10 Easy Video Game Music Arrangements for Piano Students
You’ve probably gotten some requests from your piano students to play video game music at piano lessons. Lucky for you, musicnotes.com is full of some wonderfully-written video game arrangements for piano.
We’ve found some of the most popular titles that are written with piano students in mind. If you’re looking for more video game music or more difficult arrangements, just search on musicnotes.com and you’ll find tons of great arrangements.
1. "Resting Grounds" from Hollow Knight, arr. by Sydney Kjerstad from Smart Game Piano
If you have students interested in video game music, Smart Game Piano is a great channel to follow. They have over 500 piano arrangements on musicnotes.com, so you should be able to find almost any video game title your students request. This arrangement has a continuous 3-note arpeggiated pattern that moves between each hand. There are some octaves and larger leaps, so it’d be best for a pre-teen or teen beginner, but those larger intervals could also be simplified for smaller hands.
2. "Fallen Down" from Undertale, arr. by Stephanie Ferguson
Here’s an arrangement that is very accommodating to new pianists. Here are a few notes from the arranger: “This arrangement is suitable for a beginning pianist in a level 2 method book. Hand position changes are clearly marked. Accidentals are written in front of notes instead of in a key signature. The piece has been transposed up a half step so that the keys fall under the hand more comfortably.”
3. "Sweden" from Minecraft, arr. by Chrissy Ricker
This song follows a consistent 4-bar bassline that is an easy pattern for students to learn. The right hand usually completes a chord, and many of the 4-bar patterns are just inversions of the same chords from the previous 4 bars with a little bit of melodic material. Since it moves slowly, it’s very manageable for less experienced pianists.
4. "Great Fairy Fountain" from Zelda, arr. by Chrissy Ricker
This arrangement maintains the dreamy Fairy Fountain sound but has been simplified to easy quarter note rhythms in the right hand while the left hand holds longer harmony notes. A student with basic note-reading skills should be able to manage this one.
5. "Dearly Beloved" from Kingdom Hearts, arr. by Mona Rejino
The dotted rhythms might look tricky to a newer pianist, but if they’ve heard this theme before, it will be easy to replicate the long-short pattern. The right hand reads high on the staff and the left hand has some leaps to reach all of the harmony notes, but practicing with the hands separately will definitely help a newer pianist learn this.
6. "Super Mario Bros. Theme Song," arr. by Samantha Hayes
This arrangement is centered around Middle C, which is always helpful for beginners. It is a pretty chromatic tune, so it’s helpful if the student can easily find sharps and flats. The rhythms also look messy on the surface, but if the student follows their ear, it will probably come out right.
7. "Megalovania" from Undertale, arr. by Kimberly Steele
This arrangement is great for beginners because it splits the very disjunct melody between both hands to help the student avoid all of the huge leaps in the melody. It’s pared down to just one page, so it’s easier for a beginner to get through.
8. "Final Fantasy, Opening Theme," arr. by Kenji Kanemasu
This arrangement was designed to fit easily under smaller hands, so you won’t find any big chords or octaves. The right hand is mostly easy melodic material and the left hand usually plays 2-note harmonies.
9. "ROBLOX 'Piggy' Main Menu Theme," arr. by Chrissy Ricker
This arrangement has an easy-to-read right hand part and the left hand often plays single notes or arpeggiated chords. It’s written in a range and time signature that is easy for new pianists to read.
10. "Tetris Theme," arr. by Alicja Urbanowicz
This one-page arrangement is easy for beginners because the right hand is centered in a d-minor or g-minor five-finger position throughout the whole piece. The left hand always holds single whole notes. There are helpful fingers throughout the entire piece, and it’s written in a slightly larger print to make it easier to read.
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This post was written by Megan, piano teacher and author of Pianissimo: A Very Piano Blog. Visit her website for more piano related blogs for teachers, parents, students, and all things piano.
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