Looking for easy country songs to play on the piano?
The fact that country music is a guitar and string instruments-based genre doesn’t mean that country songs don’t sound good on the piano. As a pianist, I absolutely enjoy playing country songs, and I try to often include them in my practice session because they are mostly easy to learn yet beautiful at the same time.
Related: How To Pick The Best Songs To Practice: 6 TIPS
If you are a pianist who enjoys country music like me, you will find a lot of inspiration on this list.
Best Country Piano Songbooks – Quick Overview
[wptb id=3814]From Garth Brooks to Taylor Swift, today we look at the best easy country songs to learn on the piano!
John Denver – Take Me Home, Country Roads
Unarguably, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver is the most famous country song because it is widely known even by audiences outside the U.S.
Although John Denver sings about West Virginia, this song can bring international folks together around a universal theme of “home”.
It has a lovely melody that anyone would recognize, and playing that melody is quite easy. The tutorial above teaches you the left-hand accompaniment without pressing chords, which is great for the very beginners.
However, if you’re more of an intermediate player, then you can try to play the accompaniment with chords which would probably be more fun!
Alan Jackson – Remember When
Released in 2003, “Remember When” is a nostalgic song that recalls the memories of Alan Jackson’s marriage. The song starts by describing the early times of love and takes us through the whole marriage, from raising children to watching them leave home.
Remember When is a quite melodic and slow country song, and it’s a perfect one to learn if you’re looking for a song that is poignant yet easy to play.
If you’ve just started practicing to play with both hands, the piano sheet music you’ll find below will be a good one to include in your practice sessions.
The Band Perry- If I Die Young
Written by Kimberly Perry and recorded by the well-known country trio The Band Perry, “If I Die Young” is a famous song about the sorrow of dying young.
I think it has one of the most stunning lyrics in country music. My favorite line is “Funny when you’re dead how people start listenin'”.
To song is made up of a lot of eight notes, which is great to familiarize yourself with more complex note values and timings if you are a beginner. Other than that, there is nothing too complex in the song.
It’s in mid-tempo, fun to play, and easy to learn.
Chords: A, E, B, C#m
Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind
“Always On My Mind” will be a familiar song to most country music fans.
It was written by Johnny Cristopher, Mark James, and Wayne Carson, and sang by names such as Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, and Pet Shop Boys.
However, none of the versions could reach the chart success that Willie Nelson’s version did, peaking at number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart and spending two weeks there.
It’s also a unique one on this list because it’s a piano-based country ballad, which is something rare in country music as most songs only feature string instruments in the genre. The piano and guitar beautifully accompany each other, making this song a great one to play with a guitarist friend.
Related: 23 Best Guitar and Piano Duets
It’s a moderately slow country piano ballad which means it’s quite melodic and perfectly suitable to be played on the piano.
Garth Brooks – The Dance
“The Dance” by Garth Brooks shares a similar story with “Always on My Mind”.
Starting with a nice solo piano interlude, this country song is another one featuring a piano accompaniment.
It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart after which it spent 3 weeks there. Famous country singer Garth Brooks describes the song as his “signature song”.
This piano arrangement starts with a nice melodic solo piano riff that makes a nice introduction. When the verse starts, the accompaniment becomes rhythmic in style in that the chords accompany the melody rhythmically.
This song is a great one for beginners who want to learn a different style of accompaniment and texture.
In my opinion, it’s one of the best country songs to learn on piano.
If you enjoy this song, I highly recommend checking out these amazing country songs by Garth Brooks on the piano as well!
Taylor Swift – Ours
“Ours” is a soft country ballad written by Taylor Swift, and it’s about the power of true love and how that love can get through the hardest times.
Although Taylor Swift is recognized as a pop superstar, she has her roots in country music, so you might want to check out more of her songs that I listed in this post below:
21 Easy Taylor Swift Piano Songs to Play
“Ours” has a very lovely melody. It’s an incredibly simple song to learn because it’s written in the key of C major, which means you won’t need to press any black notes.
I’ve always found the starting riff of “Ours” impressive because despite sounding very simple, it has a special power that can connect me to the song right from the beginning.
It’s also one of the best country songs with a piano part in it.
Blake Shelton – God’s Country
“God’s Country” is one of the recent songs from the famous country singer Blake Shelton.
Most people think this song is one of the most American songs, although Shelton stated that lyrics are open to interpretation as God’s country may be anywhere based on how one thinks of and connects to a place.
Despite being a country song, I really love the rock vibe it has.
“God’s Country” is pretty easy to play because it consists of only 3 chords. Those chords repeat exactly the same way throughout the song, which means once you grasp them the only thing left is to learn the melody or just improvise.
Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
Written originally by Don Schlitz, the song owes its success to Kenny Rogers as his version peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in1978.
The song is about the conversation between the narrator and a man mentioned as “the gambler”. I think the song has a powerful storytelling aspect as I can vividly imagine the scenes of this late-night conversation whenever I listen.
Playing this country song on the piano is definitely worth the time I think as it’s such a classic one.
The Gambler is also among the playful songs on this list as it should be played in moderately fast tempo and a rhythmic style. However, nothing too complex as the chords are very easy to transition between.
Intermediate piano sheet music
Luke Combs – Beautiful Crazy
This wonderful song feels like a love letter from the talented country artist Luke Combs to his lover, and this is one of my favorite country songs because of its raw and sweet lyrics.
The piano arrangement I linked below has an introduction consisting of arpeggios. However, it’s not hard to play them because the arpeggio pattern is quite repetitive in that there are only 2 different patterns that successively repeat.
Overall, it’s a lovely country song that sounds incredible on the piano.
