Fixed outdated links for several songs and made minor changes to article formatting.
Isit really that simple, finding easy songs to play on guitar? Even if it is, what kind of songs are "easy?" None of us want to keep playing the same few pieces of music over and over again, just because they’re easy enough for us to pickup. A lot of the songs I see deemed as "easy" are simple to decipher, but not much fun to play. The other problem is that even interesting songs get boring after awhile. You need variety and a fresh playlist, even for easy guitar songs.
The good news is this: On some level, almost all guitar songs are easy.
There’s a lot of great music out there that, when boiled down to simple chord progressions, make for incredibly easy and fun songs to play on guitar. That’s good news for you if you’re bored with the select few pieces of music you’ve been playing around the campfire for awhile. If your song library is limited, I’d encourage you to learn a few more tunes. This list is one that I've put together over the years and will give you plenty to choose from. If you need some help, online guitar lessons are a good way to supplement a good song list.
Need some extra help learning songs?
I've used the Guitar Tricks song lessons, in part, to help put this list together. Signing up, even just for the free trial, gives you access to a ton of songs and helps support Guitar Chalk.
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Not all songs are what I would consider beginners songs or “easy,” so whenever I find one that is, I learn it, write it down and make a kind of song library that I can refer to whenever me or the group I’m playing for needs a few good cover ideas.
That’s essentially what this is. A library with links to a bunch of easy songs to play on the guitar, that don't take long to learn and don't run you through a lot of chords at one time.
At one point or another I’ve played through these pieces of music (some more than others) and now you can to.
I guarantee you’ll find plenty that interest you and that you can play without a steep learning curve.
5 Seconds of Summer
Hey Everybody This is a fun song by 5 Seconds of Summer, that’s only a scant three chords the entire way - E, D and A.
Aaron Lewis of Staind
Country Boy I remember when I heard on the radio that Aaron Lewis had done a country guitar album and how surprising it was.
Staind's Mike Mushok gettin' down. Flickr Commons Image via ComeCloser
What was equally surprising might have been how successful it became, largely due to the popularity of “Country Boy.”
I’m a big fan of this song, cause I grew up down an ol’ dirt road in a town you wouldn’t know. It's easy to play with lengthy chord duration on each note and a slower beat that's easy to follow.
AC/DC
Rock and Roll Train This is one of AC/DC’s newer tunes involving a lot of A, D, G and not much else. Songsterr has a pretty detailed tab, but you can opt for the simple chords as well.
If you prefer a video lesson, Mike from Lick Library has ya covered.
TNT I always remember this song from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (2 I think?), because it got a lot of playing time back before I had a driver’s license. Maybe even a little bit after. The song is literally just E-G-A, just not necessarily in that order.
Rock or Bust Four chords for this one. You just got to remember to tune down one half step if you want to play along with the track.
This is a popular one from Adele, who is quite possibly the most widely-recognized vocalist on the planet right now (at least at the time of writing this). The song is just D, Bm and G. Enjoy it.
This one is nothing but G, C and a little Am thrown in here are there.
Astrid S
Hurts So Good The F sharp minor chord might be a little tricky, but otherwise you're just rocking some combination of A, E and D.
Audio Adrenaline
Ocean’s Floor This one sounds good with either an acoustic or a distorted electric (it's a particularly easy song to learn on acoustic guitar). If you can get the chords down, the lead sheet is easy to pick up.
Clap Your Hands You almost need an electric guitar for this song, but if you’ve got one it’s just a matter of a few power chords and decent timing. Get Down The guitar part of this song sounds more complicated than a simple chord sheet would suggest, but start with the progression and then move it to power chords to figure out the specifics.
Big House Songsterr provides a lead sheet and basic chords along a lyric line for easy pickup.
Audioslave
Doesn’t Remind Me My disclaimer here is that tackling the solo is not easy. However, the rest of the song is two chords for the verse and three chords for the chorus. A simple chord and lyric chart is the best way to learn this one.
Cochise This was Audioslave’s first single, and the lesson comes courtesy of Songsterrr.
