What Makes Worship Piano Different from Classical Piano?

When I first started teaching piano after college, I discovered that the skills needed to play worship piano are MUCH different from the skills needed to play classical piano. So what makes the two styles of music different?

#1: Worship pianists read from chord charts, not sheet music.

Classical musicians read from sheet music with complicated notes, rhythms, and other symbols. However, worship musicians typically read from chord charts. Chord charts give the lyrics (words) of the song, with chords written above them.

This simple notation allows us as pianists to simply learn the chords and then improvise (and use different patterns in the left and right hands) to make those chords sound beautiful.

#2: Worship pianists usually play chords rather than the melody.

Yes, it’s true… worship musicians usually play chords like a guitar would. However, this doesn’t mean that we never play melodies. In fact, many worship songs contain beautiful piano melodies (think of the intro for “King of Kings” or the interlude of “What a Beautiful Name”).

Typically, we don’t play the melody because the worship leader is singing the melody, and the congregation already (hopefully!) knows the melody. However, we can add the melody sometimes to certain portions of the song for a special effect, or we can create piano solo arrangements where we play the melody all the time.

In the context of a typical worship team, the piano/keys player usually plays chords.

#3: The heart of worship is the foundation of all that we do.

The most important aspect of worship piano is the heart of worship and love for Jesus. Worship piano is not a style or a genre of music; it is a heart posture that is reflected in what we play. As we sing and play our worship songs, let us play them authentically from hearts of worship and first love. Jesus is worthy of all of our worship!

How to learn worship piano

As mentioned earlier, when I first started teaching piano after college, I discovered that worship piano uses a very different skill set from classical piano. As a result, I developed an approach that focuses only on these skills in order to help people progress as quickly as possible while enjoying the process! This is the approach that I use in my lessons and courses.

Want to learn more?

If you would like to learn how to play worship piano like a pro, check out my Worship Essentials courses. This unique approach combines a simple, easy-to-follow method of learning the piano along with teachings on the heart of worship - and it has proven successful for people of all ages and levels.

Or, if you would prefer one-on-one instruction, consider online lessons. Lessons incorporate the same content of the Worship Essentials courses but have the added bonus of one-on-one coaching and instruction.

Happy worshipping!