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Taylor Swift is probably the most talked-about and influential artist today. And while her country music origins mean she’s usually associated with the guitar, the piano makes a regular appearance at her live shows. There is also plenty of footage of her using the piano as her songwriting tool to craft her chart-topping hits.
We picked 10 iconic Taylor Swift piano songs that sound awesome on the keys and linked chord charts from Ultimate Guitar to help you learn these songs. The great thing about Ultimate-Guitar.com (besides being free!) is that you can toggle the chord diagrams to “piano” so you know exactly how to play each chord!
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Note: at the time of writing this post, some of these chord charts do not switch correctly into piano. So, we’ve listed out the key and main chords of each song to help you along! You can also toggle the “transpose” button on Ultimate Guitar to get to the correct key.
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Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart (Easy Chords)
Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart (Upgraded Chords)
Key: C major
Main Chords: C, G, F, Am
This song is the ultimate Taylor anthem. Spanning 10 minutes of Swift’s trademark storytelling, “All Too Well” has a grandiose feel. But, surprise! It’s built primarily on the four chords most musicians learn first: C, G, F, and Am. Which makes it totally accessible for beginners.
We found two charts for this song: one is the 10-minute version that uses slightly more advanced versions of the “big 4” chords; the other is the shorter version of the song with basic chords. If you want to get better at reading chord symbols, check out our Chord Symbols, Explained lesson.
“Champagne Problems” is a piano favorite. While not everyone can have a beautiful moss-covered piano like Taylor, this is a very accessible, beginner-friendly song based on the Big 4 chords in C major. The rhythm can be challenging to coordinate singing with, so if you need help, try playing along with the recording.
Complete Tutorial
Ultimate Guitar Chord Chart
Key: E-flat Major
Main Chords: Fm, Bb, Eb, Ab, Cm
“cardigan” is a favorite track from Taylor Swift’s milestone folklore album. It has a soft, dreamy atmosphere and is so poetic! You’re in luck, because we have a detailed, 18-minute tutorial on this one where Lisa leads you through everything, including the little riffs and fills.
“Evermore” is another folksy song with a prominent piano part. The original song is in D-flat major, which can be tricky, but the chord chart we’ve linked to is one step higher in D major, making it more accessible for novice pianists. Hint: the opening riff is a descending scale from the fourth to the root.
The piano version of this ballad is oh so lovely. Again, it’s based on just a handful of chords, but if you play around with the rhythmic pattern like Taylor does in the recording, that handful of chords can sound complex! Tip: A major can be a tricky key. Try to remember its three sharps: F#, C#, and G#.
Despite never having a music video, “Clean” is one of Taylor Swift’s fan favorites. It was co-written with Imogen Heap and the descending chorus melody has a cathartic effect—it really does feel like standing in the pouring rain and watching bad memories get washed away!
If you struggle with reading music, you’re not alone! Did you know you can play hundreds of songs without standard notation? We’ll show you the secrets traditional lessons won’t teach in a 100% free webinar. It’s open to all ages and ability levels. Just show up and have fun!
Here’s another successful collaboration with Bon Iver from the folksy evermore album. It’s a little tricky because the original is in F-sharp major (which means six sharps!) but a shortcut you can use is to lower everything down by one half-step. This still sounds close to the song, but you’ll be playing in F major with the chords F, Dm, Bb, and C.
While it’s not originally a piano-centered song, Taylor performed “Lover” on the piano at NPR’s Tiny Desk and it sounds like the perfect instrument to accompany this lush song. Watch the slash chord at the end of the chorus: it creates a very satisfying descending bass line!
A cinematic track from Taylor Swift’s early Speak Now days, “Back in December” sounds wonderful on the piano when Taylor plays it live. This is an epic ballad with a great storyline, a lyrical melody, and dramatic chorus with plenty of room to be creative.
Taylor Swift’s songwriting is proof that you don’t need complicated music theory skills to compose a successful piece of music. “New Year’s Day” is another C major song with very simple chords that only require the white keys. (The Beatles’ “Let It Be” is another example of simple songwriting done right.) Make sure to check out Taylor’s performance of the song on ABC to get some ideas on rhythm patterns.
Want to learn more songs? Check out these related posts:
Thumbnail image credit: Ronald Woan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Charmaine Li is a Vancouver writer who has played piano for over 20 years. She holds an Associate diploma (ARCT) from the Royal Conservatory of Music and loves writing about the ways in which music—and music learning—affects the human experience. Charmaine manages The Note. Learn more about Charmaine here.
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