Beginner Guitar Songs – Top 5 Beginner Songs!

TOP 5 BEGINNER SONGS ON GUITAR

This beginner guitar songs list has been surprisingly more challenging to compile than I initially expected. Narrowing down all the songs that are great on guitar to just 5 easy basic guitar songs for beginners. I must have changed this list at least 40 plus times.

THE ORDER TO LEARN THESE GUITAR SONGS

I have laid this list out in the best order to learn them, you don’t have to follow it, but this order is in difficulty order, absolute beginner guitar song being no 1 (my favourite to teach new guitarists – they’re always amazed at how quickly they can sound good!)

All the way through to tackling some chords and strumming, which let’s face it when you’re new to learning guitar, it’s really difficult to get moving between chords, let alone strumming at the same time, IN TIME!

I suspect this song list to last most beginner guitarists around 4 weeks – 3 months. mastery of these songs obviously takes a whole other level of time and is a totally different story, but for now, have fun and improve your playing with these top 5 songs!

1. SEVEN NATION ARMY – THE WHITE STRIPES

If the student has heard of it, then this is a great first track to get learning, the speed is comfortable, you don’t need to use the full power chord or barre chord shapes (so it is simplified) but the instant reward of hearing yourself play this well is so worth the simplifying for.

BEST BITS!

• Perfect Introduction to power chords
• Higher up the fretboard
• The simple and catchy rhythm
• Right-hand accuracy practice improves with striking just the one string
• Builds strength in individual fingers if you follow the fingers as written
• Helps to develop those calluses

2. CHASING CARS – SNOW PATROL

This song will test your hand strength and flexibility.
The first challenge is to hold what is known as a ‘power chord’ shape, holding the first two notes down with the index and fourth fingers will be great for building up your finger strengths, then moving forward adjusting to that 6th fret movement, should be more than an adequate challenge, take your time and do your best to get the notes ringing out well before adding any speed.

BEST BITS!

• simple riff
• instantly recognisable
• easy timing
• works on right-hand technique
• develops finger strengths
• introduction to finger reach/stretch
• Builds fretting and picking accuracy simultaneously

3. EVERYBODY HURTS – REM

If you have been trying to get your chords under your fingers, you’ll be extremely thankful for this little wonder. for beginner guitarists, guitar chords are hell! at first, but this song brings in two really friendly beginner chords together for the intro and It sits on each chord for 2 whole bars! and instead of getting used to even more challenging strumming patterns, you just delicately pick each string of the chord, it’s great! it works on everything that’s important to work on for beginner guitarists and I should get great enjoyment from playing it!

BEST BITS!

• Arpeggiated chords (individually picked strings of the chords)
• A good introduction to 6/8 timing
• Can perfect those fingers of D & G chords before moving on
• Instantly recognisable at any speed
• Relies a lot on right-hand accuracy
• Left-hand fingers get used to holding down the strings for long periods of time.
• Will help to develop finger calluses faster.

4. SWEET HOME ALABAMA – LYNYRD SKYNYRD

Oh yes! this song is on this beginner guitar songs list, believe it or not!
So, a few things, it’s not ‘easy’ per se, but the intro riff is super catchy, everyone loves it, knows it and the first riff is based off three rather useful and fairly simple beginner chords.
Now, the problem you will face when trying to learn this song will be the little licks places in between the riffs, I advise beginner guitarists not to worry about these too much and just focus on the main riff and eventually the chords, when the times right you can always go back to this and practice those fast bits.

BEST BITS!

• Gives you time to develop the D, C & G chords
• Builds finger strengths
• Works on the left and right-hand accuracy
• A good rhythm workout
• Instantly recognisable
• Introduction to economy picking
• Can be slowed down enough to give you time to change between chords

5. BROWN EYED GIRL – VAN MORRISON

The go-to strumming song, in my opinion, I love the happy flow between the rhythm and chords for this song, we combine one of the trickiest beginner chords with the two easiest in this, the C chord. it’s tricky to get that change in there in time, but if you start with the ring finger when going to the C, your other fingers will naturally roll into it. the D D U U D U strumming pattern is used in a lot of songs, so don’t just learn it, master it!

BEST BITS!

• Instantly recognisable
• Great simple strumming pattern all the way through which is used in countless
• other songs
• Makes use of 5 simple open chords
• Challenges your finger movements to change between a good variety of chords
• Once the chords are memorised and the strumming pattern is ingrained, you
• should be able to piece the song together fairly quickly

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