Guitar and piano duets are challenging to find because they are both accompaniment instruments and most think they don’t sound good together. My brother is a guitarist and I’m a pianist, so whenever we wanted to play duets we always had a hard time finding them.
However, there are actually many piano and guitar songs that sound absolutely amazing and are really fun to play, though finding those songs requires a thorough search. Luckily, I gathered all the guitar and piano duets I came across throughout the years, which I will share with you on this list.
The list includes acoustic, electric, and classical guitar duet songs, so there is a suitable song for every type of guitarist and pianist!
Best Guitar & Piano Duet Songbooks – Quick Overview
[wptb id=3812]Here are the best duets for guitar and piano you can play as a duo or a band.
Acoustic Guitar and Piano Duets
Radiohead – Karma Police
One of the most iconic songs in the history of rock music, Karma Police features a rhythmic piano accompaniment with an acoustic guitar. If you are a Radiohead fan, you will very much enjoy playing this song as a duet.
If you like this one, you can also check out other Radiohead piano songs you can play as a duo.
John Lennon – Oh My Love
There is no word to describe how touching this beautiful song is by the legendary John Lennon.
Oh My Love features only piano, guitar, and voice, which makes it a great duet song for guitarists and pianists. The texture of the song is quite rich so it nearly sounds like a classical piece even without vocals.
Peter Bradley Adams – The Longer I Run
Peter Bradley Adams is one of my favorite artists that I can never get tired of listening to. His songs are always beautiful and The Longer I Run is no exception.
It starts with a simple piano pattern which is accompanied by a sweet acoustic guitar melody throughout the song. I couldn’t find sheet music for this song, but if try to learn it by ear, you will realize that it’s pretty easy and repetitive.
Taylor Swift – Ours
I think Taylor Swift fans will be happy to hear that Ours is actually played with an acoustic guitar and piano.
Related: 21 Easy Taylor Swift Piano Songs to Play
It’s one of the sweetest love songs that Tay ever wrote, and I recommend that you give it a try because it’s quite easy to play and a great match for guitar and piano.
Linkin Park – The Messenger
The Messenger by Linkin Park has quite minimalistic production in that it only features acoustic guitar, piano, and vocals. The last track of the album A Thousands Sun, the song is quite emotional.
It starts with acoustic guitars and they keep playing till the verse. The piano joins in the middle and plays till the end.
Porcupine Tree – Lazarus
Lazarus is one of my favorite piano and guitar songs. The piano riff at the beginning is accompanied by acoustic guitar throughout the song, and I think the piano players will enjoy the riff because it sounds really cool.
Parachute – Kiss Me Slowly
This romantic song by Parachute is my other favorite. I’ve been playing and listening to this song for several years now but I guess it never gets old.
Starting with an accompaniment-style piano, the acoustic guitar joins in the second verse, which goes very well with the feeling of the song.
John Grant – Marz
Marz is a song from the album Queen of Denmark, which is the debut solo album of the American songwriter John Grant, who’d previously worked with the band “Czars.”
The song starts with a nice piano riff and a soft guitar accompaniment adds up slowly from the beginning. The song was also the soundtrack of the movie “Weekend”.
Snow Patrol – I Think Of Home
Written and sang by Gary Lightbody, I Think of Home is a sweet tribute to growing up in Ireland. I immediately start to miss Ireland whenever I hear this song, though I’ve never been there.
It’s a great one to play just as a piano and guitar duet without any other instrument because the song doesn’t need much to sound beautiful.
Taylor Swift – mad woman
From the folklore album, mad woman is one of the most interesting acoustic guitar and piano duets I’ve ever heard.
The piano plays a very nice melodic accompaniment throughout the song, while the guitar gently plays a repetitive accompaniment melody.
Highly recommended if you are looking for a more different sound and compositional structure than the previous songs.
Electric Guitar and Piano Duets
The Beatles – Let it be
This classic song is usually the first one to play as a guitar and piano duo, because it’s very well-known, fun, and easy to play.
Derek And The Dominos – Layla
Written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, Layla is one of the greatest rock songs of all time. It was inspired by the love story of Layla and Majnun, and also Clapton’s unreciprocated love for Pattie Boyd at the time.
Related: 6 Easy Piano Rock Songs For Beginners
The song is famous for its iconic piano solo in the middle of the song, and it’s also one of the best electric guitar and piano songs you can find.