The YouTube user (JTodd900) does an excellent job with this song and has the tabs included in the video itself, so it’s incredibly easy to learn. The effect on the solo seems to be a downloaded preset from a Line 6 POD, so if you don’t have that you might need to do some tweaking of your own.
I Am the Highway Once again, you’ve got a simple acoustic-friendly piece, even if the vocals are tough to match. The chord progressions mix up a bit, but it’s still primarily four chords for the entire song.
Original Fire If you know your power chords, this one is well within reach.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Takin' Care of Business The bass line is mostly just three chords, so you can learn an acoustic version quite easily. If you want to tackle the more nuanced electric guitar version, checkout the Guitar Tricks video lesson below.
Barenaked Ladies
Pinch Me One of the early 2000s most fun radio tracks is a simple progression, made up mostly of F, C and G. It’s a lot easier than it sounds.
These guys are actually still making music. They put out a record in 2015 that isn’t half bad.
The Beatles
Blackbird This one isn’t easy in the strictest sense of the word, but it is manageable for most intermediate players. The arpeggiated tab sheet is included beneath the chords. Check the button below for the full video lesson, via Guitar Tricks.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand Once again Sandercoe takes you through all the details, though you might be able to pick it up simply by watching his demo at the beginning. Beware of speedy chord changes. Full video lesson via Guitar Tricks is available as well:
Love Me Do Very simple song and a great demo/lesson by Justin Sandercoe. Let it Be Same deal here. Sandercoe demos chords and then fills in the details after. A full tutorial of the more complex version of the song can be found via the following button:
There are a few seventh chords in this one and technically an augmented chord, which the sheet leaves out. So it's a step up from your basic CAGED system patterns but, still doable.
Beethoven
Ode to Joy The only difficult aspect of this song is following the lyrics written in German. Otherwise, get your open chords on and you'll be all set.
Billy Idol
Mony Mony Most of the song is C, B♭ and F, which can be easily handled on an acoustic guitar.
There's also a more complex rundown of the song for those trying to learn the nuanced version.
The Black Keys
Gold on the Ceiling The tab is linked to a “simplified” version which is just the bass chord progression for strumming on an acoustic guitar.
Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, throwin' down. Flickr Commons Image via Aktivioslo
Black Sabbath
War Pigs There are only two chords in this song, D and E flat. If you want to make it even easier on yourself, just go with D and E and forget the flats.
Blink-182's 2016 hit sounds like a fast punk rock mess, but it's actually an extremely easy song in the key of Am, running through Am, C, F and G for most of the tune. Acoustic or electric guitars can swing it.
Just C, F and G for this one. If you want to make it modestly challenging, go with the G7 chord flavoring.
Boston
More than a Feeling The chords are nothing more than G, C and Em, though the tab I linked to covers the solos and lead portions as well. If you need help with those tougher segments, give the Guitar Tricks video lesson a spin. They'll let you do a free trial for 14 days, which gives you plenty of time to learn at least this song.
Brad Paisley
Mud on the Tires I love the lyrics for this one. Just a great song to learn and sing on an acoustic guitar. Paisley does a lot of complex picking, but the chords themselves are incredibly simple.
Julie from Mahalo has you covered if you prefer a video lesson.
Ticks The studio track sounds a bit tricky, but it’s not. Paisley is just really good at making simple stuff sound fantastic.
It’s almost entirely E-A-B. Maybe a C# in there somewhere. (Ultimate Guitar Link)
Mr. Policeman You’ll hear some incredibly fast guitar and banjo work.
Not to worry.
If you want just the chords, it’s mostly G, C, D and F.
The dude who posted this on Ultimate Guitar has a sweet cover he posted on YouTube with an acoustic guitar capo'd at the second fret. With the capo the chords are mostly D, A, E and F♯.
Coldplay
Hurts Like Heaven You need a capo to play along with the track, but if you have one, this song is incredibly easy.
All you really have to do is rock back and forth between the G and the C with a few variations thrown in there.
