resoure uide: My top 10 pop sons or beinner piano students Findin the riht pop musi to teah an be a hallene. Sometimes students will brin in musi that they want to play, or just say "I'd really like to learn this!". But at other times, you may want to explore a speii pop son as a way to pratie a skill that the student has been learnin about: perhaps hords, proressions, rhythm, pulse or inversions. While I start teahin my students about namin, ormin and playin hords rom the very irst lesson, unless they put this knowlede into some kind o musial pratie, their newly-ound knowlede will seem quite useless. In my opinion, the two best ways o puttin hord knowlede into ation is via improvisin/omposin or playin pop musi. And the latter is what this heat sheet is all about. This is a list o my Top 10 easy pop sons that I use to teah students about hords, proressions and musi in eneral. I any o these are unamiliar to you (I'd be surprised!), then take a listen to them on YouTube beore you start teahin. Make sure you're happy with the son and know how it oes. Be ertain to deide how you want to teah it too: with the musi, rom hords, demo and opy, et. Stay tuned or more help about how I teah these pop sons omin up in your email inbox soon :) Happy teahin! 1
sons 1. let it be - the beatles (oriinal key) verse am horus am 2. hey jude in - the beatles (oriinal key: ) verse (x2) 7 7 (last time) bride(x2) G/B C/E dm dm7/ 7 G (last time) nanana! ( bb ) You miht wonder about the relevane o the irst two iven they were omposed around 45 years ao and all my teahin is about bein modern and proressive! The thin is that kids these days still seem to know and like them (whih says a lot about the quality o the oriinal son-writin!). They have timeless appeal and an be played with simple, steady rhythms, even by beinners. You an teah both o these piees by havin the student play rhythmi hords to keep the beat and addin 7ths or slash hords as and when they an (until then, just play the root position triads). They are also reat sons to use with a bakin trak app like NoteStar or ipad when students have mastered the proressions. The oriinal key o Hey Jude opens-up another teahin point with students about the idea o transposition, beause i they'd like to play this son with the oriinal reordin on YouTube, they'll need to play it F Major. What does it mean to transpose to a new key? How do you do it? What sharps/lats are involved? These are all reat questions that you an delve into usin this son as a base. My students an't et enouh o these two sons: they an learn them quikly and you an o in all sorts o exitin teahin diretions (e. into the Cirle o 5ths, keys, melody, et.) one they know the basis. 2
3. Cloks - Coldplay You only ever need to teah the irst 4 bars o this son to have a winnin experiene with any student. It's ool, it's roovy and everyone loves it. Let's ae it, it's a ri that all pianists should know! For beinners, I tend to teah this by rote: ie. Demonstrate and show the position and then your students opy. Wath how quikly your students' aes will liht up when they realise what they are playin and how ool it sounds. Keep the LH simple to start with: just sinle bass notes are ine; it's the RH that holds all the mai. 4. Piano Man - Billy Joel This is another timeless lassi that around 80% o kids still know today (and even i they don't, you an play a YouTube and show them how ool it is!). While it's not that easy to read the musi, this is easily tauht with basi hords: Try a C hord in the RH with a desendin bassline in the LH. With a ew more instrutions, you an help them understand the slash hords G/B and show them how to hane the RH hord eah bar while the LH desends. It's not a peret rendition o the oriinal, but it's enouh to et your students ired-up. Here's a simpliied version o the oriinal (the irst one is the most basi way to play (just root position) and the seond play-throuh introdues slash hords: 3
5. Skyall - Adele There's somethin about the major/minor ombinations o the hords in this son that really appeal. Even i students haven't seen the movie, they'll probably know the son. Easy to teah with hords, partiularly when you add inversions. Keep the LH in minims to start as the dotted rhythm an be triky. Can be inorporated with the NoteStar bakin trak. 6. The Sientist - Coldplay Another winner. Easy to play - even rom the musi - and lots o students will know it well. The best thin is it's one o the ew modern pop sons that has a steady, easy rhythm. Just use sinle notes or otaves in the LH to start, just in semibreves to bein. Good teahin points around what F2 means (Fsus2) and the use o the 7th in the Dm hord. 7. Someone Like You - Adele Musially, this is a bit like learnin a modern (and ar less omplex!) 'Moonliht Sonata' (and we all know how appealin some simple arpeios an be). Someone Like You is a simple 4-hord son that uses broken hords to ill out the sound and add interest. Students will quikly realise that this son is atually airly borin on its own, so aain, I'd reommend ettin students to play alon to the siner usin NoteStar one they've ot the proression. Good teahin points with the inversions o the hords in RH and also the use o the R/5/8 (root/5th/otave) in the RH or the F#m hord iven how ubiquitous this patter is in popular musi (albeit normally in the LH). 4
8. Get Luky - Dat Punk Everyone loved this son when it ame out. It's another 4-hord son that is easy to learn with hords. Great or introduin inversions beause o where the hands are plaed. Add a bakin trak and you've ot a pupil-winnin piee that will teah them all about hords and inversions. Here are the hords in the oriinal key: bm d #m e 9. Simpson's Theme Everyone knows it, everyone loves it and every pianist should be able to pull it o (a bit like happy birthday really...but that's another story!). Great teahin points reardin Danny Elman's use o the Lydian Mode. Don't worry about teahin (ountin) the rhythm; show the student the notes and let them play it in time. 5
10. James Bond Theme There's somethin about hromati bass lines that kids love. This is a reat teahin piee beause it's in A minor, whih is a key that students enerally learn early on and involves reonisin a triad in the RH. It an be tauht by demo/opy or musi dependin on where the students is at in their readin. PS. I you've ot more advaned students, and want some real rowd-pleasers, hek out my avourite pop ris or intermediate to advaned pianists: Love Son - Sarah Barielles A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai Your Son - Elton John Walkin in Memphis - Mar Cohn River lows in you - Yiruma Don't stop believin - Journey 6