Recommended for piano beginners! 10 sheet music picks that adults can enjoy too
I’m going to introduce some classical sheet music recommended for beginner pianists!
Sheet music aimed at beginners often helps with practice but isn’t very interesting, and especially for adults who are starting out, “beginner-friendly” often equals “for kids,” which can make it feel a bit awkward or hard to get into.
This time, I’ll introduce beginner-friendly scores that adults can enjoy as well!
Recommended for beginners starting the piano! Sheet music that adults can enjoy too
http://o-dan.net/ja/
The first half isfilm songand/or; such as; or (used to list examples)Ghibli songsPopular songs, and in the latter half,ClassicI will introduce some recommended sheet music.
They’re arranged in order of difficulty, and I’ve also included a rough guide to who they’re recommended for based on piano experience. Please refer to how long you’ve been playing the piano and take a look accordingly.
First, I’ll introduce sheet music recommended for people who just started playing the piano up to around six months in.
The sheet music is on the easier side, but I’ve chosen pieces that adults can enjoy too!
For those who want to play popular-style songs!
First, in the first half, I’ll introduce recommended sheet music for those who want to play popular music scores.
Even though it’s labeled “popular,” these are sheet music arrangements of pieces—like Ghibli songs and film music—that are loved by a wide audience.
When you’re a beginner, I think the best way to improve is to play songs you like, so find sheet music for your favorite songs and play them!
A soothing healing score with all fingerings indicated
This is a beginner-friendly sheet music collection featuring a wide range of great songs from various genres!
There are several recommended points, and for beginners who started piano as adults, it’s a book that’s well worth having— you can’t go wrong keeping a copy.
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have just started playing the piano up to about one year.
1.
Great choice of songs!
Among the pieces playable for beginners, there’s a wealth of beautifully fitting music for the piano.
All 44 songsThe selection makes you think, “The person who put this together really gets it!” It’s truly wonderful.
If I include everything, it’ll be a lot, so I’ll just share part of it!
Tracks
- Encounter (André Gagnon)
- Ballade pour Adeline (Richard Clayderman)
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Ryuichi Sakamoto)
- Summer (Joe Hisaishi)
- From the World’s Train Windows (Hajime Mizoguchi)
- Into People, Time and the Wind (S.E.N.S.)
- Tufted Puffin (Taro Hakase)
- From the Northern Country: From the Distant Land ~ Hotaru's Theme (Masashi Sada)
- Contrail (film “The Wind Rises”)
- From the Beginning Until Now (Theme from the drama “Winter Sonata”)
- Amazing Grace (Scottish folk song)
- Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach)
- Nocturne No. 2 (Chopin)
- Nessun dorma — from Turandot (Puccini)
- Fly Me to the Moon
- When You Wish Upon a Star (from the film Pinocchio)
- Someday My Prince Will Come (from the film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”)
- Moon River (from the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”)
- Cinema Paradiso
- Yesterday Once More (Carpenters)
- Tears for You (Rimi Natsukawa)
- Spring, Come (Yumi Matsutoya)
- Look up and see the stars of the night (Kyu Sakamoto)
- Shonen Jidai (Yosui Inoue)
- Flowers Will Bloom (Flowers Will Bloom Project)
(...and 44 other tracks)
It feels like a really good deal since it includes this many songs.
Since there are many pieces, some can be played even by complete beginners, and I think it’s a book that people with about a year of piano experience can fully enjoy.
2.
Finger numbers are marked for all the pieces.
This is a slightly unusual kind of sheet music collection: the score has finger numbers marked on every note!
Since the fingerings are written to be very easy for beginners to play, simply practicing the piece according to this score’s finger numbers will naturally help you learn proper fingering.
A major part of why this sheet music is recommended for beginners is that the fingering in this sheet is quite...polite; courteous; careful; meticulousIt’s thought of this way, and just by sticking to this fingering, you naturally pick it up.
Even when I worked on sheet music without fingerings,You’ll naturally develop the habit of playing with correct fingering.That’s the good part!
3.
The one-point advice is excellent.
In this sheet music, every section that a beginner would think “this part is a bit tough” is included.One-point adviceis written
There was practically always advice right where I personally felt it was difficult when I tried playing, and it helped me a lot.
Something like this, for beginnersEasy-to-miss pointsWhen slightly tricky fingerings come up, it includes one-point tips like these.
It's almost as if they've actually had beginners try playing and checked where they stumble, because there's always a helpful tip right where you tend to trip up.
Point(s)
- A lineup of classic songs that adults can enjoy too!
- Fingerings are written for every song and every note!
- The one-point advice is courteous!