Paradise There are a lot of chords but, none of them are complex.
Your basic open forms will, for the most part, do the job.
You still hear this one on the radio and I for one haven’t gotten tired of it yet.
The link is a YouTube tutorial from Jam Play, though I would also recommend you check out Ben Eller’s YouTube tutorial for this song, since he goes a little more in depth, particularly regarding the solo.
December The video is from a YouTube Channel called “Make a Sound” and they’ve got a lot of other material so be sure to check some of it out.
“December” is a bit more involved, but still adheres to four basic chords with simple lead parts.
Commander Cody
Hot Rod Lincoln The chords are only three; E, A7 and B7. If you don't want to mess with seventh chords, just go with E, A and B.
Conor Oberst
Get Well Cards G, Bm, C and Em make up the bulk of this song, so it's super easy to get started on.
Creed
Faceless Man The link has both a lead sheet and a chord sheet following the lyrics.
An underrated song from Creed in my opinion.
With Arms Wide Open By the same token, I’ll call this one of Creed’s most overrated song.
Overplayed doesn’t even begin to cover it. However, it is simple to play on the guitar if you’re looking for an easy song.
Don’t Stop Dancing The link from e-chords includes the solo if you’re interested, otherwise it’s a few simple open chords.
One Last Breath Again, overrated and actually kind of difficult if you’re looking to play it exactly like Mark Tremonti does.
You can tackle the intro if you like, otherwise you can just go with G, C and F. That's all it takes. If you want to nail each note, Henry Olsen has a fantastic video lesson that covers everything.
While it's a little more complicated then the other CCR tunes I've listed, it's still just G, C, F and Am. So...four chords instead of three. Brutal.
Guitar Tricks covers the more difficult version in their video tutorial, linked below.
Dave Matthews
Everyday This tab is was contributed to Ultimate Guitar by a guy named Leandro Koren.
I like it because he includes the chords and lyrics to go along with the intro notation.
Save Me I’m not sure who the guy is in the video, but he does a great job of explaining this up tempo piece from Dave’s solo work.
David Crowder Band
I Saw the Light Originally a Hank Williams tune, I’ve always preferred David Crowder’s version.
Every Move I Make It doesn’t get much easier than this. Crowder does a good job of vamping up an old campfire (ish) Christian standby. O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing This contemporary rendition of the old hymn has a pretty distinct electric and acoustic segment, though is an easy song to learn on an acoustic guitar with just a handful of strumming chords.
Start with the chords before you try to track the electric part.
I’m not sure that this tab is completely accurate, partially because I’m pretty sure that Crowder tunes down one half step, to use the seventh and fifth frets along with the open Eb instead of the sixth and fourth strings.
This one made it onto one of the new Call of Duty soundtracks, which brought most of the band's initial attention. It's a bit more difficult than your average campfire tune, but easily picked up by an intermediate electric player familiar with drop D.
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors
Nothing Like a Woman Drew and Ellie Holcomb are two fantastic musicians and songwriters.
Further, a lot of their music makes for easy songs to learn on acoustic guitar with plenty of CAGED system strumming.
The link is to a RiffStation web app that walks you through a lot of G, C and D for this song.
The Eagles
Hotel California The chord progression is lengthy, but it’s not at all complex.
Try picking through an arpeggiated version of each chord to match the track.
Apparently Bruce Wayne made a few corrections to this chart on Chordie.
Elvis Presley
Hound Dog This is a simple blues tune that leans on E, A and B. It doesn’t get much easier.
A Little Less Conversation This song just rocks back and forth between E and A for awhile, in a similar fashion to “Hound Dog” staying true to Elvin’s heavy blues leaning.
If you’re looking for easy guitar songs, this era was pretty much littered with them.
Jailhouse Rock It's a bluesy tune, so you'll have some seventh chords to deal with. Though it's almost entirely E, A and B, with maybe a flat or two thrown in to make things interesting. Guitar Tricks has the full video tutorial, if needed.
