Are you a budding pianist/vocalist?
Finding songs to sing with piano will help you to progress as a musician and help you to establish your individual identity. From timeless ballads to rock classics and popular pop music, there’s a wealth of choice available to accompany yourself on the keys.
Whether you’re looking for good tracks to audition with, or you’re simply looking for something to sing along to, here are some good options to choose from. In the meantime click here to book a Piano Lesson in Southampton near you.
Songs to sing with the piano
There are songs that are very well suited to accompaniment on the piano. If you play, or are learning, and are a vocalist too, it’s useful to know which might be good to sing. The piano is an instrument that can help your voice to stand out. It provides the perfect melody and ideal background.
Many of the world’s greatest singers began their careers on keys. And they’ve proffered a number of good songs to sing with the piano. Whether it’s an Elton John classic or a Lady Gaga ballad, there is a multitude of tunes that will suit your voice.
The piano is a beautiful instrument. Thousands of artists have used it to write and produce their music. And with a variety of electronic and acoustic models available, you won’t need to spend a fortune to purchase your own entry-level piano.
Can you sing and play the piano at the same time?
For a beginner, it can seem like a huge and daunting challenge. But it’s a skill you can perfect, just like so many other people have. With anything, it requires a lot of time and a lot of practice to get it right. The reason it’s so difficult is that you’re multitasking by essentially playing two instruments at the same time – the piano and your voice.
The stars may make it look easy but it’s something that takes commitment and effort. It can be very easy to lose concentration on either the piano, or your voice, and start focusing on the other.
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You need to be singing at the correct pitch while maintaining the right key and the vocal rhythm. You also need to think about ensuring you are assigning the correct word or syllable to the right piano note. Then there’s the matter of playing the right notes at an appropriate tempo. Doing all of this simultaneously can feel a little like patting your head and rubbing your stomach!
It’s important that you have mastered the timing of the song and have a synchronised rhythm between voice and keys. Perhaps this sounds like a lot to take on. But with practice, it is doable.
Free piano lessons in Southampton, Hampshire
Get two free piano lessons to all new students if you pay for three as a “taster” to ensure the piano is the right instrument for you! If you would like to book a free piano lesson, please just contact River Studios by calling us now on 023 8065 8373.
Songs to play on the piano
Let’s take a look at the kinds of songs you might like to learn as a beginner…
#1 Ordinary People by John Legend
John Legend’s back catalogue is a great place to start for male vocalists. As the famous singer self-accompanies, you can watch how he manages to balance the two disciplines. Legend’s songs provide room to inject emotion, both in terms of playing and vocals.
#2 Not About Angels by Birdy
Like John Legend, Birdy is a renowned singer-songwriter who self accompanies. She has a gentle quality that’s suited to film soundtracks and adverts, as well as solo performances. Not About Angels featured in the movie, The Fault in Our Stars.
Fun piano songs
Having fun with your music is important. If you’re not enjoying yourself, you’re unlikely to want to keep going. So do choose songs you like, as well as those that challenge you. Our tastes are very subjective, so this will look different for everyone. But here are some suggestions to get you thinking..
#3 Closing Time by Semisonic
This is a really fun song to sing. It’s got a great rhythm as it’s nice and upbeat, with a strong melody to it. Closing Time has become a modern classic.
#4 Knights of Cydonia by Muse
Playing the piano doesn’t limit you to ballads and acoustic numbers. You can just as easily rock it out on the ivories. This is a great one for aspiring rock stars, you’ll find yourself wanting to jump around the room to this one.
Pops songs to play on the piano
You may think of the guitar when you first consider instruments for pop. However, many artists use keys to create and accompany their tunes. Lady Gaga, Elton John, Adele, Coldplay and Alicia Keys all have a repertoire worth checking out. Here are some more names, whose songs you might want to delve a little further into.
#5 Lost Without You by Freya Ridings
Freya Riding’s simple and stripped back piano-led tune allows listeners to truly appreciate the vocals – which should be the focus of any performance. With moving and haunting lyrics, this is a cover song you can get creative with. One of the biggest benefits of learning to play the piano is that you no longer need to rely on another musician or a backing track to accompany you because you’ve got the piano to do that for you. You become your own accompaniment and it opens so many more doors for you and gives you lots of options. Here’s Freya, proving that if you have the ability to accompany yourself, you can perform literally anywhere!
#6 Ghost by Ella Henderson
This is a haunting song to sing and play live. And it’s one that hasn’t been covered numerous times. You can learn how to play it in this video tutorial.
What are some great pop songs to play on the piano?
#7 Halo by Beyonce
One of Bey’s greatest songs is dominated by the piano. This is such a beautiful ballad to sing and you don’t have to make it uber-powerful, a gentler, paired-back rendition with a tinkle of the ivories will work well too. The strong melody makes it an enjoyable song to sing with the piano.
#8 Survivors by Passenger
The band’s smash hit easy going love song, Let her Go, is a very popular cover among singer-pianists. But if you’d rather go for someone a little more off-piste, yet still mainstream, why not try this one.
Our list is not exhaustive, but it should inspire you to dig around in artist’s streaming accounts and find songs that suit you.
Learning to play any instrument can make you a better singer. But the piano is probably one of the best instruments out there when it comes to improvement. One of the things it enables you to improve on is your ability to sing harmonies and how to build harmonies from scratch. You gain a better understanding of how harmonies are constructed and how they work. It also enables you to become more creative meaning that you have more options with your voice and feel that you can do more than you might have been able to do before.
Studying piano provides an understanding of musical theory, how music works and why certain notes work together. Your overall understanding of music will be better and you will be able to adapt and improve your singing voice as a result. Learning to play the piano means that you’ll become a true musician in every sense of the word.
Related Questions
Should you learn to sing or play an instrument first?
You can learn either way around. And there’s nothing to stop you from working on both, by taking separate music lessons in each discipline.
Why do singers learn piano?
It ensures that you are singing in the correct key and can help you to improve your singing by developing your musicality. It can even help you to reach more notes and write your own tunes. Playing is a fantastic way for you to progress and become a better singer as you continue on in your musical career.
Is the ability to read music important for singers?
Many singers don’t know how to read music, and that’s ok. But it is a very useful skill to have. If you’re keen to write and compose your own music as your career progresses, it’s essential that you learn how to do it. It all comes down to what sort of singer you want to be.
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We also offer singing lessons for beginners, music production lessons & drum lessons at River Studios.