

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Robert is a professional pianist and writer who's been playing the piano for over 20 years. He studied music education at college and now works as a full time musician and piano teacher all over the country.