May
One of the most important things any beginner guitarist can do is learn how to play songs. Not only do you develop vital skills, expand your chord knowledge, and improve your left and right-hand technique, but you also get the buzz of actually playing music! And that’s what we’re all here for.
In this first of a 4-part series on what songs to learn first on the guitar, I’ll be looking at my top 5 easy beginner guitar songs with 3 chords or less, meaning you can be playing them in next to no time.
Difficulty, much like music taste, can be subjective. But I think this is a good list for improving your playing while also getting some of those campfire guitar ‘standards’ under your belt.
Unlike most of the lists you find online, I’ve used the actual chords used in the songs rather than simplifying them – although you will need a capo for a few of them if you want to play along to the original recording. All of the songs are in 4/4 time meaning you can start off with a simple 4 strums to the bar, or jump straight in and use the strumming patterns I’ve suggested.
Chord Diagrams/Strumming Patterns
1 – Louie Louie by The Kings hu men
Most beginner guitar song lists lean heavily on the A, D and E chords, as they’re often considered the best three beginner chords. This once FBI-investigated song makes life even easier by using the kinder-on-the-fingers Em instead of an E. On top of that it can be played entirely using downstrums and has at least an 8th note space between each chord, giving you a bit more time to change chords, which is why I’ve chosen it as my number 1 beginner guitar song to learn.
Chords:
Progression:
A – D / Em – D
Strumming Pattern:
Tip:
This song has 2 chords in each bar but there are rests between the chords to give you a bit of time to make the changes. It’s quite an advanced technique but if you can mute the strings between each chord – using the outside of your strumming hand – you’ll add to the staccato feel of the song, making it sound more authentic.
2 – Stir It Up by Bob Marley & The Wailers
A controversial decision for these kind of lists but I’ve opted against putting Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds here for reasons discussed below in the honourable mentions list. However, I have filled that Bob Marley sized hole with the equally great and – in my opinion – slightly easier Stir It Up. Using a simple chord progression throughout, this song can also be played using just downstrums, meaning you can continue working on your chord changes without having to worry about pesky upstrums.
Chords:
Progression:
A / D – E
Strumming Pattern:
Tip:
To create more of an authentic reggae feel try just strumming on the offbeats – the &s between the numbers.
3 – Wild Thing by The Troggs
Very similar to Louie Louie this song has 2 chords in each bar and can be played with all downstrums. I’ve ranked it a bit higher in the list because it does have a few variations in the chord progression, specifically the intro and verses.
For a different take on this song listen to Jimi Hendrix’ live version at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.
Chords:
Progression:
A – D / E – D
Strumming Pattern:
Tip:
For the end of each verse you just go back and forth between the open D, G, B strings and the A chord.
4 – Hound Dog by Elvis Presley
For the last of the A, D, E songs on this list I’ve gone for one of the greatest selling singles of all time, Elvis Pressley’s version of Hound Dog. This song also happens to be a 12-bar blues progression, which is something all guitarists should learn further down the line. At this stage we introduce upstrums to our strumming patterns. But as long as you remember to keep your strumming hand moving up and down in a regular motion, and not to grip your pick too tight, it shouldn’t prove too challenging.
Chords:
Progression:
A / A / A / A / D / D / A / A / E / D / A / A
Strumming Pattern:
Tip:
To play along to the studio version of this song you’ll need a capo on the 3rd fret.
5 – Love Me Do by The Beatles
The first of two Beatles songs on the list, Love Me Do introduces us to the other standard beginner 3 chord combination of G, C and D. The chord progression is the most complicated so far but if you know the song well it should all come to you naturally.
Chords:
Progression:
Chorus: G / C / G / C / G / C / C / C / C / G / C / G / C
Bridge: D / D / C / G / D / D / C / G
Strumming Pattern:
Tip:
For the sequence of 4 bars of C in a row during the chorus there’s a break in strumming. This is done by just strumming once on the 1st beat of the 4th bar of Cs but it will sound fine whether you do this or not.
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