Learn to play Piano like Prince

The Purple One. His Royal Badness. The Artist Formerly (and now once again) Known as Prince. Whatever you know him as, you certainly know his music. With over 150 million albums sold during his lifetime, Prince was one of music’s all-time greats — and his influence altered the trajectory of everything from pop to rock, R&B, house, hip hop, and more forever.

Among the many things Prince was known for it’s his mastery of musical instruments that we’re interested in here. Most often associated with the guitar, he taught himself up to 40 different instruments by some counts. His debut album alone, released when Prince was just 20 years old, contained 27 — and Prince played all of them himself. And sang, of course. 

Prince’s very first instrument, however, was the piano. Inspired by his jazz pianist father, he picked it up at a young age and began by teaching himself the theme tune of the then newly-popular Batman TV series. Since then, the keys became an essential part of his creative process, with Prince playing the piano on many songs or using it to write for guitars and other instruments. It’s said that during the 90s, the piano in Prince’s Paisley Park studio saw so much use that it needed to be professionally tuned every few days. Shortly before his death, he even commissioned a one-off Prince piano — an eye-catching purple grand from Yamaha. 

Luckily, we’ve got more options for learning piano today than Prince had in the sixties. Today, you can pick up LUMI Keys, download the app, and learn to play along with your favorite artists, Prince included. The LUMI Library has seven of his biggest hits, including “Kiss”, “Purple Rain”, “Little Red Corvette”, and “Raspberry Beret”. The Batman theme is there too, should you want to follow in Prince’s stiletto-heeled footsteps. 

Let’s take a closer look at each of the available songs.

Kiss

1986’s “Kiss” is Prince at his minimal best, just his voice, the drums, and a scattering of guitar — he even removed the track’s original bassline during production. Stripping the track back to its essentials didn’t hurt sales at all. “Kiss” was Prince’s third number-one hit in the US and was certified platinum shortly after release. It even charted once again after Prince’s death in 2016.

An absence of a piano doesn’t mean this one isn’t fun to play along with in the LUMI App though. And with just two chords played for the majority of the song, it’s a great choice to begin your journey into Prince’s music — just rinse and repeat. There’s even a Quick Play version if you’re new to the keys and want to get going right away. 

Purple Rain

A Prince song that even non-Prince fans will sing along with, “Purple Rain” is arguably his most iconic. Taken from the album of the same name (and also featuring in the feature film of the same name), this power-ballad-to-end-all-power-ballads has been certified 13 times platinum in the US. Interestingly, Prince originally wrote this track with Stevie Nicks in mind, but she declined to collaborate on it. The version we eventually got was recorded with Prince’s band The Revolution in front of a live audience in a Minneapolis club. 

Unlike “Kiss”, “Purple Rain” could be regarded as a Prince piano song (it features an electric Yamaha CP-70), and the album version even has a piano solo towards the end — though not until he’s already ripped his way through one of his trademark guitar solos. Musically, it’s a little more complex than “Kiss”, but there’s still plenty of repetition and you’ll get to grips with the main chord progression in no time

Little Red Corvette

Stepping into a more electronic realm, the 1983 track “Little Red Corvette” leads with drum machines and keyboards before Prince’s voice enters, followed by the rest of the band. That synthetic edge makes it a great candidate for learning to play on keys (and it sounds great on a traditional piano too). 

Legend has it that Prince wrote “Little Red Corvette” in his sleep — demonstrating a level of talent the rest of us can only dream of. It’s in the key of D♭ major, which sounds tricky, but it all falls pretty neatly under the fingers on a keyboard — you’ve got all the black notes, and then just the F and C to worry about on the white keys. With LUMI, of course, it’s all color-coded for you anyway.

Raspberry Beret

Prince & the Revolution’s “Raspberry Beret” is one of his most-loved songs, and for good reason. The song talks of young love and combines all the Prince trademarks that made him the artist we love — upbeat guitars, a funky bassline, driving drums, and a healthy dose of falsetto shrieking. 

It’s not the easiest prince song to master, but with LUMI’s help, you’ll pick out the track’s catchiest melodies in no time. We challenge you to try not to sing along while you play.

When Doves Cry

Last but not least, we have Prince at perhaps his most Prince-like on “When Doves Cry” — the opening scenes of the music video almost got it banned from network television. Written for the aforementioned Purple Rain movie, Prince plays and sings all of the parts of this song himself. 

"When Doves Cry” opens with the same Linn LM-1 drum machine as Little Red Corvette, with the synthesizer part that we’re most interested in appearing shortly afterwards. Sonically, there’s quite a bit going on here, but fear not — the track is in A minor, which means you only need to think about the white keys when you’re playing along.

Nothing Compares 2 U

Far more often associated with Sinéad O’Connor today, “Nothing Compares 2 U” is a Prince original written six years before O’Connor’s cover scored a hit in 1990. Originally released to little recognition on The Family, it took a 1993 live version for Prince to gain the acclaim he deserved the first time it was released. 

Whichever version you prefer, there’s no arguing with the moody keys or that wistful chorus. Since this track has been a chart success for two legendary artists, learning to play it is arguably a two-for-one investment.

I Wanna Be Your Lover

Following disappointing sales of his debut album, For You, Prince’s label wanted a hit. Good thing they asked, because this was his response. Written with jazz pianist/singer Patrice Rushen in mind – who you may know from her timeless hit "Forget Me Nots" – “I Wanna Be Your Lover” ticked all the boxes, rising to number 11 in the US.

The single clocks in at just under three minutes, though the album version continues for another three with a virtuosic synth jam. Don’t worry, you don’t have to learn that bit (unless you really want to)!

Which song will you learn first?

LUMI gives you access to all four Prince songs above, plus the Quick Play version of “Kiss” for less than the price of traditional piano lessons. There are also over a thousand other songs to learn in the library — from Beyoncé to The Beatles and Beethoven.

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