Learning how to play the guitar, especially at the beginning, can be quite challenging. You want to play your favorite songs, but they are either too difficult to play due to barre chords or need a capo.
Naturally, the best way to get over this hoop is to improve your strength and understanding of how to use barre chords and capos.
However, for those looking to get a list of super-easy songs that you can learn right away, here are some of my favorite songs for beginners.
Bob Marley – Three Little Birds
Three Little Birds is the famous Bob Marley song from the Exodus album released in 1977. The song became a massive hit after its release, hitting the top 10 lists in many countries.
With its positive atmosphere and happy melodies, it is one of the most popular songs of Bob Marley and the reggae genre in general. With only 3 chords, A, D, and E it is exceptionally easy to play.
The strumming pattern is characteristic of the reggae style with strokes between the beats. It may take some time for beginners to get used to this, so listen to the rhythm carefully and start slowly. When you get the feeling this song will enrich your repertoire with a pattern that is extremely fun to play.
Bob Dylan – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door is a song by American singer-songwriter and legend Bob Dylan. He wrote this song for the 1973’s film Pat Garret and Billy the Kid. However, this song became one of his most recognized and acclaimed songs.
Several artists have covered this iconic song, including Guns and Roses, Eric Clapton, and Randy Crawford. It is a quite simple song in the key of G and has only for chords: G, Am, C, D.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door has very simple chords, very simple strumming patterns and is one of the best songs for beginners to learn.
U2 – One
One is a song by the legendary Irish rock band, U2. It was part of their third album Achtung Baby and was released as the record’s third single in 1992.
Interestingly enough, while U2 was recording this album, tensions were high. The band members all had a different idea of how the band should proceed musically and almost broke up.
This song came at an ideal moment where they were able to unify their efforts and go on to become one of the most recognized brands in rock history.
One is in the key of C and the acoustic version allows you to not have to barre the F chord.
Tracy Chapman – Talkin’ Bout A Revolution
Talkin’ Bout A Revolution is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released as her second single for her self-titled debut album.
Internationally, this single became a big hit, reaching the Top 40 in several countries, including France and New Zealand. This song became one of Tracy Chapman’s signature songs.
As for the song’s chord progression, it is in the key of G and includes all open chords. A great thing about this song is the tensions the chords use, giving you different flavors and variety to your stock chords.
Muddy Waters – Mannish Boy
Mannish Boy is a song by blues legend Muddy Waters. He recorded this song in 1955 as an answer to Bo Diddley’s song; I’m A Man.
This blues standard is a call and response between the singer and the instruments, a classic form in blues music.
Mannish Boy is one of the most iconic blues songs in music history. It is a super simple song to learn since it is only composed of pentatonic licks. Ideal for those who are looking to begin studying the blues world.
AC/DC – T.N.T
T.N.T is a song by the iconic Australian rock band AC/DC. It was part of both their second studio album, also named T.N.T and their first international album release, High Voltage. This song worked as their third single.
This song is in the key of E and does a mix of two power chords, E and A.
T.N.T has one of the easiest rock riffs you can learn on guitar. The solo is a bit more complex but also has some great licks for you to learn.
Bryan Adams – Summer Of 69
Summer Of ’69 is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and artist Bryan Adams. It was included in his fourth studio album Reckless and is one of his most recognized songs
This song talks about a character (himself) facing the dilemma between becoming a rockstar or settling down to a more calm life.
This song is in the key of D and is a great song to develop alternate picking. Since it has several sections with arpeggiated chords rather than strum chords, it is great practice for your picking hand.
Foo Fighters – Times Like These
Times Like These is a song by the American rock band Foo Fighters. This song worked as their second single of their fourth album One by One, released in 2002.
Times Like These reflect on those tumultuous times the band had after a three-month hiatus. Lead singer and frontman Dave Grohl’s uncertainty about the band’s future drove him to write this song.
This song is in the key of D and is a 3-chord song. The great thing about this one is that there are many different guitar parts, which lets you learn several lines, licks, and riffs.
Blondie – Tide Is High
Tide Is High is actually was released back in 1967 by the Jamaican band The Paragons. But the song was unnoticed until it was covered by the American band Blondie in 1980. The song then hit the top position on the UK and US lists.
The 3 chords used in the song are straightforward major chords, A, D, and E. The strumming pattern is an easy reggae pattern with muted downstrokes on beats and accented up strokes between the beats.
With its simple structure Tide Is High is very fun to play and deserves to be in your repertoire.
Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth
One of the most famous anti-war protest songs of all time, For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield, was released in 1967. Shortly after it hit number 7 in The U.S Top Hot 100 Billboard.
The song was used in many TV shows, movies, protests and was covered by many different musicians. The song consists of major chords of E, A, D, C, and G. All of the chords have comfortable finger positions and easy to transit between.
The strumming pattern is easy and slow so you can adjust it to your liking. You can also whistle the main melody of the song while playing the chords creating a nice atmosphere.
Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen was an enormous hit in 2013. The song was initially created as a folk song but then adjusted to the pop standards. It rocked all the charts around the world, peaking in almost all of the lists in America, Europe, and Australia.
The song also has one of the most-watched videos on Youtube with 1,3 billion viewers. It is effortless to play with 4 chords, G, Em, C, and D. The strumming pattern is also easy with only downstrokes with accents on the strokes between the beats.
It is utterly fun to play and sing along pop song.