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[For Beginners] Enjoy Parent-Child Piano Duets! Recommended Songs Introduced
Seeing your child practice the piano may inspire many parents to dream of playing a duet together.
Why not make that dream come true? In this article, we’ll introduce recommended pieces for parent–child piano duets from a wide range of genres.
Duets might sound difficult at first, but there are many published duet scores for familiar music—nursery rhymes and folk songs sung in preschools and kindergartens, theme songs from animated films, and pieces that beginner piano students learn—making them approachable for parents and children alike.
Even if your child has just started lessons and you, as a parent, are trying the piano for the first time, you can give it a go with ease.
We hope you and your child will experience the joy of breathing together and making music as one!
[For Beginners] Enjoy Parent-Child Piano Duets! Recommended Pieces (1–10)
CanonJohann Pachelbel
Pachelbel’s Canon is well known both as a famous piece of classical music and as incidental music in television and film.
Because it is a work from the older Baroque period in the history of classical music, it lacks the modern concept of accompaniment versus melody; instead, it is characterized by overlapping melodic lines.
Given that background, it can be said to be well suited to piano four-hands, where two players’ four hands can layer even more melodies.
It may also be a piece that makes it easy to feel that “parent and child are creating a single performance together,” as they sense the interplay between the child’s part and the guardian’s part.
Wish Upon a StarLeigh Harline
Even if you didn’t know it originated as the theme song for Disney’s 1940 film Pinocchio, its heartbreakingly beautiful melody is probably one you’ve heard at least once.
This classic, When You Wish Upon a Star, is also hugely popular as a jazz standard, and many beginner-friendly piano scores and duet arrangements have been published.
Its relaxed tempo makes it easy to play calmly, so it’s perfect for those trying a duet for the first time.
Enjoy a well-synchronized ensemble as you and your child listen to each other’s sound.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Starfuransu min’yō
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is included in virtually every beginner-level piano method book and is also extremely popular as a recital piece.
A wide variety of duet arrangements are available, so you can choose one that perfectly matches both the parent’s and child’s skill levels—one of the reasons we recommend this piece for duets.
When the child plays the melody gently supported by the parent’s accompaniment, the performance becomes more brilliant and polished.
A parent-child performance of such a well-known piece is sure to leave a lasting impression in your child’s memory.
Carrying YouHisaishi Joe
The music from Studio Ghibli films consists of timeless masterpieces loved across generations.
There are also scores with various arrangements, and the theme song from the classic “Castle in the Sky,” ‘Carrying You’ (Kimi wo Nosete), has been published as duet piano sheet music that players of a wide range of levels—from beginners to intermediate and advanced—can enjoy.
Pieces that can be challenging to balance between both hands or between melody and accompaniment when played solo can be performed more richly as a parent-child duet while preserving the feel of the original.
By all means, try recreating the beautiful music composed by Joe Hisaishi with a tightly synchronized duet.
Ode to JoyLudwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is the fourth movement of his masterpiece, Symphony No.
9.
Also known as the “Hymn to Joy,” it is a work beloved by many.
Because the original was written for orchestra, playing only the melody on the piano can feel somewhat sparse.
That’s why a parent–child duet is highly recommended! By adding chordal accompaniment to the beautiful melody for extra depth, you’ll gain the confidence of having performed a famous classical piece together and likely boost your motivation to practice the piano.
Doraemon: Make My Dreams Come TrueKurosu Katsuhiko
With a melody brimming with excitement and a rhythmic accompaniment, “Doraemon: Wish Upon a Star” is a piece that parents and children can enjoy playing as a duet.
When you lock in that buoyant rhythm, you’ll find your spirits lifting without even trying! Because the range is fairly wide and the rhythms aren’t entirely simple, some beginners may find it challenging to tackle with both hands.
That’s exactly why a parent–child duet is recommended.
It’s a single piece that can simultaneously fulfill a child’s dream of “playing the Doraemon song well on the piano” and a parent’s dream of “performing together with my child.”
My Neighbor TotoroHisaishi Joe
This song, the ending theme of the 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro, is a work in which Joe Hisaishi set music to lyrics by director Hayao Miyazaki.
Its simple, warm melody gently embraces the rural scenery and children’s adventures.
The straightforward, familiar tune makes it approachable even for a first piano duet.
If you can play the chorus melody while feeling the rests, it will align more easily with the accompaniment.
Sheet music for beginners is also available, so give it a try!