Adele’s songs are known for their melancholic, dreary, and impressive piano accompaniments. As a piano player who quite enjoys piano ballads, Adele piano songs are among my favorite things to play.
Adele songs are mostly easy to learn on the piano. However, Adele has also several intermediate songs that beginner players might struggle with. For this reason, this post will look at the easy and intermediate Adele songs separately so that you can find the ones most suitable for your level.
I believe piano players should have at least one Adele song in their repertoire as her songs are famous, simple, and sound incredible on the piano. On the other hand, they’re also difficult enough to improve piano technique.
I have this Adele piano songbook that makes it really easy to learn and practice songs. It’s a complete collection of Adele songs and arrangements in the book are quite accurate as well. I also use it for sight-reading with easy songs in it.
I recommend these Adele piano songbooks below that I believe are the best on the market.
Best Adele Piano Songbooks – Quick Overview
[wptb id=4127]Let’s now jump into the best Adele piano songs for any level!
Easy Adele Piano Songs
Someone Like You
Chances are you already know this legendary song by Adele, Someone Like You. The record-breaking song is one of Adele’s most famous songs with over 1 million streams just on Spotify.
Adele wrote this song on her acoustic guitar, but she later turned it into a piano ballad with her producer Dan Wilson. I’m sure it’d sound fantastic on the guitar too, but there is something magical about Adele’s heavenly voice accompanied by solo piano.
This song is so simple to play that any beginner can easily handle it. It features repeated arpeggios throughout that are doable for even the very beginner players. I also find those arpeggios helpful for improving finger dexterity and arpeggio technique.
I highly recommend learning this song as it’s incredibly easy, sounds fantastic, and is so famous that anyone will recognize it wherever you play.
Hello
Another hit song by Adele, Hello is a touching piano ballad combined with soul instruments like guitar and drums. The song revolves around the themes of regret and nostalgia.
You can play the song with the melody lines or just the original piano accompaniment if you’d like to sing at the same time. Either way, it’s a super easy song that you can quickly learn by following the piano tutorial above.
If you prefer to have sheet music while learning, there’s a nice arrangement linked below.
Set Fire to the Rain
Set Fire to the Rain is one of the most impressive Adele songs with piano. This record-breaking song features an amazing piano riff throughout the song that most people can immediately recognize.
The best thing about this song is that it sounds quite difficult and impressive while in reality, it’s one of the easiest songs to play. You can master the iconic piano riff in just a few minutes even if you’re a beginner.
When We Were Young
One of the most touching songs of Adele, When We Were Young is about the fear of getting old and memories of one’s youth. These melancholic themes are reflected in the emotional piano accompaniment of the song.
Although all the songs we’ve covered so far are suitable for beginners, When We Were Young is definitely the easiest Adele song on the piano. Both hands play incredibly simple chords in a rather slow tempo.
If you’ve just started to play the piano, I think this one should be your first Adele song to learn. Despite being super easy, it sounds fascinating.
I believe learning this song can be incredibly motivating for beginners.
Hometown Glory
Adele’s debut single Hometown Glory was the first song she ever wrote when she was 16.
Compared to her massive hits such as Someone Like You or Rolling In the Deep, it’s one of Adele’s lesser-known songs. However, I highly recommend giving it a listen especially if you’re a piano player.
It features a stunning piano accompaniment that immediately makes you want to sit and try it on the piano. It’s one of my favorite Adele piano songs on this list. People always get impressed whenever they hear me playing it.
The song starts with an amazing solo-piano introduction which then transitions into the main piano accompaniment that is repeated throughout the song.
All of the parts are easily manageable by pianists of any level, so I highly recommend giving it a try!
Rolling in the Deep
Winning countless awards including three Grammies and breaking multiple records, Rolling in the Deep is a legendary song that will never get old.
The song is about the feelings of a scorned lover, and you can strongly feel it in the pounding keys of the piano.
Rolling in the Deep is a great song to improve the staccato technique as well as rhythmic playing. Therefore, I highly recommend practicing this song if you’re a beginner as it’ll be a great support to your piano technique.
Although it’s not a difficult song, it’s not the easiest Adele song either. It’s not difficult note-wise, though the rhythm might be a bit tricky for beginners. However, I still encourage beginners to learn this song as I believe it’ll be quite rewarding to learn.
If you find yourself struggling with the rhythm, try practicing each part slowly with a metronome until you get the notes and rhythm right at the tempo you’re practicing. Then, gradually increase the speed until you feel comfortable playing at the original tempo.
There are a lot of different types of arrangements of this song for different levels. You can find the most suitable one for you. The one I linked below is an easy arrangement for beginners.
Love in the Dark
This sad Adele song about past love and break-up is a fantastic one to play on the piano.
Love in the Dark features a stunning piano accompaniment and Adele’s vocals, with soft strings accompanying the two.
It’s a great song to play and sing at the same time as the piano accompaniment is incredibly easy. Both hands play either one-note melodies or simple chords.
Therefore, this song is not only perfect for beginner pianists but also singers who want to improve their piano skills on the side.
Skyfall
Written by Adele for the James Bond movie, Skyfall is one of the most well-known and unforgettable movie soundtracks. If you enjoy playing soundtracks on the piano, I highly recommend learning this song if you haven’t so far.