Queen – Somebody To Love
While it’s good to have a choir and a very good solo vocalist to perform this piece, it’s also a great one to perform only as a piano and electric guitars, and drums if possible. One of the most legendary and unforgettable songs in rock music history, Somebody to Love has gospel music and Aretha Franklin influences.
Related: Top 6 Queen Songs To Play On Piano
The leading instrument in the song is the piano in that piece starts with a piano solo and the piano never stops playing till the very end. Electric guitars have also a very profound role in the song.
Scorpions – The Future Never Dies
Despite not being as popular as Wind of Change or Still Loving You, The Future Never Dies is an incredibly emotional rock song from the German heavy metal band Scorpions that is extremely underrated.
The song starts with a nice solo piano riff that gives the impression the song is going to be a piano rock ballad. However, electric guitars join close to the chorus and make the song much more striking.
OneRepublic – Passenger
Passenger is one of the best piano and guitar songs in my opinion because both of the instruments add beautiful layers to the song. Another great thing about this song is that it has both acoustic and electric guitars, so which guitar you’ll play is up to you, though either of them will sound fantastic and go really well with the piano.
Journey – Open Arms
Considered to be one of the greatest rock ballads, Open Arms is a legendary song that will never get old to listen to and perform. Its powerful lyrics are supported with a sentimental piano and iconic electric guitar melodies.
The song starts with a remarkable solo piano introduction and continues till the middle of the song. The moment the electric guitars join, the accompaniment pattern of the piano changes from playing a melodic accompaniment to pressing the chords.
Truly a phenomenal guitar and piano song to play!
Classical Guitar and Piano Duets
Anton Diabelli – 18 Pieces for Guitar and Piano
While Diabelli was most known for his music publishing business at the time, he was also a music teacher, composer and guitar/piano player who composed several works for both instruments.
These 18 pieces for guitar and piano are perhaps the finest pieces written for classical guitar and piano duos. They are around intermediate-early intermediate level, so they aren’t tough to learn and play.
We were quite happy with my guitarist brother that we could find this sheet music book featuring all of the 18 duets, which you can also find on Amazon.
Related: 11 Easy Classical Piano Songs For Beginners
Carulli – Trois Valses Op. 32
Ferdinando Carulli was an Italian composer whose compositions were primarily for classical guitar, though he composed also concerto and chamber works. However, all of his compositions always featured classical guitar, establishing him as one of the most well-known composers of the instrument.
These three valses (op. 32) are one of the rarest and most beautiful piano and classical guitar duets I’ve ever come across. If you enjoy these valses, I highly recommend that you also check out other works of Carulli because his classical piano-guitar duets are one of a kind that you don’t want to miss.
Jose Ferrer – Duet for Guitar and Piano
Spanish guitarist and composer José Ferrer composed several works for guitar, but he was also well-known for his amazing duos, especially for guitar and piano.
This work is one of my favorites by Jose Ferrer, plus a great one to play at recitals.
Paul McCartney – My Valentine
My Valentine is a Paul McCartney song that he wrote back in 2012 for his wife, Nancy Shevell. It’s also known that Paul McCartney performed this song at their wedding! The original recording of the song featured Eric Clapton at guitar.
The song is progressing mostly on the 7th chords, so it has a jazz feeling to it. Although you can hear other instruments in the background like strings, the main two instruments leading the song are classical guitar and piano.
It’s a quite romantic duet that is so enjoyable to perform!
Down by The Sally Gardens (Celtic Duet)
Originally a traditional Irish folk song, I recently found a piano and guitar duet arrangement of this wonderful song that I very much enjoy. Although there is no Youtube video for the song, you can still have a listen here from the Sheet Music Plus website.
The arrangement was made for intermediate-level players, although it won’t be much of a challenge for beginner players as well.
Conclusion
These are the 21 best guitar and piano duets for players of any level!
I know it’s hard to find songs that are written only for piano and guitar, so I hope this list has given you some ideas for your piano-guitar duet repertoire.
If you know other songs for piano and guitar, let me know in the comments so that we can expand this list and have a huge library of duets at the end!
Which song did you like most on the list? Which song have you decided to learn?
Comment below!
2 comments
Hi, Selin. I was really surprised by the first sentence of this post! I love piano and guitar duets, and I found this post because I was looking for more.
Some of these 21 are songs I know and love, and I’m looking forward to listening to the rest. “Karma Police” has always been a favorite of mine.
I also like “Sally Simpson” by The Who and “Falling Slowly” from the movie “Once”.
Thanks for the post!
Hi Zac!
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks a lot for the wonderful suggestions!