Eric Clapton
Wonderful Tonight One of Clapton's most recognizable piece is also one of the easiest to play, that is, if you ignore all the lead work. Without it, you've just got to master G, C, D and Em.
Cocaine Most of this song is just E and D. If you get really thorough, you'll find a C and B chord in there as well. Tom Finch, of Guitar Tricks, covers the slightly more difficult electric version.
Eve 6
Inside Out I don’t know enough about Eve 6 to be certain this was their only mainstream hit, but it was probably their most recognizable.
Here’s a video tutorial if you want someone to take you through it.
Welcome to Your Life Though it splits electronic and heavy rock 50/50, this tune from Grouplove is mostly B, F sharp and E. Power chords will do the trick.
Guns N’ Roses
Paradise City This song sounds complex, but if you watch Andy from ProGuitarShop.com play through it, the guitar work is pretty simple.
If you don’t want to take the details, most of the song can be played with G, C and F chords.
Sweet Child O’ Mine Jack Long from LearnGuitarTunes.com goes over what is probably the easiest way to play this song with mostly open chords and simple picking technique.
Hank Williams Jr.
Country Boy Can Survive “Skip” posted this one on cowboylyrics.com with chords and lyrics to match.
It’s a simple progression for both verse and the chorus (common of guitar country music), so if you learn them both, you can tackle the electric guitar part later.
Let Her Cry There are a few minor chords in this one, but otherwise you’re looking at G, C and D for most of the song.
Hold my Hand The F# in this song might be a little tricky, but that’s the only real hurdle in an otherwise straightforward group of chord progressions.
Imagine Dragons
Radioactive This 2012 hit from Imagine Dragons is layered with a thick electronic sounds that overshadowed the guitar playing.
However, the actual bass line and chord progression are easy, to a fault.
Only four chords here, and we’ve got chord sheets for both the capo and non-capo versions.
Incubus
Drive Aaron Tomberlin covers this popular acoustic track from Incubus.
It helped to push them into the mainstream back in early 2001 and has been has stood as one of the easiest songs to learn on acoustic guitar ever since.
Ingrid Michelson
Time Machine A, G and D run the show in this catchy tune that doesn’t have much of an audible guitar track.
It’s ripe for the acoustic picking.
Girls Chase Boys G, C, Em and D are all you need. You also need soul. Can't help ya' there.
Jewel
You Were Meant for Me Speaking of Jewel, she is apparently a big fan of the Cadd9 chord and G6.
If you are to, this song is another great choice for the acoustic guitar.
Jimmy Eat World
The Middle There's some fast downward strumming, but if you can handle that, the chords are literally just A, G, and D.
Joel Adams
Please Don't Go Joel Adams wasn't very well known before this song, but it's a great tune on the piano and easily moved over to guitar. The transposition here (via Ultimate Guitar) is close, if not completely accurate.
Johnny Cash
Hurt The link is to a YouTube video from GuitarMadeEZ.com and is a pretty clear and complete explanation of Johnny Cash’s Nine Inch Nails Cover.
His version is a bit more guitar friendly, and personally, I like it better then the NIN rendition. I’ve Been Everywhere As far as fun songs to play on guitar, this one is up there. Moreover, the chords are an easy E-A-B progression, in a kind of 12-bar blues -- very simple.
Want a challenge?
Try and memorize the lyrics. “I been to Boston, Charleston, Dayton…”
Ring of Fire One of Cash’s more popular songs is all G-C-D.
If you want to play it the way he does, just focus on palm muting the lower notes of each chord and picking through them.
Born Free This patriotic piece by Kid Rock made its rounds on the Mitt Romney campaign in 2012 and has also been used in Major League Baseball commercials.
It’s simple to learn on the acoustic or electric guitar.
Korn
Hater I know what you’re thinking, “Korn, really? What do they play that’s easy?”
Well, it’s true that they play “Hater” (and most of their songs) on 7-string guitars with a super-low tuning.
But if you just look at the chord progressions, the song is actually quite simple.
You could even rattle it off on an acoustic guitar if you wanted.