Related: 18 Greatest Piano Soundtracks Of All Time
Anyone will recognize this song wherever you play it, and it’s a relatively easy one to learn.
The only tricky part of this track is its rhythm. I remember it took me a while to play the accompaniment without missing the notes because some parts were rhythmically challenging for me.
However, once you get the hang of the rhythm by practicing slowly and repeatedly, it’s pretty simple and sounds impressive. It’s one of those songs that I’m so happy to have in my repertoire as I can play it on any occasion and people always love it!
Intermediate Adele Piano Songs
Make You Feel My Love
Originally written by Bob Dylan in 1997, Make You Feel My Love has since been covered by many artists including Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, and Kelly Clarkson.
Adele’s version features solo piano as the primary backing instrument, which is similar to Dylan’s original recording of the song.
This song is a great one to learn if you want to get better at piano accompaniments as it contains some really nice patterns of chords. Although it’s considered to be an intermediate song, I found a good easy arrangement of it here on the VSM website.
Overall, it’s an outstanding piano ballad that any pianist will truly enjoy performing.
Turning Tables
Turning Tables is a delicate piano pop ballad about the conflict between lovers in a manipulative relationship.
It features several different parts, so the piano accompaniment always changes to a different rhythm and pattern. This way, the piano always plays something interesting, which makes this song one of the most impressive Adele piano songs.
I highly recommend adding this wonderful song to your repertoire.
If you’re a beginner player and this song seems difficult, you should definitely check out this easy arrangement.
Take It All
Take It All is one of those songs that I think is heavily underrated.
Consisting solely of piano and vocals, the emotional effect this song has on me is just so powerful. I believe this song is another proof that Adele doesn’t need heavy production or instrumentation. She can speak to the heart with just the piano and her voice.
This song sounds so phenomenal on the piano that I’m often amazed at how few people play or cover it. It’s one of my favorite songs to play and it gets even better if you can sing it at the same time.
I don’t need to praise the piano accompaniment of this song any further, as I think it speaks for itself. If you’re an intermediate player or above, I’d highly suggest giving it a try.
I’ll Be Waiting
Another lesser-known song from album 21, I’ll Be Waiting is a special song as it’s quite different from the rest of Adele’s discography. In contrast to themes of heartbreak and melancholy that are dominant in most Adele tracks, I’ll Be Waiting is a soul-influenced upbeat song looking at a past love in an optimistic and mature way.
Although the piano accompaniment of this song is incredibly fun to play, it’s also one of the hardest Adele songs on the piano. It consists of syncopated chords that may be challenging if you’re not used to this kind of playing.
However, if you’re up for a challenge and fancy exploring a special side of Adele’s music, definitely go ahead and learn this song!
All I Ask
All I Ask is another song confirming that Adele is the queen of piano ballads. However, Adele wasn’t alone while writing this song as she was joined by Bruno Mars, so you can already imagine how amazing this song is even if you haven’t listened to it before.
This song was inspired by Billy Joel, which is one of the reasons for its powerful and majestic solo piano accompaniment.
Although it’s in the list of intermediate songs, it’s actually not quite hard to play and I believe beginners can handle it with enough practice as well. The verse parts are quite repetitive and don’t require an advanced technique or speed.
The only tricky parts would be the chorus sections where there are quick chord changes, though I believe they are totally doable with slow and consistent practice.
He Won’t Go
Having R&B and soul influences, He Won’t Go is another Adele song featuring piano that is so underrated and unique.
The song features piano, drums, and bass as the main instruments. The piano accompaniment of this song is incredibly fun to play as it consists of arpeggiated chords and syncopated rhythms, although it may be a bit challenging for beginners.
However, once you get the hang of the rhythm, it’s not difficult note-wise, so I’d encourage beginners to try it as well.
If you have a drummer and a bassist friend, I’d recommend asking them to play this song together as it sounds a bit dull without the percussion and bass.
Still, it’s a nice and fun one to play also as a solo!
One And Only
Adele once mentioned in an interview that One and Only was the first happy song she had ever written.
Although this song doesn’t feature the piano as the solo instrument as in most songs on this list, the piano is still the most prominent instrument in the track.
In the middle of the song starting at 3.24, there is a spectacular piano solo part where the piano repeatedly plays chords when all the instruments and vocals are silent. That part is really impressive and striking.
The piano accompaniment mostly consists of chords, and they’re relatively simple. Just make sure that you’re playing with correct timing as the rhythm of chords might be a bit confusing at some parts.
In case you’re struggling with the timing, I suggest practicing it slowly and repeatedly.
Remedy
The final song on this list, Adele wrote Remedy about his son.
Just like its lyrics, the song’s piano accompaniment is heartwarming.
Remedy is in 6/8 time, and the song has waltz piano motifs that make playing it an absolute joy.
Although it’s an intermediate song, neither the notes nor the rhythm of this song is too challenging for beginners. The left hand mostly plays octaves while the right hand plays simple chord patterns.
You should definitely give it a try if you enjoy Adele’s piano ballads!
Cover photo: DSC04646 by Kristopher Harris / CC BY-SA 2.0
