Many pop songs are written in C Major Scale. When you know how to play these basic chords and progressions it becomes a lot easier to recognize them in songs !

It is common to number the chords, starting with the I (roman 1) for the first chord in the scale.

For C major, the I chord is obviously C major.

A chord progression that is seen in a lot of pop and blues songs is I-IV-V

In the scale of see this would be:

I: C Major

IV: F Major

V: G Major

Have a go at playing these chords and it will probably immediately sound familiar ! :)

Imagine by John Lennon is a great song to practice some chords.

Great song, very easy to play. With some practice, it is very rewarding.
This song appears in the movie soundtrack of the film Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain. It’s written by Yann Tiersen, a composer who i’d recommend to look up. Many of his songs are very interesting to learn when you are beginning to learn to play the piano.

C Cmaj7 F
Imagine there’s no heaven
C Cmaj7 F
It’s easy if you try
C Cmaj7 F
No hell below us
C Cmaj7 F

The Chords:
C:

Cmaj7:

F:

Above us only sky
Living for to – day

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

(chorus)
F G C Cmaj7 E E7
You may say I’m a dreamer
F G C Cmaj7 E E7
But I’m not the only one
F G C Cmaj7 E E7
I hope some day you’ll join us
F G C
And the world will be as one

The chords:
F:

G:

C:

Cmaj7:

E:

E7:

Imagine no posses – sions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Imagine all the people

The most important thing when you starting playing the piano is patience. Do be in a hurry. Starting to play a new instrument takes time. Takes practise. Don’t expect anything in the beginning. Practise easy songs, practise basic chords (see the basic piano chords article) Get to know the instrument.
And, maybe most important of all, listen careful. Listen to the sounds of the piano, the tones, the harmonies.