A textbook with a DVD that lets you learn like a lesson!
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who just started playing the piano.
A common concern among people who started learning the piano as adults is
- I don't know where to start.
- It’s hard to go to the lesson.
I think these two things are often the reason people get stuck.
This sheet music—well, more like a method book—will solve that problem!
It comes with a DVD, and it’s basically like the very first piano lessons you would take at a piano school, turned directly into a DVD.
- Finger form that self-taught players tend to mess up
- How to memorize the positions of notes on the keyboard
They’ve provided a DVD to cover these parts that you wouldn’t really understand unless you went to the lessons.
The practice content is designed so that adults can enjoy it too!
The selection of tracks is pretty good too, and the first nine songs are pieces for lessons to learn the piano.
1.
Butterfly
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star3.
Ode to Joy4.
Aura Lee5.
Beyer No. 186.
Cuckoo
Piano Sonata K. 3318.
Bach's Minuet 9.
Flower Song
The remaining six pieces are songs designed to help you enjoy playing the piano by applying what you’ve learned in the lessons.
10.
Romance11.
Long, Long Ago12.
Schubert's Lullaby13.
Scottish bluebell14.
Greensleeves 15.
The way home
I think this is a great book where the lessons progress from simple pieces, helping you learn to enjoy playing the piano.
Even though there’s information all over the internet, you still can’t find content like what’s on these DVDs online.
It’s recommended for those who are just starting the piano or who feel uneasy about beginning on their own.
Point(s)
- With the included DVD, you can learn as if you're taking lessons!
- You can practice with songs that even adults can enjoy!
Easy Piano Songs from Studio Ghibli: Playable Even for Beginners!
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have just started playing the piano up to about one year.
This is a collection of simple piano arrangements of many classic Studio Ghibli songs!
There are two main reasons why it’s also recommended for beginners playing the piano for the first time.
1.
It modulates to C major!
An arrangement where every piece is in C major—in other words, not a single key that uses black keys appears!
Even if black keys appear, it ends up being just accidentals.
So it’s set up so that you can play your favorite Ghibli songs relatively easily.
2.
The note names are written on the left hand part.
The left-hand notes, which can be painful for beginners, have solfège (do-re-mi) written in, making it easy to learn to read the score smoothly.
Reading the left-hand part of the score is hard work at first, even just to read it…
Point(s)
- I’m arranging Ghibli’s famous songs to make them easy for beginners to play!
- Note names are written for the left hand, making it easy even for beginners to play!
Only adults can bring out its true flavor! “Catherine Rollin: Lyrical Piano Pieces”
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have been playing the piano for about 3 months to around 1.5 years.
These are sheet music pieces that, while technically classified as classical, mostly feel like they fall somewhere between classical and popular music.
The difficulty level is on the lower side, but in depth.A song that speaks to the heartThere are many of them, and it’s a book I highly recommend for adults.
I feel like there are performances that only adults can pull off.
Between children and adults, there are emotional tones and depths of sound that children just can’t produce.
I think this sheet music book is filled with pieces that sound truly beautiful when played by adults!
My recommendation is a song called “Love Theme,” and it’s such a deep, really good track.
Reference audio
There are many songs like this that blend a sense of sadness and gentleness, each possessing a depth that only adults can convey, making them sound more beautiful than their difficulty level would suggest.
If you take a look on YouTube and such, you'll see that there are tons of kids who play incredibly well.
But there really aren’t many kids who play with emotion.
I think this score is a book that will help you play pieces rich in emotion and nuance—something only adults can truly express!
Plenty of reference audio available online.
Point(s)
- Many emotionally rich pieces make it perfect for adult beginners.
- Although it’s sheet music for beginners, many of the pieces are played with emotion, so it’s still moving.
Immerse yourself in the world of Joe Hisaishi! “ENCORE”
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have been playing the piano for about 1 to 3 years.
Joe HisaishiThis can be called a best-of collection of his piano pieces, and since he arranged it himself, it feels like Joe Hisaishi’s performances have been transcribed directly into sheet music!
Many of Joe Hisaishi’s piano pieces have been arranged by others, and there are quite a few scores that make you think, “Huh?” But the great thing about this book is that it really presents them just as they are!
However, among the pieces introduced this time, it's quite challenging, and it would be tough unless you've been playing the piano for at least a year.
Still, I posted it here because it’s packed with that many great songs!
Especially this piece, Summer—just being able to play it makes me want to shout, “Hooray for adult piano!”
Reference audio source for “Summer”
As a beginner at the piano, just thinking that I might be able to play this makes my dreams grow!
I tackled this piece myself when I had about a year of piano experience. It felt pretty tough, but I somehow managed to make it come together.
