In this write up we're looking at fun songs to learn on the guitar that you can pick up quickly and play while enjoying the process. These songs are fun in that they're less work to learn and can be mastered at a quicker pace than most other songs. We're looking for music that's a little bit up tempo, making it more fun to play, but also accessible to beginners.
We're also trying to avoid songs that require a lot of head knowledge to get going.
But, keep in mind:
These songs aren't just easy. They're easier to learn, but their main feature is that they're more fun and enjoyable to play.
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Fun songs to play on the guitar. Acoustic or electric. Flickr Commons image via Shixart 1985
What We're Looking For
To summarize, there are a few things we're looking for in a song that's fun to play:
- Upbeat: Not necessarily fast but with at least somewhat of an "up" tempo
- Easy chord progressions: Something with roughly three to five chords
- Major key: Songs that are in a major key typically sound more "fun" and tend to be more upbeat in terms of speed and tempo
These are the three primary features we're looking for in fun songs to play on the guitar. While these rules can be broken, they serve as loose guidelines to help us find songs that fit the profile we're looking for.
Where to Find Them
We generally focus on the following places when looking for song lessons:
- Guitar Tricks
- Ultimate Guitar
- YouTube
We'll recommend a resource for each song from at least one of these three places.
Read more: Ultimate Guitar Pro review
Our List of Fun Songs to Play on Guitar
If you have additional suggestions, feel free to drop them into the comments section below. Otherwise, enjoy the song list. Also note that some of the links are to Guitar Tricks lessons, which we recommend and partner with, though at no extra cost to you. Enjoying a membership or free trial helps us out and gives you access to over 1000 video licensed song guitar lessons. You can sign up for a free trial here to give it a spin, risk free.
- AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
- Imagine Dragons - Thunder
- Jackson 5 - ABC
- Johnny Cash - I've Been Everywhere
- Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
- Blink 182 - All the Small Things
- Blur - Song 2
- Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
- Billy Idol - Mony Mony
- Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
- Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
- Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
- Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack
- Roger Miller - King of the Road
- Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
- Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
- AC/DC - Back in Black
- Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
- Weezer - Beverly Hills
- Weezer - Say it Ain't So
Acoustic or electric guitar?
While all of these songs can be played easily on either an acoustic or electric guitar, there are some that were written and performed with one of the two in mind.
For example, "Beverly Hills" by Weezer is more of an electric guitar song.
Same goes for any AC/DC tunes you might want to try.
However, you can always learn a song on whatever type of guitar you're most comfortable with, then transition to the other type later. Both electric and acoustic guitar have advantages - and disadvantages - when it comes to learning songs.
Tabs or full lessons?
You might also notice that for some of these songs we linked to full lessons, while others just have chords or tab sheets. This is because the lesson pool we recommend from is the Guitar Tricks song list, which has about 1000 songs. That's a lot of songs, but it still leaves a ton of material uncovered that you have to find elsewhere.
If we can't find a lesson on Guitar Tricks, we typically recommend the tab or chord sheet from Ultimate Guitar.
Read more: Guitar Tricks review
Chords or tabs
Some of these songs lend themselves more to chord sheets, while others are better understood through guitar tabs.
For example, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, is a good example of this.
Other songs, perhaps more like "King of the Road" will utilize chord sheets without guitar tabs, because they're simpler and more straightforward.
Conclusion
It's fair to say that the idea of a song being "fun" is somewhat subjective.
But we think these songs fit that description and will give you something new and motivating to work on, especially if you're earlier into your song learning journey. Find a few you like, take your time and learn them the right way.
You'll enjoy the process and improve your guitar playing.
Good luck.
More fun songs to play on guitar?
Do you have suggestions for fun songs to play on guitar that we should add? Maybe you have questions about the songs listed.
Either way, leave it in the comments section below and we'll get in touch.
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