My Ultimate Piano Playlist – Part One
Introduction
Using a title like 20 Best Piano Songs to Learn Before You Die may at first seem a little negative. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Listen, we are all going to kick the bucket one day no matter what, so as a piano learner, wouldn’t it be great to leave our loved ones not only with memories, videos, and photos of our life but also a record of our performances of our most loved tunes played by us on our chosen instrument, the piano?
We now live in a world where anyone can make a digital record of their performances for future generations to listen to, to get to know you a little more, and who knows, maybe you will inspire your great-great-grandchildren—who don’t even exist yet—to pick up an instrument and play. Imagine that. So with that in mind, here is my list of the 20 songs I have on my personal bucket list. In no particular order.
The 20 Best Piano Songs – Part One
Cornfield Chase by Hans Zimmer
Click the Image to see the YouTube performance by @PianoZeroL
For me, this tune from the movie Interstellar embodies the wonder of why I was drawn to the piano in the first place. My love of sci-fi movies and this wonderful story about a father-daughter relationship shown in Interstellar really moved me. The haunting, searching wonder that the music embodies makes me hear it every time I look into the skies and see the endless universe. And the fact that the vastness means, if we were ever to voyage there, we would have to sacrifice everything we know and love due to the vast amount of time that would be needed. I think this tune made the movie, and the movie made the tune.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
Clair de Lune is probably on every budding pianist’s bucket list. In fact, I am learning the beginner version of this myself right now. I have found over the last days of practicing this that the song just flows. By concentrating on the position of my hands and reading the music, I can really see the structure in the song—the intervals and timing are all coming together more naturally than any other piece I have learned. Maybe that’s why it sounds so good. It moves from a delicate, clear introduction to a rolling masterpiece. I simply love it. That is why it’s my number two.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Piano Man by Billy Joel
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
Just a great song, this piece by Billy Joel has this kind of melancholic joyfulness to it, a story that transports you to a bar somewhere, where a skilled pianist is playing for change—not because they have to, but because they love to. And while doing so, they are taking a look into the lives of the people around them who are all drawn to the same place for one reason or another.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
The River Flows in You by Yiruma
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
When I first started learning the piano, I saw lots of people talking about this piece. Honestly, I had never heard about it. And to be fair, some say it’s overplayed. But actually, when I heard it, I found it to be a truly graceful piece of music. Yiruma is a Korean composer and performer. Classically trained, his music fights against the Korean stereotype of K-Pop and Gangnam Style. His exquisite playing is highlighted in this lovely piece of music that sounds just as good in simple versions as it does in the more complex versions.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Nimrod (from the Enigma Variations) by Elgar
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
There is a very personal and real reason this one is on my list. My late dad loved this tune, and I could hear it playing on his hi-fi (he never was a pianist) in his study while he worked on whatever project he had going on at the time. We played the music at his funeral, and it was incredibly fitting to the person that he was—strong and gentle at the same time. I simply must play this one day for Dad.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Comptine d’un autre été – by Yann Tiersen
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
This is a piece it seems everyone knows, taken from the score of the film Amélie—or The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain, as it translates from the French. It has this repetitive left hand that just seems to roll through the song at varying intensity, then a beautiful dancing melody that plays over the top of it. The result is a simply lovely tune that many consider to be one of the most recognisable pieces in modern music.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Time by Hans Zimmer
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
Another piece from a well-known sci-fi movie, Time by Hans Zimmer gives the listener a compelling, yet disturbing feeling of time slipping away. As it builds from a slow gentle beginning to a powerful feeling of the clock ticking down, as the song finishes, you are left with a sense that all is spent, there is nothing more, just the end. A great piece from a great composer.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at danjovi.com
The Entertainer by Scott Joplin
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
In a bit of a break from the norm you may find on this list, I include The Entertainer by Scott Joplin. I remember hearing this song when I was a child and wondering what it would be like to be able to play it. I loved the cheekiness of it; it made me want to pull pranks and mess about. I don’t know why, it’s just how it made me feel. I think that’s one thing that rings true to me with music: how it makes you feel. And having access to a piano and a willingness to learn makes me want other people to feel something too.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leontovych
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
Originally a Ukrainian folk song about a swallow flying into a house and proclaiming a bountiful year ahead, this winter classic has been synonymous with the festive season for many years now. It became a favourite of mine while it was played in accompaniment to a light show on St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York one snowy Christmas night when I was visiting—yes, that really did happen, and it is fixed in my mind forever.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Imagine by John Lennon
Click the image to see the YouTube performance
What top ten list would be complete without this wonderful song? John Lennon created this wishful masterpiece in the hope that it would make people stop and think, that they would ‘imagine’ a more peaceful and loving world. He highlighted all that he saw was wrong then in the world and how it would be if all of those things simply were not there. This globally recognised piece still hits home nearly 54 years later. Released in the year I was born, it still stirs me today.
You can find sheet music for a version of this piece at musescore
Conclusion
Well, there you have it, the first ten songs on my bucket list for piano. The first part of my 20 best piano songs to learn before you dies.Some might say a pedestrian choice or lacking in depth, but for me, these are all pieces I would love to—one day—have the skills to play and add to my repertoire. I hope you find something there to inspire you too, and I would love to hear your comments if there are other pieces you would suggest. Also, contact me to let me know if you have played any of these and how you—and others—found it when you reached the level you desired.
Thanks for reading and happy playing.
Jon