Thomas Rhett – Marry Me
Released in 2017, “Marry Me” is a contemporary country song that is about the narrator’s unreciprocated love for a woman who is about to marry. The lyrics are in the same theme as the 2010 hit rap song “Just a Dream” by Nelly.
Taylor Swift fans may recognize the chorus of this song due to the similarity of the melody to “Style” from the 1989 album.
The song is entirely piano-based, and I believe you’ll especially like the intro part. The piano accompaniment keeps playing throughout the whole song, and it makes this song a perfect country song for pianists!
The song is mostly dominated by the same 4 chords, and they are easy to play and move between.
The trickiest part seems to be the chorus since, unlike verses, there is a different chord shift. However, it’s not difficult to make either. You only need to pay extra attention whenever you need to make that chord transition.
In my opinion, it’s one of the greatest country songs for piano.
Chris Stapleton – Tennessee Whiskey
“Tennessee Whiskey” was written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, and released in different versions by several artists like David Allan Coe, George Jones, and Meghan Linsey. However, the song reached its popularity with Chris Stapleton’s performance at the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. After that the record was certified Platinum, selling thousands of copies.
The song has an interesting rhythmic pattern, which may be a bit difficult to recognize and play without memorizing the original song first. Therefore, I highly recommend that you first get familiarize yourself enough with the song so that you would be comfortable playing with rhythmic correctness.
Due to the presence of dotted notes, I also highly suggest that you learn the song with the metronome (I know it’s not your favorite thing to do).
Alison Krauss – When You Say Nothing At All
Without any doubt, “When You Say Nothing At All” is one of the most unforgettable country songs. The charm and power of the song led it to become a hit 3 different times in history by different artists, the most successful one being Alison Krauss.
It’s a love song that tells how one can best express her feelings to her lover without saying anything.
The song is made out of few simple chords. Also, the tempo should be rather slow, so it’s safe to say that this song would take a maximum of one hour to master for any skill level.
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
“Need You Know” is one of the most famous country songs to be written in the 2010s, winning 4 Grammy awards and replacing “Love Story” by Taylor Swift by becoming the most downloaded country song in history.
It’s one of my favorite country songs and I’ve listened to this song a thousand times probably.
The song has a beautiful piano intro that is very iconic. I guess country music fans have already started singing it.
Playing “Need You Now” is incredibly easy as the chords are pretty simple. If you already know the song, it will be very easy to memorize the right-hand melody as well.
Luke Bryan – Do I
“Do I” is another contemporary country song that is about a couple who are not sure if they should continue their relationship.
Although it’s an easy country song to play on the piano, I suggest that you practice it with a metronome because it contains a lot of eight and dotted notes.
Jason Aldean – Burnin’ It Down
If you are looking for a more modern-sounding country song, then this song may be the right one for you since it features drum loops and an EDM- style production.
Surprisingly, as you can hear from the cover of this song above, it sounds almost like an acoustic ballad on the piano, making it a perfect one to make a piano cover.
Despite its uptempo and playful nature, the song is quite easy to play. The repetitive starting riff is my favorite part!
Patsy Cline – Crazy
It’s interesting that one of the most iconic country songs in history was not originally written to be a country song, but rather a pop-jazz ballad.
Due to the song’s mixed style, it has been covered by countless artists from different genres like pop, jazz, and country. The most famous version belongs to the country superstar Patsy Cline which came out in 1961.
“Crazy” is a great song if you’re looking for a country song that has a jazzy and swing style as well. It features jazz chords, a swing rhythm, and a country melody.
It’s definitely not the easiest country piano song on this list, but it’s still a great one to expand your horizons if you’re a beginner and have never played jazz.
It features ornamented notes and triplets, which may be a bit beyond the level for beginners. However, I highly recommend that you try to play it anyway because you can’t progress without embracing new challenges.
I believe “Crazy” is a wonderful country song that can offer many new insights for players who are willing to learn more unorthodox ways of playing a traditional genre like country music and improve their piano skills.
If you enjoy this song, you might want to check out other country songs by Patsy Cline to play on the piano as well!
Eric Church – Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen fans may already know this song, as its lyrics were inspired by Eric Church’s admiration for Springsteen. The main theme of the song is a teenage romance, yet there are several references to Springsteen songs like “Born in the USA” or “Glory Days”.
The chord progression in this song always lifts me up, and I hope you’ll find it lovely as well.
The accompaniment style of the piano arrangement of the song is rhythmic, so it has a rock vibe. Overall, the use of simple chords and easy transition between them makes it one of the easy country songs to play on the piano.
Intermediate piano sheet music
Whiskey Lullaby – Brad Paisley
Whiskey Lullaby is a country ballad that is about a couple who are going through a difficult separation, resulting in the man and woman dying from alcohol.
Although it’s an easy country song to learn on the piano, I recommend that you still practice it slowly and especially with a metronome.
Hank Williams – Lovesick Blues
“Lovesick Blues” is one of the greatest and most legendary country songs, dating back to 1922. As the name implies, it’s a country song with a blues influence.
It’s a unique country song because of its genre-blending nature.
Don’t let the name “blues” intimidate you if you’ve never played blues before because playing this song is incredibly easy and fun.
Also, if you are interested in exploring a blues-type accompaniment and chord progression, I highly suggest that you learn this classic song because it introduces you to the basic blues patterns in the name of a “country song”.
Overall, I think you shouldn’t skip learning to play this iconic song on the piano.
Conclusion
These were some of the best easy country songs to play on the piano for beginners, as well as more advanced players.
Which country song did sound best on the piano? Which country song are you going to learn?
Let me know in the comments!
