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Piano Man
by Billy Joel • Lesson #612 • Jan 16, 2026
About This Lesson
I’m working on strum & sing lesson for Piano Man — look for that in late January 2026!
In this lesson I’ll teach you to play a melodic fingerstyle arrangement inspired by Piano Man by Billy Joel. Specifically, I show how we can play the main melody of the song (heard in the verse and chorus) and play it along with a few other notes from each chord that’s used. The result is melodic, but also harmonically rich — and is a blast to play!
My main tutorial (above) shows you two versions, one simpler and the other a bit more intermediate. Don’t miss my “Part 2” video (below) where I teach you to end the arrangement with a guitar arrangement of Billy Joel’s climactic piano riff heard just before each new verse begins.
- 0:00 Lesson Overview
- 1:25 Melody Notes
- 2:37 Bass Notes
- 3:15 Simplified Version
- 6:44 Intermediate Version
- 12:02 Ending Riff (preview)
Practice Notes 4 pages
Lesson Discussion
Extended Video Lessons
Here’s a few extra videos, made in thanks to those supporting me with Premium membership here on my Song Notes website. To those showing your support, you have my true thanks and appreciation — and I hope you find these additional videos helpful!
Part 2: Ending Riff
Continuing what I teach in the main video, this video dives into the thunderous piano riff Billy Joel plays at the end of the intro and after each harmonica solo. I teach 4 ways to play it, with plenty of practical tips included. This makes for a great ending to the main riff, and is something you can repeat over and over, before finally ending with a C chord.
Zoomed Playthrough: Simplified Version
For your reference, here’s a slow & zoomed version of the simplified fingrestyle sequence, without talking or singing. This begins with two measures of counting in case you want to play along.
Zoomed Playthrough: Intermediate Version
Same as above (slow & zoomed, no talking) where I play the intermediate version of the melodic fingerstyle. Again, I count in for two measures before starting.
Related and Recommended
Here’s some lessons I’ve made teaching some of the techniques used in this song:
If you’re interested in other lessons that combine chords + melody, I’ve got several others! They’re listed below. The format of each of these is slightly different (some embrace chords more than others, some are strummed instead of fingerstyle, etc) but they’re all similar in spirit.
Browse Related Lessons
Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:
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