Sometimes you want to play some fun, uptempo guitar songs that make you feel good inside, songs you can strum and sing along with in a good solid tempo that puts a smile on people faces.

The tempo of such a song will usually be somewhere between 100 and 140 bpm (beats per minute).

I selected some of the best upbeat songs with accompanying guitar lessons, chords and tabs.

Have a great time!

We Can Work it Out – The Beatles

This song has such an amazingly good vibe it will make you instantly happy listening to it. “We can work it out” is played in the key of D and consists of the following chords: D – Dsus4 – C – G – A – Bm – Bm/A – F#7sus4 – F# – Bm/G – Bm/F#. The song has not only a lot of chords in it, it also contains different rhythm / strumming patterns which makes the song really fun to play. It’s definitely worth the practice to nail this beautiful song.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: We can work it out chords

Mr. Jones – Counting Crows

Mr. Jones is a great strum and sing along tune with a good solid uptempo beat. The song consists of 5 chords: Am – F – Dm – C – G. The strum pattern is also pretty straight forward and follows the pattern: down-down-down-up-down-up, counting 1-2-3&-4&.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: Mr. Jones Chords

Brown eyed girl – Van Morrison

One of the most happy feel good songs ever is Brown eyed girl by Van Morrison. This song uses only 4 open chords: G – C – D – Em. The verse song structure follows G – C – G – D and in the chorus the Em chord is added to spice things up. For the rhythm we use a very common strumming pattern: down-down-up-up-down-up.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: Brown eyed girl Chords

I’m gonna be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers

I’m gonna be 500 Miles is a really fun acoustic rock song by Scottish rock duo The Proclaimers. The song uses mainly three chords E-A-B throughout pretty much the entire song, except near the end of the song it adds two extra chords F#m and C#m for a brief moment.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: I’m gonna be 500 Miles Chords

You can go your own way – Fleetwoodmac

Fleetwoodmac’s You can go your own way has got a great feel-good rock groove to it. The song can be played with the chords D – A – G – Bm using a capo on the third fret.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: You can go your own way Chords

Yer So Bad – Tom Petty

Yer so bad is a song from Tom Petty’s first solo album Full Moon Fever. This song is a really catchy breezy song that is really fun to play. The video below is a performance by Josh Turner that is just so beautiful I wanted to share it with you. The chords for the song are Am – G – D – C – Em. The strumming part follows the pattern: down-down-down-up-down-up, counting 1-2-3&-4&.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: Yer so Bad Chords

Crazy little thing called love – Queen

Crazy little thing called love is a really cheery and happy song with a nice tempo and some cool riffs to jazz it all up. It’s start off with a D – Dus4 strumming pattern that sets the tone for the whole song. Here’s the strumming pattern: down-up-down-up up-down-up. The chords for the song are D – Dsus4 – G – C – Bb – E – A – F.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: Crazy little thing called love Chords

Bad Moon Rising – CCR

Bad Moon Rising is an mid-tempo song by the legendary band Creedence Clear Waterrevival. The song has quick chord changes with a particular rhythmic chord pattern that makes the tune so recognizable. We have 3 open chords D – G and A. Practice the transition between these chords and you’ve got it down.

Check out the chords and lyrics here: Bad Moon Rising Chords

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Today we have a list with 25 easy to play pop songs of the last decade for guitar. These songs are a good match for both beginner and intermediate guitar players. Learn the chords and the chord progressions and you’ll be playing these songs in no time.

Most songs in this list have at most four or less open beginner chords. You can play a basic strumming pattern to go along with it.

I’ve put a guitar video tutorial on each song title, the “Chords” link will take you to the chords & lyrics of the song and the “Tabs” will show you how to play the melodies like intro’s, guitar riffs and solo parts.

Guitar Songs from 2010 to 2021

It’s a challenge to keep up with new songs all the time because it’s constantly changing and adding up, so I decided to pick guitar pop songs that stood the test of time over the last decade and that are fun to play on the guitar.

If you prefer some “all time” songs check out Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners. Now it’s time for the pop singer / songwriters and artists from 2010 to 2021, from Ed Sheeran and John Mayer to Taylor Swift and Billy Eilish. It’s all here.

Pick a song you like, practice the chords, the changes between chords and the strumming. Practice the song in chunks (intro, verse, chorus, bridge), take it one step at a time, then practice the song as a whole, slowly and at ease, practice regularly and enjoy the process!

Have great fun!

