Play in the style of...
Pleasant progressions and simple melodies have helped the
piano become part of some of the world’s most-loved songsPop
Inspirational works
A Thousand Miles
Artist: Vanessa Carlton
Year : 2002 Label: A&MLove it or loathe it, the exceptionally
catchy piano riff that runs throughout
this song will be stuck in your head
all day. Written as a tribute to Carlton’s
grandfather, the hit single from her
album Be Not Nobody is a great place
to start for some pop inspiration.Doo-Wops
and Hooligans
Artist: Bruno Mars
Year : 2010 Label: Atlantic/ElektraThis chart-topping album features
some Reggae, R&B, Soul and Rock
to name but a few. He is also a
celebrated pop pianist; his skills are
showcased particularly well on the
urban ballad, Just the Way You Are.Ta k k ...
Artist: Sigur Rós
Year : 2005 Label: Geffen/EMIThe enchanting single Hoppípolla
is a beautiful piece to learn on the
piano, and has been showcased in
countless films and television shows.
Be prepared to be utterly swept away
by this truly epic ethereal album as it
draws on a range of influences.A Rush of Blood to
the Head
Artist: Coldplay
Year : 2002 Label: ParlophoneFeaturing the legendary piano
anthems Clocks and The Scientist, this
album is jam packed full of extremely
beautiful, seemingly effortless
motifs that embrace simplicity in an
extremely clever way.Top pop albums to sink your teeth into
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T
he piano has played a significant role in
popular music for a long time now, from
early hits like The Righteous Brothers’
version of the classic Unchained Melody to
modern greats like Adele’s Set Fire To The Rain. The
piano tends to take one of two roles in a pop song:
as a backing instrument that adds depth to the
accompaniment, which will usually consist of drums,
bass, and guitar; or as the only instrument backing
a powerful singer for a ballad-like song. Either way,
the piano will rarely take centre stage in a pop song.
This means it can tend to be a less demanding
place to start when focusing on a genre of music to
practise on.
As a backing instrument among several others,
the piano will probably only be playing chords on
the right hand and maybe bass notes on the left.
Note that a bass guitar would likely be present, so
a left-hand part isn’t usually essential. These chords
will normally be played on the beat and probablywon’t deviate from the chord progression on which
the song is based. When a piano is duetting with a
vocal performance, the parts will be more elaborate
to add interest when the vocalist isn’t singing. This
means that more demanding songs to try on piano
will likely feature fewer backing instruments.
Pop music relies on mostly simple chord
progressions, so in most instances you’ll be playing
melodies based on major, minor and perhaps
seventh chords. Try to limit your progressions
to around four chords. For a couple of a catchy
progressions, try i-VI-III-VII and I-V-vi-IV. In the key of
C these would be: C minor-Ab major-Eb major-Bb
major, and C major-G major-A minor-F major.“The piano will rarely
take centre stage in a
pop song”