Lee DeWyze
Blackbird Song This song show up in Walking Dead during Bob’s flashback scene.
It’s a great acoustic run with just three chords.
The tabs show you how to play it in open D, the I recommend drop D with the following progression: D - F - G.
Lightnin' Hopkins
Bring Me My Shotgun G, F and D are all the chords you'll need, and the RiffStation app (linked) makes it really easy to play through. You might have trouble hearing the chord changes, but it won't matter much. The song just kind of blends together.
Limp Bizkit
Faith Limp Bizkit’s cover of George Michael’s “Faith” is pretty much the same as the original, aside from the heavy-metal chorus, which is still the same chords.
Behind Blue Eyes No, Limp Bizkit didn’t write this song, but they did improve on it.
When you click on the link, just scroll down through the tabs until you get to the chord sheet. It’s basically C, D and G with a few friends sprinkled in.
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Limp Bizkit's Wes Borland. Flickr Commons image via Edgar Sagra
Linkin Park
In the End If you limit yourself to just power chords (which is more or less what guitarist Brad Delson does on the track) this one is an easy pickup.
You could even give it a whirl on an acoustic guitar.
Live
Heaven One of Live’s most popular radio hits also happens to be a pretty simple play on an acoustic guitar.
Aside from the pre-chours, you only need four chords.
Don’t forget to tune down a half step if you want to play along with album version. Lightning Crashes Lots of barre chords and pretty simple strumming.
This guy is pretty funny and does a good job with the tune.
The Lumineers
Flowers in your Hair This one is a great song for the acoustic guitar, running through G, C, D and Em.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sweet Home Alabama It’s overplayed (and perhaps a bit overrated) but could we really avoid putting it on this list?
I don’t feel like I even need to link to chords because you’re looking at D, C and G for the entirety of the song.
Both the Skynyrd and Shinedown version are a repeating pattern of C, G and Am.
It's easy enough to learn in less than five minutes. Very basic stuff here.
Massive Attack
Teardrop This song got most of its notoriety from House and the Assassin’s Creed video game series.
It’s a great guitar song to learn and I’d recommend starting with just the chords before you try and dissect the arpeggios.
Matt Redman
10000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) This is a great song from Matt Redman with a powerful chorus; one of his best in my opinion. Only Jesus You need to know an open D-C-G with a few minor chords in there, not unlike a lot of contemporary Christian music.
It’s not a bad thing though; sometimes simpler is better. Another good song here from Redman.
Muddy Waters
Got my Mojo Workin’ This is just a simple 12-bar blues chord progression, so you can play it in a number of different keys pretty easily.
There is, of course, a lot of soloing that goes on in this piece, though I'm fairly certain that it's largely improvised. As for the chords, it's just A and D.
This is user-submitted and doesn’t cover the entire song, though it does give you enough to get started.
Needtobreathe
Lay ’em Down I’m fairly certain that Needtobreathe doesn’t use a standard tuning for this song, but you can play it that way all the same.
Prisoner You only need three chords for most of this south of the border folk-rock tune.
The Heart I’d recommend using a capo for this one to play the C, G and F chords on the higher registers. Open chords are fine too, but the higher chords with the capo will be truer to the recording.
The link is to a Chordify chart of the song that shows you each chord as the song plays. Pretty handy.
There’s a minor chord or two in their as well, which is all demoed in the video.
Newsboys
Something Beautiful This is a good one for the electric guitar, with a simple verse riff and basic chords for the chorus.
I’d recommend giving the solo a try as well -- only four notes. Breakfast It was a bit cheesy, but it was also by far their most popular song. Breakfast is a few different power chords that rock back and forth between the root note and the major fifth.
Amazing Love This popular worship tune is in the key of A when the Newsboys play it.
Don’t forget your capo.
Nickelback
Leader of Men I remember this Nickelback’s first hit single way back in the day.
It’s a guitar-heavy piece that’s little more than a few power chords.
Dustin Jernberg tabs this up over at Ultimate Guitar for us.