~ Don’t forget to refresh your strings with the best strings for your guitar! ~

The 80s gave birth to a lot of legendary bands and artists. It was also the time MTV was launched (a real Music Television channel at that time ) and from that emerged MTV unplugged which gave artists a platform to turn their songs into acoustic diamonds.

MTV is not what it used to be anymore, but fortunately Youtube has become the new MTV and we can once again enjoy our favorite music in all it’s creative diversity, plugged or unplugged.

Today we got a list with 30 pop songs of the 80’s that are perfectly suited for the acoustic guitar. There are songs you might not have thought of before or didn’t dare to try, that will turn into really great tunes when you play them on your steel string.

I searched high and low for beautiful acoustic versions of these songs from the artists themselves. I hope the arrangements and videos inspire you to pick up your guitar from the stand and light a new spark. 

You can click on the title of each song to hear the song on Youtube. Click on “Chords” for the chords & lyrics to the song.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases via amazon links.

Pick out one or two songs every day. Enjoy the pleasure of jamming along and working out these songs, adding your own personal touch.

Have a great one!

1 – Angel of harlem – U2 (1988) – Chords – More Chords on Amazon

2 – Free Falling – Tom Petty (1989) – Chords 

3 – Waiting on a friend – The Rolling Stones (1982) – Chords

4 – Every breath you take – The Police (1983) – Chords

5 – Wicked game – Chris Isaak (1989) – Chords

6 – Heaven – Bryan Adams (1983) – Chords

7 – Never Tear Us Apart – INXS (1988) – Chords 

8 – End of the Line – Traveling Wilburys (1988) – Chords

9 – Sweet dreams – Eurythmics (1983) – Chords

10 – Careless Whisper – George Michael (1984) – Chords 

11 – Wanted Dead Or Alive – Bon Jovi (1986) – Chords

12 – Men at work – Down under (1980) – Chords 

13 – Janie’s got a gun – Aerosmith (1989) – Chords

14 – Jack and Diane – John Mellencamp (1982) – Chords

15 – The River – Bruce Springsteen (1980) – Chords – More on Chords Amazon

16 – Faith – George Michael (1987) – Chords

17 – Graceland – Paul Simon (1986) – Chords

18 – Woman – John Lennon (1981) – Chords 

19 – Every rose has it’s torn – Poison (1988) – Chords

20 – True colors – Cindy Lauper (1986) – Chords 

21 – The one I love – REM (1984) – Chords 

22 – Holding back the years – Simply Red (1985) – Chords

23 – Patience – Guns n’ Roses (1988) – Chords 

24 – Crazy little thing called love – Queen (1980) – Chords 

25 – Sunday bloody sunday – U2 (1983) – Chords

26 – La Bamba – Los Lobos (1987) – Chords 

27 – I want to know what love is – Foreigner (1988) – Chords 

28 – Stop loving you – Toto (1988) – Chords 

29 – Eternal Flame – The Bangles (1989) – Chords 

30 – Kokomo – The Beach Boys (1988) – Chords 

If you want some great guitar songs from all times you might also like Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners

So what is your favorite 80s song for the acoustic? I always appreciate your comments. I read them all.

Today we’ve got a list of 30 great acoustic 70s songs. Always note that these lists are in no particular order and they’re obviously incomplete. I create these lists to inspire, explore and motivate.

My personal favorites from this list are “Working class hero” by John Lennon, “Fire and rain” by James Taylor and “Needle and the damage done” by Neil Young. I’d love to know your personal favorite and if you have a suggestion for a great 70’s acoustic guitar song that is not on this list please share it in the comments.

All the guitar music of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and later have their own specialty and magic to it, but the 70’s was era on it’s own with so much beautiful music and new styles being born and flourishing it deserves a list you can indulge in as a guitar music lover.

Each song title contains a YouTube link to the original song. The “Chords” link will take you to the chords and the “Official Chords/TAB” link will show the official transcriptions.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Listen, Play and Enjoy!

1 Knockin’ on heavens door – Bob Dylan (1973) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

2 Heart of gold – Neil Young (1972) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

3 The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkel (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

4 Working Class Hero – John Lennon (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

5 Hotel California – The Eagles (1977) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

6 My sweet lord – George Harrison (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

7 Father and son – Cat Stevens (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

8 American Pie – DonMcclean (1971) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

9 Landslide – Fleetwoodmac (1975) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

10 Wild horses – The Rolling Stones (1971) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

11 Wish you were here – Pink Floyd (1975) – Chords – Official chords/TAB

12 Have you ever seen the rain – CCR (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

13 Old man – Neil Young (1972) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

14 Angie – Rolling Stones (1973) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

15 Fire and rain – James Taylor (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

16 Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

17 Teach your children – CSNY (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

18 Stairway to heaven – Led Zeppelin (1971) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

19 Big yellow taxi – Joni Mitchell (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

20 Ain’t no sunshine – Bill Withers (1971) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

21 Needle and the damage done – Neil Young (1972) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

22 Take it easy – The Eagles (1972) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

23 Lola – The Kinks (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

24 Take me home country road – John Denver (1971) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

25 Dust in the wind – Kansas (1977) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

26 Horse with no name – America (1971) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

27 Wild world – Cat Stevens (1970) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

28 Me and Julio – Paul Simon (1972) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

29 At seventeen – Janis Ian (1975) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

30 Give a little bit – Supertramp (1977) – Chords – Official Chords/TAB

Once you’ve gone through a couple of solid guitar practice sessions you’re back in the saddle and you’ll feel the love and desire again to practice and improve yourself.

Today we’re going to give you the tools to make practicing enjoyable again when the going gets tough.

Let’s dive in!

1 – Reward yourself, set a fixed time
You’re a guitar player now so you need a fixed time to practice. Plan 30 or 60 minutes on your calendar (and don’t let anything undermine that). You don’t always have to plan a full hour, but if you can manage to do that once or twice a week you will really get into the groove.

Having set a fixed time means you have prioritised your practice and given yourself a chance to really enjoy playing your guitar. You deserve it. Don’t let the trivialities of life stand in the way. Reward yourself, you only live once!

2 – Get excited again
Why did you want to learn to play guitar in the first place? What is it that intrigued you about guitar playing? When did or do you love practicing the most? What song, solo, riff, guitar hero or dream goal makes you want to pick up your guitar? What can you do to make guitar playing exciting again? Find your spark in practice and implement it!

3 – Go to a private space.
Find a quiet space where you are in solitude. Ask your family and friends not to disturb you during your guitar workout. You need quiet and uninterrupted practice time to fully immerse yourself in your playing. You can also find quiet time in the early morning when everybody’s still asleep.

4 – Prepare
Prepare for practice. Choose your favourite song, riff or exercise you really want to learn. Print out the song on paper and put it on a music stand. Make sure you’ve good a good solid chair and a foot rest (if you need one). Get your guitar, capo, bottleneck, picks, strings and tuner all in place. A decent guitar is a must. If your guitar doesn’t sound, play and feel right, get yourself a great guitar that fits your needs.

5 – Restring your guitar
Put a fresh set of strings on your acoustic. The feel and the sound of new strings is a real delight and makes practicing even more enjoyable. Make sure you’ve tuned your guitar a couple of times up front, so you don’t need to tune your guitar every single minute during practice.

6 – Make it cosy
Create a practice space where you want really want to be and feel yourself at ease. Hang up pictures of your favourite guitar players, bands or put up a painting of a beautiful sunrise or a piece of art. Make sure you have enough natural light in the room to see and feel good, or go the other way and set a mood with dim lights and tea lights. Build your own inspiring environment to play in.

7 – Get yourself a treat
Make yourself a nice cappuccino, latte macchiato or a hot cup of green tea, rooibos tea or fresh mint tea with some nice biscuits to lift your spirit. Stay hydrated to fully function.

8 – Focus, but let go
Enjoy the practice to the utmost. Focus on the task at hand. Indulge yourself with beautiful chord sounds, essential strumming patterns, smooth fingerpicking patterns, awesome solos and blazing exercises and superb blues improvisation skills to expand and improve your playing. Allow yourself to surrender to the practice.

Let go of any expectations, limiting believes or telling yourself you can’t do it. Stop kidding yourself that you’re not good or fast enough, those destructive and silly thoughts don’t contribute and only hold you back. Let that sh#t go!

Accept the hurdles, obstacles and road blocks that are all a normal part of the process. Just focus, practice and enjoy the path you are on.

9 – Fuel your fire
Watch a good music documentary on Netflix (Foo Fighters, The Eagles, George Harrison, Keith Richards), read a good (auto)biography of your favourite artist/band or get a music/guitar magazine to get inspired and fuel your fire to practice even more.

10 – Exercise or Meditate
If you don’t feel like practicing because you lack energy or spirit, go for a short run. It will change your physiology. You will feel more energised, focused, uplifted and re-newed.

If you are worrisome or too stressed out to play, try Meditation. Meditation will calm the monkey mind and give you the focus you need to really benefit from your guitar practice. Guitar players really need to be fit. Your body and mindset are essential to enjoy your practice to the fullest, so work on it!

Now start taking the first step.

Have a great one!

Today I’ve put together a list of the most popular acoustic guitar songs of the 60’s. The purpose of this list is to give you inspiration, fuel that spark to take your guitar out of the stand and play some of these golden classics.

Maybe you’ll find some marvellous songs you haven’t heard before. Well now is the perfect time to learn something new. There are songs here for beginners and intermediate players, so take your pick and strum along!

Tip: Don’t just quickly glance through the list and go on with your day, but really take a moment and pick out one song you want practice. Write down at least one favourite. Just to remind yourself and reward yourself to play guitar. You’ve earned it!

Notes: This list is in no particular order and of course it’s incomplete. So if you have a suggestion for a great 60’s acoustic guitar song please share them in the comments.

Each song title contains a YouTube link to the original song. The “Chords” link will take you to the chords & lyrics or tabs and the “More” link will show you more great songs, chords, Tabs of the same artist.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Enjoy playing!

1 – Blowin’ in the wind – Bob Dylan (1963) – Chords – More

2 – Yesterday – The Beatles (1965) – Chords/TAB – More

3 – The sound of silence – Simon and Garfunkel (1965) – Chords – More

4 – Space oddity – David Bowie (1969) – Chords – More

5 – California Dreamin – The Mamas & the Papas (1965) – Chords

6 – Universal Soldier – Donovan (1965) – Chords – More

7 – Stand by me – Ben E King (1961) – Chords

8 – As tears go by – Rolling Stones (1965) – Chords – More

9 – The weight – The band (1968) – Chords

10 – Rocky Raccoon – The Beatles (1968) – Chords – More

11 – Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond (1969) – Chords – More

12 – There But For Fortune – Joan Baez (1964) – TAB

13 – Classical Gas – Mason Williams (1968) – TAB – More

14 – Ring of fire – Johnny Cash (1963) – Chords – More

15 – For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield (1967) – Chords

16 – Don’t think it’s twice, it’s allright – Bob Dylan (1962) – Chords – More

17 – Both sides now – Joni Mitchell (1969) – Chords – More

18 – Blackbird – The Beatles (1968) – TAB – More

19 – San Francisco – Scott McKenzie (1967) – Chords

20 – Brown eyed girl – Van Morrison (1967) – Chords – More

You can also take a look at Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners to enjoy songs of all times and all styles of music.

Share you favourite acoustic 60’s guitar songs in the comments!
I appreciate it.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

What a title huh? Well, today I would like to share a list with beautiful acoustic guitar songs from contemporary singer songwriters. We all know the songs of the great singer songwriters like Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, so I thought it would be nice for a change to put together a list with the next generation of singer songwriters.

Don’t get hung up on the order of this list, nor the incompleteness. I know that the amount of singer songwriters that can be added to this list is infinite, so I hope you put your recommendations in the comments below. There is one rule though, they need to be guitar players :)

The list is here to inspire and give you some wonderful songs to explore, to listen to, study and practice.

Some of the artists in this list you might already be familiar with, others may be new to you. A good reason to check out these great songs, guitars and voices. Get yourself a cup of coffee, pick out your favourites, and start playing!

Note: Each song title contains a YouTube link. The “Chords” link will take you to the chords and lyrics or tabs and the “More Chords” link will show you the official transcribed chords if you want to learn more songs of the artist concerned.

Enjoy!

1 – Scientist – Chris Martin (Coldplay) – Chords – More Chords

2 – Daughters – John Mayer – Chords – More Chords

3 – Cannonball – Damien Rice – Chords – More Chords

4 – New york New york – Ryan Adams – Chords – More Chords

5 – Strong enough – Sheryl Crow – Chords – More Chords

6 – Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard – Chords – More Chords

7 – I’m yours – Jason Mraz – Chords – More Chords

8 – Trouble – Ray LaMontagne – Chords – More Chords

9 – A team – Ed Sheeran – Chords – More Chords

10 – Better together – Jack Johnson – Chords – More Chords

11 – Dream catch me – Newton Faulkner – Chords – More Chords

12 – Cinder and smoke – Iron and Wine – Chords – More Chords

13 – Wildfire – Laura Marling – Chords

14 – Heartbeat – Jose Gonzalez – Chords

15 – Follow the sun – Xavier Rudd – Chords

16 – So beautiful – Pete Murray – Chords

17 – Good man – Josh Ritter – Chords

18 – Sideways – Citizen Cope – Chords

19 – Black river – Amos Lee – Chords

20 – Free – Donavon Frankenreiter – Chords

21 – Diamonds on the inside – Ben Harper – Chords

22 – Sunshine – Matt Costa – Chords

23 – I love the rain the most – Joe Purdy – Chords

24 – One moment more – Mindy Smith – Chords

25 – Another day – Bertolf – Chords

30 Day Singer

Do you want to learn to sing (better)? 30 Day Singer is one of the most popular online singing courses. The course is great for beginners, but also provides advanced techniques for experienced singers.

There are lessons for perfect pitch and intonation, getting better tone, learning to sing higher, steps to better phrasing, mastering vibrato, belting, and lessons that teach you different styles of singing from pop, country and R&B to classical.

The instructors are best-in-class educators coming from Julliard, The Voice and other top music institutions. This course has everything you need to learn to sing. Start Now!

Do you know a great guitar song from a contemporary singer songwriter. Please share in the comments. I’d really appreciate it.

Don’t forget to practice!

There were so many alternative rock bands back then you got lost in the woods, but that didn’t bother most of us.

Not that everything was great, but at least it was guitar music playing on the radio, just like in the 60’s and 70’s authentic bands playing real guitar songs.

Nowadays I even like some of the songs that I didn’t really dig back then. It has all become nostalgia.

They make me think of the good times or maybe I just listen to those songs differently now. Has my alternative taste expanded? It doesn’t matter. The bands and their songs that were so awesome then have just become more awesome after all these years. Those cranked up guitars just got better.

Favorites? Of course: REM, Radiohead, Alanis Morissette, Oasis, Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but it was great putting the entire list together.

Yes, there were many more songs that i wanted to add, but fifty seemed like a nice round number. So here you are.

Notes:
The list below is to inspire, to motivate, to plug your guitar into that full stack to wake up some neighbors or just to bring back some good memories. The songs are in no particular order and the list is definitely incomplete.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Enjoy listening!

01 – Smells like teen spirit – Nirvana – Tabs

02 – Creep – Radiohead – Tabs

03 – Alive – Pearl Jam – Tabs

04 – No rain – Blind Melon – Tabs

05 – Black hole sun – Soundgarden – Tabs

06 – Wonderwall – Oasis – Tabs

07 – Under the bridge – RHCP – Tabs

08 – Interstate lovesong – Stone temple pilots – Tabs

09 – What’s up – For non blondes – Tabs

10 – Cannonball – The Breeders – Tabs

11 – Everlong – Foo Fighters – Tabs

12 – Losing my religion – REM – Tabs

13 – Lithium – Nirvana – Tabs

14 – Song 2 – Blur

15 – Jeremy – Pearl Jam – Tabs

16 – Bittersweet symphonie – The Verve – Tabs

17 – Plush – Stone temple pilots – Tabs

18 – You oughta know – Alanis Morissette – Tabs

19 – Sabotage – Beastie Boys

20 – Breakfast at tiffanys – Deep Blue Something

21 – Epic – Faith No More

22 – Only Wanna Be With You – Hootie & The Blowfish

23 – Paranoid android – Radiohead – Tabs

24 – Mysterious ways – U2 – Tabs

25 – The way – Fastball

26 – Shine – Collective Soul – Tabs

27 – Closing time – Semisonic – Tabs

28 – Champagne supernova – Oasis – Tabs

29 – I’m only happy when it rains – Garbage

30 – Iris – Goo Goo Dolls – Tabs

31 – Lightning crashes – Live – Tabs

32 – Californication – Red hot chili peppers – Tabs

33 – Loser – Beck – Tabs

34 – Hurt – Nine Inch Nails

35 – Zombie – The Cranberries – Tabs

36 – Would – Alice in Chains – Tabs

37 – Glycerine – Bush – Tabs

38 – Runaway train – Soul Asylum – Tabs

39 – I alone – Live – Tabs

40 – Mr. Jones – Counting Crows – Tabs

41 – Basketcase – Greenday – Tabs

42 – Killing in the name of – Rage against the machine – Tabs

43 – Self esteem – Offspring – Tabs

44 – What’s the frequency Kenneth – REM – Tabs

45 – Buddy Holly – Weezer – Tabs

46 – 1979 – Smashing Pumpkins – Tabs

47 – What I got – Sublime – Tabs

48 – Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day – Tabs

49 – The Distance – Cake – Tabs

50 – Lump – Presidents of the united states of america – Tabs

What’s your favorite alternative song of the 90s?
Please share in the comments.