As for Summer’s difficulty, I think anyone who started piano as an adult can definitely take it on after about a year and a half of practice.
Plenty of reference audio available online.
Point(s)
- A must-read for Joe Hisaishi fans
- One book as a mid-term goal for beginners
Sight-Reading Practice 301 for Piano Improvement
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who just started playing the piano.
This is a bit outside the scope of the current purpose, but...For sight-reading practiceIt is a book.
It’s not a full-fledged piece, but a short tune that ends in about four measures, and the sheet music contains 301 of them.
At the beginning, the difficulty is low enough that even someone who just started playing the piano can do it, and it gradually increases. By doing a little each day, you’ll naturally...first-impression abilityThis is a book that will help you improve.
You’ll develop the ability to read sheet music!
It's not that a piece with just four bars is automatically a great song or anything like that.
This is the beginner practice that appears early on, and as you progress through the pages, the rhythm and the sounds get more complicated.
Sight-reading an unfamiliar piece takes more energy than you’d expect, and after just ten minutes I start to feel pretty tired.
It's a book that will continuously improve your sight-reading skills, so I recommend it!
The recommendation is around tempo 60.MetronomeIf you do it while playing it, you can practice listening to the beat properly!
Point(s)
- Perfect for first-time practice!
- If you play a few pieces every day, you’ll gradually become able to sight-read.
- It’s effective to practice along with a metronome!
Practice sheet music of classical pieces recommended for adults!
From here, we’ll introduce sheet music from classical pieces that we recommend for adults!
If you have specific classical pieces you want to play, I especially recommend any of these scores—they’ll all help you build your classical skills!
Thompson Modern Piano Method (1)
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have just started playing the piano up to about six months.
I’m ready to start getting serious about classical piano from here on out!
This is a recommended book for those who have just started playing the piano and are beginners.
To be honest, it's hard to say the first few songs are for adults, but from the middle onward there are many tracks that even adults can enjoy.
Skills required for classicalIt’s a genuine, comprehensive book that enables you to acquire it from an early stage.
A classic staple in piano education settings!
It's used in children's piano education both in Japan and abroad, and I think it's a go-to book for beginners when it comes to learning classical music!
Reference audio
There are some reference audio sources available online.
Point(s)
- A must-have for beginners who want to play classical music!
- The content of the piece is a bit childish, but it covers the basics of classical music.
The classic standard practice score “Burgmüller: 25 Progressive Pieces.”
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have been playing the piano for about 3 months to 2 years.
This is for people who have been playing classical piano since they were children.Everyone knows itIt wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this is the one book.
Although it's aimed at beginners, this book lets you enjoy authentic classical pieces.
Many of the pieces are wonderful classics, and it’s a great selection of masterpieces that even people who aren’t very interested in classical music can enjoy!
Among these, my recommended song would be “Yasashii Hana,” I think.
Reference audio
I think this is a must-have score for anyone with even a slight interest in classical music, regardless of age!
Plenty of reference audio available online.
Point(s)
- A must-have book for anyone pursuing classical piano
- Widely used in piano education
First Gillock
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have been playing the piano for about 3 months to 2 years.
Although the sheet music is relatively simple, it contains many complex sounds, making it a book that trains your ears as well as your hands at the same time!
Reference audio
I think this is a score you can start practicing around the time you’re able to play with both hands, and although it’s relatively easy, it lets you perform with that distinctive classical feel, so I recommend it.
Well, it seems the perceived difficulty of this sheet music varies quite a bit from person to person, so it's hard to say anything for sure until you actually try it (lol).
Plenty of reference audio available online.
Point(s)
- Although it's sheet music for beginners, many of the pieces sound complex.
- Recommended for beginners who want to properly focus on classical music
Lyric Pieces by Gillock
※Difficulty guide: Recommended for those who have been playing the piano for about six months to two years since starting.
This is also a piece by Gillock, but compared to the previous one, this one is a bit more difficult.
I think it would be good to have about six months of piano experience.
This one is also full of famous pieces and serves as a volume that builds important fundamentals for performing classical music.
Overall, this collection features many pieces with slightly complex rhythms and a calm, deep character, making it a volume packed with the foundational challenges unique to the piano.
There are many pieces with depth that I especially want adults to play.
Reference audio source: Phantom Knight
No doubt, this sheet music will build your skills for playing classical pieces, but it’s more difficult than it sounds when you listen to the piece.
Well, you'll still gain strength!
Plenty of reference audio available online.
Point(s)
- The song has depth and a unique rhythm.
- Recommended for those who want to play unique songs.
- Broaden your classical piano horizons