How You Remind Me A fella named Dan Smith brings us the YouTube lesson of Nickelback’s most popular tune to date.
Again, a lot of power chords and not much else. Saturday Night’s Alright (Elton John Cover) They play this song in a lower tuning, but you can play it in drop-D all the same.
Props to Erin Coltman for nailing the tab on this one. Rockstar Finally Nickelback takes a break from power chords, although this isn’t any more complex.
Just a few open chords to play this tune all the way through.
Nirvana
Smells Like Teen Spirit The crown jewel of the early '90s grunge era is far easier to learn from a video lesson than it is from a chord sheet.
On a chord sheet, things just look chaotic. However, Mahalo's Jen Trani does a great lesson video, teaching you the song in under eight minutes. I recommend going that route.
About a Girl Most of this song is Em and G, with a few C and F sharps throw in just to complicate things, ever so slightly.
Oasis
Wonderwall This song has long been a favorite for those sitting around with an acoustic guitar trying to think up something to play.
The link is to a YouTube video by www.nailguitar.com and comes with chord diagrams and pretty thorough instruction.
Old Crow Medicine Show
Wagon Wheel It would be a shame to get through this list and omit this song, as it’s truly a classic showpiece for the acoustic guitar.
One Republic
Love Runs Out A great song, that was actually covered by Black Stone Cherry - great if you want a more guitar-heavy version - otherwise it's just Gm, Cm and D. The bridge adds an F, C/E and E flat.
Our Lady Peace
Innocent It’s the second most popular OLP song to date - number one is next.
Somewhere Out There Coming off of Gravity, “Somewhere Out There” quickly became the album’s spearhead single and can be played via simple D, A, B, E and G open chords.
Owl City
Fireflies This chord chart from Heartwood Guitar is the simple way to play “Fireflies” which isn’t really a guitar-friendly song.
Patsy Cline
Walkin’ After Midnight Most of Patsy Cline’s songs are pretty simple if you can get the light jazz strumming down.
Listen for the chord changes and you should be able to get this one without issue, especially since the each chord duration (hold) lingers.
Peter Furler
I'm Alive While there's little guitar to be heard on the actual track, most of the bass line is C, F and G, which is easily co-opted by an acoustic guitar.
Phil Wickham
Eden The only thing that might be a little tricky here are the quicker chord changes with an F# thrown in here and there.
Otherwise, this electric sounding track transfers quite well to a more subtle acoustic guitar version.
You can even slow it down if you want to.
There are plenty of easy songs to learn on acoustic guitar within Phil's repertoire.
Here are a few more:
True Love You’ll need to listen to the track to get familiar with the timing, but then it’s just an easy four chords. You’re Beautiful Most of the lead material on this song is played with a synthesizer, though it can be transposed on the guitar.
Start with the chords, then try and tackle the arpeggios. Heaven Song On the D/F# chords listed here, I’d recommend just playing the D and not worry about the bass F# note.
If you can grab it comfortably, go for it, but you won’t lose anything without adding it, especially if you’re playing the song with a band where the bass player is picking it up for you.
At Your Name (Yahweh) We’ll need to capo the second fret here, depending on vocal range.
Otherwise it’s a simple G, C, D with a few minor chords thrown in.
Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here The meat and potatoes of the song is just three chords.
C, Am, Em and G take care of the bulk of the song. There's some lead work that you could tackle as well, if you're feeling ambitious.
Smashing Pumpkins
Today We’ve got simple chords linked in the song title along with a more detailed lead sheet if you choose to tackle the specifics.
Disarm Once again, the basic chord progression is linked to the title, while you can go after the more in-depth video tutorial if you want.
Staind
Epiphany You need to tune down a half step in drop D to play along with the track, but once you do that it’s only three chords for the main progressions.
Outside Again, tune down a half step, in standard this time.
This guy also has a full tabbed version in Google Docs.
Steve Miller Band
The Joker It's a great song for an acoustic guitar, entirely made up of G, C and D. A picker and a grinner for sure.
