Just starting your guitar journey? Here are 10 songs that you can play right away.
One of the best ways to get started on guitar is to learn some songs. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with learning technique, scales, and barre chords, so learning some easy songs helps remind you why you are playing in the first place.
To qualify for easy songs for beginners on guitar, a song must fulfill the following requirements:
- The song must be well known
- The chord progression must be basic, and use open chords in standard guitar tuning
- The song must translate well to solo acoustic guitar
In addition to being both familiar and easy to play, they all use first position (open) chords, and translate well to solo playing. You can of course play all of these songs on electric guitar, but if a song sounds good strummed on acoustic, you know it will sound good in any context. Here is a selection of 10 easy guitar songs for beginners that will impress your friends and family, as well as be enjoyable for you to play.
1. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan)
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door is one of the first songs many guitarists learn. It’s a popular song that uses a basic chord progression. The chords are: G | D | Am | C. Note that this is an example of a song where the chords in the verse and chorus are the same. Once you are able to play the verse, you’ll be able to play the entire song.
Dave Issacs at @NashvilleGuitarGuru discusses the song and some suggestions for strumming patterns and chord fingerings:
Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett)
Jimmy Buffett’s biggest hit is easy to play and fun to sing. It uses 4 chords: D | A | G and D7. As you’ll see in the video, to get the sound of the song you’ll need to pull of and hammer on to the D and A chords, to create what are called “sus chords”. But even if you don’t do this, you’ll be able to confidently play the song with the basic chords.
@GuitarAtWork does a nice job breaking down this song:
3. Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young)
This anthem from Neil Young is straightforward and versatile. It can be played as a harder rock song with distortion, but it also works well acoustically. The song doesn’t have a bridge section. The structure is verse and chorus, and the second part of the chorus is an A major chord that leads back to the verse. The verse section begins with E => D => C power chords, so you can practice moving these these chords down the neck (7th to 5th to 3rd frets).
See the breakdown from @MartyMusic:
4. Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Poison)
This is a classic 80’s ballad. It’s in the key of G, which is very common for hair metal ballads of the time. This song is a crowd pleaser, and easy to play and sing. Note that the original recording is tuned down a half step to Eb, but it is your option to do that or not. The song sounds great in standard guitar tuning too. (For reference, Eb tuning is as follows, from low string to high: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb).
@MartyMusic breaks it down step by step:
5. I Remember You (Skid Row)
Our next song was a big hit for Skid Row. This song uses a Cadd9 chord like we see in Every Rose Has Its Thorn. The add9 chord is a major chord with an added 9th (aka 2nd) degree of the chord. In this song, chord is C Major, and you add the D note (2nd string, 3rd fret). the This is a popular and very useful chord to know, especially for songs in the key of G.
@ EpicGuitarInstruction has the tutorial:
6. Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty)
Free Fallin’ is an awesome campfire song because you can be sure that everyone knows it. Note that the song requires a capo on the 3rd fret in order to play it in the original key. The song has heavily layered acoustic guitars, including what sounds like a 12-string guitar. Like all great songs, it also sounds great stripped down and played on just one guitar. This song uses a beautiful “sus 4” chord, where the major 3rd of the chord is replaced by a perfect 4th interval. Once you start playing sus 4 chords you’ll learn to recognize them in many other songs that you already know.
@JustinGuitarSongs has a nice explanation:
7. Live Forever (Oasis)
Oasis is a somewhat underrated 90s band, and Live Forever is one of their best songs. This song has a strong push to it that is satisfying to strum—even without vocals. This One thing to mention is that the original recording is in the key of G major, but the pitch was slightly elevated in the recording studio. This means that the song will not sound perfectly in tune if you play along with the original recording (unless you tune your guitar slightly sharp). That’s ok, because it will sound great otherwise!
@hitsonacousticguitar does a great tutorial with chord charts in the video:
8. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone (Brooks & Dunn)
Now one for you country fans. If you haven’t heard this great Brooks & Dunn song, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen. This is a flat out beautiful song, and great to sing as a duet.
@SixStringCountry demonstrates both the chords and the lead lines:
9. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Beatles)
This is a great song for strumming and jamming. This song is a bit more involved than most of the songs here, and it’s a good one to work on for developing the ability to play a descending bassline, as @247GuitarwithHowardHart demonstrates his acoustic arrangement:
10. Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones)
This classic Stones song is easier to play than it sounds. This is also a great chord progression to jam on. Keith Richards may not be the best player in rock history, but the songwriting and the vibe are undeniable.
@JustinGuitarSongs has the demonstration: