Adele has a stunning voice and seems to have the ability to carry anyone away on her beautiful ballads. Most of her songs are accompanied by lyrical piano, but does Adele play it?
Yes, Adele does play piano, although admittedly not very well. Most of her songs have piano playing to accompany and compliment her powerful vocals. Although she has never performed singing and playing at the same time, she is credited with playing piano for at least one track on an album.
You can find out more about Adele and her piano skills by scrolling down.
When Did Adele Learn to Play Piano?
It isn’t really known when Adele learned to play piano, but it was most likely during her time at the BRIT School. She has never referenced there being a piano in any of her childhood homes. This is unlike other famous musicians, like Elton John.
Yet Adele has often spoken about how she sang when she was a little kid. That means that she was probably exposed to the instrument during her time at the famous school for the arts. After all, the BRIT School has had graduates with an affinity for piano such as Imogen Heap, Freya Ridings, and FKA Twigs.
In some interviews, Adele has referenced that “I can play guitar, bass and piano, but not very well.” Despite her claims that she cannot play the piano very well, she has been credited with playing the instrument on one of her albums.
What Songs Is Adele Credited with Playing Piano?
On her 2015 album, 25, Adele played the piano for the last track on the album. The song is titled Sweetest Devotion.
Listening to Sweetest Devotion, it is lacking the famous melancholic piano playing. The piano portion is very simple and not complicated like some of her other songs. That would probably be why she felt comfortable playing the instrument for the album. It didn’t require her to be super talented with the instrument.
You can listen to Adele’s song Sweetest Devotion by clicking on the below YouTube link.
Who Has Played Piano in Adele’s Songs?
Like we said before, Adele’s music is famous for the melancholic and dreary piano that plays, but who is playing it on her albums? Well, Adele has worked with some pretty famous musicians throughout her career.
Adele’s debut album, 19, credits Neil Cowley and Steven Holness for both playing the piano. Cowley is a classical and jazz pianist who has won a BBC Jazz Award for some of his music. His jazz group is called the Neil Cowley Trio. Cowley also played the hammond organ on the album. Holness played the keyboard on the album.
Adele’s follow up album, 21, credits many more pianists. Neil Cowley again contributed, playing piano on four tracks. James Poyser, who has played with stars like Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Jay-Z, and Aretha Franklin, played piano on four tracks. Fraser T. Smith performed piano for the hit song Set Fire to the Rain. One Republic’s frontman, Ryan Tedder, played on the song Rumour Has It. Finally, Semisonic’s Dan Wilson played the famous melody accompanying Adele’s voice on Someone Like You.
The most recent album by Adele, 25, credits thirteen different people for playing piano. That is excluding Adele herself. From Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes to Danger Mouse, the list of pianists is quite extensive in people and skills.
Adele also created a song for the 2012 James Bond film, Skyfall. Her song was of the same name and featured a full orchestra, choir, and rock band. The pianist for the popular and award winning song was a little known Danish pianist named Nikolaj Torp Larsen.
While Adele doesn’t play the piano well, she still can do it. Even though she has only ever featured herself playing on one song, Adele has managed to have some astounding pianists record on her albums.