Stone Temple Pilots
Interstate Love Song Anyone who has a radio in their car has heard this song at least several hundred times in the past two decades.
It’s a popular road tune by Stone Temple Pilots and by far their most recognizable track.
Sublime
What I Got The entire, and I do mean "entire," song is two chords: D and G.
Taylor Swift
We are Never Ever Getting Back Together Artist and band are terrible, the song is "ok" and the chord progression is G, C, Em and D, or some such combination. If you can stand Taylor Swift, go for it.
Theory of a Deadman
Low Life The link is to a version of the song that’s transcribed for standard tunings.
I’d also recommend giving this one a shot in drop D and just figuring it out by ear.
It’s pretty simple.
I Hate My Life The entire song is G-A-D, with the exception of the “musical interlude” which sounds entirely too sophisticated for this piece of music.
& lt;img class="lazy lazy-hidden tve_image wp-image-19583" alt="Fun Songs to Play on Guitar" src="//www.guitarchalk.com/wp-content/plugins/a3-lazy-load/assets/images/lazy_placeholder.gif" data-lazy-type="image" data-src="https://www.guitarchalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Fun-Songs-to-Play-on-Guitar.jpg" style="width: 730px;" width="730" height="486" srcset="" data-srcset="https://cdn.guitarchalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Fun-Songs-to-Play-on-Guitar.jpg 800w, https://cdn.guitarchalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Fun-Songs-to-Play-on-Guitar-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px" / lt;img class="tve_image wp-image-19583" alt="Fun Songs to Play on Guitar" src="https://www.guitarchalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Fun-Songs-to-Play-on-Guitar.jpg" style="width: 730px;" width="730" height="486" srcset="https://cdn.guitarchalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Fun-Songs-to-Play-on-Guitar.jpg 800w, https://cdn.guitarchalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Fun-Songs-to-Play-on-Guitar-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px" /& gt;
Theory of a Dead Man's Tyler Connelly. Flickr Commons image via Matt Barnett
Three Doors Down
Loser I always liked to play this song in drop D, but standard works too.
The only tough part is the quick break in the bridge, but the chords are listed for that as well.
When I’m Gone Check the song link for a simple chord sheet, otherwise this video tutorial from Adam Pieper has all the tabs and demo if you want to play it just like Three Doors Down does.
Be Like That This is the last real hit I ever remember Three Doors Down having.
Maybe I’m just a bit out of the loop these days.
Twenty One Pilots
Ride This might be a little on the difficult side, just because there are a lot of chords with sharps. Then again, it's only four chords through nearly the entire song. You got this.
Heathens Not much guitar on the track but, the progressions easily transfer to an acoustic guitar.
I’d recommend learning the raw chords first, then work on getting a bit more accurate with the tabs on an electric guitar. Duration of each chord progression is long enough that you shouldn't have trouble picking out the melody. Where the Streets Have No Name Once again the link takes you to both a chord and lead sheet, both of which are easy and straightforward.
This song sounds great on both an acoustic and electric guitar.
Velvet Revolver
Fall to Pieces The lesson is a video from Karl Golden, complete with a tab and slow demonstration.
If you don’t want to pick through everything, D-C-G and A will get you through most of the song.
Weezer
I Love the U.S.A. In typical Weezer fashion, this song goes minimal on the chords and keeps things simple. C, Am and Em get it done.
Willie Nelson
Unclouded Day Willie Nelson’s rendition of this old hymn is a bluesy turn of G, D and A.
It’s pretty simple to pickup. Here’s the YouTube video for playing along.
ZZ Top songs also lend themselves to a lot of electronic metal covers. Filter knows what I'm talkin' about. This one is just A, G, C and D, any way you slice it.
It's simpler than it sounds, simply repeating the progression of C, B♭ and F.
Looking for more music?
We update this page regularly, so check back for new songs or email us a suggestion and we’ll put a link up soon thereafter. Here are a few other posts related to covering songs and other people’s music.
Keep in mind that even if a song sounds complex or has an intricate electric guitar or piano part, the chord progressions underneath are usually going to be pretty simple. If you can find a way to hear those chords, draw them out and learn them first, the rest of the song will come much more easily.
If you’re interested in contributing to the discussion, critiquing or adding your own thoughts, meet us in the comments section below.
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Bobby is Guitar Chalk’s founder and a contributor at Guitar World. He has also developed content for PRS, Seymour Duncan and IK Multimedia. You can shoot him an email to get in touch.
I am a beginner guitarist and i just love the way you presented this post, It’s so well explained in a simple and effiencient manner, Keep doing work like this. Thank You
Why is Skillet’s Korey Cooper in the picture on your tweet of this article, yet no Skillet songs listed? I recommend adding Hero or Comatose. Both easy to learn songs
“Let it Be” – I LOVE IT!!!
4 years ago I picked up the guitar and had no one to teach me. I learned it with youtube video by myself. That’s the first song when i was a beginner.
I started writing for GW about three years ago, just kinda jumped off of what I was doing here.
As for the theory book, it’ll be available the first week of September. Make sure to sign up for the email optin and I’ll keep everyone up to date. Thanks again!
Wha! You know a lot on guitar ! I’m impressed.
How did you became and editor for guitar world ?
Other question when are you going to release you Guitar Theory Book, I’m very interested
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These are Really Easy to play, Thanks.
Thank you for these easy songs.I am new to guitar and your post really helped me out.Keep Posting!!
Thank you soooo much for this Information you are amazing. I am a beginner guitarist and this post is very helpful for me.
thankyou so much for this knowledgeable article. 😀😀
I am a beginner guitarist and i just love the way you presented this post, It’s so well explained in a simple and effiencient manner, Keep doing work like this. Thank You
The kite runner
Thanks for sharing this useful post. Its really helpful for beginners like me.
Thats impressive and better collection you have added in the list. One last breath is my one of the best song by Creed while I’m learning guitar.
Thanks for the collection.
You can add
Love Looks Better Chords by Alicia Keys. Em, G, C
You should try The Middle by Jimmy eat the World.
Somehow I thought that was already in here, but I guess I missed it. Added. Thank you!
‘Miss you’ Rolling Stones. Basically Dm and Am
Also ‘Horse With No Name’ also just 2 chords
Thanks, Rob. I added both.
My personal TOP-3 for beginners:
https://chords.cloud/chords/bob-dylan/knockin-on-heavens-door
https://chords.cloud/chords/the-beatles/love-me-do
https://chords.cloud/chords/the-cranberries/zombie
Thanks for sharing, Alex!
Love lots of these! Thanks! Going to give me something to play! 🙂
Great list — will really help me build some song repertoire!
FYI, though, it is The Ghost of Tom Joad, and it’s not Dylan, it’s Springsteen (1995 album of same name).
Thanks much. Correction added.
Why is Skillet’s Korey Cooper in the picture on your tweet of this article, yet no Skillet songs listed? I recommend adding Hero or Comatose. Both easy to learn songs
Got a tab you’d recommend?
Thanks A LOT man, I just bought an acoustic guitar and this songs helped me a lot to practice!
Very impressive and thank you for this documentation !!! 🙂 Great selection
You got it, Frank. Enjoy it.
“Let it Be” – I LOVE IT!!!
4 years ago I picked up the guitar and had no one to teach me. I learned it with youtube video by myself. That’s the first song when i was a beginner.
Glad to hear it, Ryan. Good one to start out on, for sure.
Hey, thank you. Much appreciated.
I started writing for GW about three years ago, just kinda jumped off of what I was doing here.
As for the theory book, it’ll be available the first week of September. Make sure to sign up for the email optin and I’ll keep everyone up to date. Thanks again!
https://www.guitarchalk.com/chalkboard-guitar-players-plain-english-guide-music-theory/
Wha! You know a lot on guitar ! I’m impressed.
How did you became and editor for guitar world ?
Other question when are you going to release you Guitar Theory Book, I’m very interested