In this lesson we got a list with the best easy guitar songs for beginners that will get you started on the right track. I’ve put together a great list of simple songs to play on guitar that are great to strum and sing along with.

We got easy acoustic and electric guitar songs, basic fingerstyle tunes, riffs, and guitar intros for you. For 2024 and 2025 these are still timeless and the perfect ones to start out with. It’s all here!

How to Play Easy Songs on the Guitar

For an easy guitar song you need two, three or four basic open chords and an easy chord progression like G – C, G – C – D or Em – G – C – D. The songs have a simple rhythm and strumming pattern in 4/4, 3/4 or 2/4 time and usually played with a capo to transpose the song to the appropriate key. Finally you need a list of very easy songs to play on the guitar, that’s where this post comes in.

When you learn the songs I recommend you follow the order of the list. You can find the video lessons, chords and tabs further down this post.

Enjoy!

What are Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners?

1. A horse with no name – America

One could argue that “Horse with no name” is the easiest guitar song ever as far as guitar chords concerns with only two chords for the entire song. The chords are Em (022000) and D6-9/F# (2×0200). While the name of the second chord sounds overwhelming, it’s actually a really easy chord to play. The song also contains 2 different strumming patterns that are quite simple and straight forward. Strumming pattern #1 = ↓↓↑ (2x) Strumming pattern #2 = ↓↑ (4x)

2. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for – U2

This classic U2 ballad uses only three basic chords C, F and G. “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” is also perfect for beginners due to it’s slow tempo. You can strum the song with a basic 4 down strums per measure which sounds perfectly fine with this song or you can try a bit more musical strumming pattern that I’ll explain in the video lesson.

3. Have you ever seen the rain – CCR

The verses for “Have you ever seen the rain” is a perfect beginner workout with only two chords for the verse C and G and it starts with four measures on C, then two measures on G, two measures on C and repeat. For the chorus they play | F | G | C | Am | (2x) | F | G | C | You can play an easy down-up-down-up-down-up-down-up strumming pattern throughout the song.

4. Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond

Sweet Caroline is Neil Diamond’s most famous song that is really fun to play. It can be simplified without having to compromise too much. The chord progression is as follows: Verse: / A / D / A / E / Prechorus: / A / A6 / E / D / E / Chorus: / E / D / D / E (2) D ↓— The strumming pattern for the song is just simply down-down-up throughout the entire song.

5. Zombie – Cranberries

“Zombie” by the Irish rockband The Cranberries is a great easy rock song to play. It contains four super easy chords: Em – Cmaj7 – G6 – D6-9/F#. 

| Em = 022000 | Cmaj7 = x32000 | G6 = 320000 | D6-9/F# = 2×0200 |

While the strumming pattern for the song is a little bit more varying it can be played with simple eight note down strums on each chord | ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ | throughout the song. The chords and the strumming pattern make the song instantly recognizable. Try it and you’ll see.

6. Dreams – Fleetwoodmac

The legendary “Dreams” from Fleetwoodmac sang by Stevie Nicks is a beautiful song with only two chords Fmaj7 and Gmaj6 following with a simple chord progression playing one measure for each chord throughout the song: | Fmaj7 = xx3210 | Gmaj6 = 320000 | or play the Gmaj6 by moving the Fmaj7 chord up to the third fret | Gmaj6 = xx5430 | For the strumming pattern can play down-up-down-up-down-up-down-up ↓↑↓↑↓↑↓↑ Practice thoroughly on the chord-changes and you’ve got a great beginner song.

7. Three little birds – Bob Marley

“Three Little Birds” is a song by Bob Marley and The Wailers. This song is a real classic and contains 3 easy open chords A – D – E. In the chorus only the chords A and D are played and the E major chord is added to the verse. The strumming pattern is a reggae beat that means you play four down strums on the after beat for each measure / bar. Count 1 and play the down strum, count 2 and down strum and so on. 1 ↓ 2 ↓ 3 ↓ 4 ↓

8. Love me do – The Beatles

There is no easy guitar song list complete without a Beatles song. “Love me do” was their official debut single and was released in October 1962. This song can be played with three chords G – C – D and you can add a G7 chord if you want to get fancy. The strumming pattern is a basic 4/4 strumming pattern: down-down-up-up-down-up ↓↓↑↑↓↑.

9. Stand by me – Ben E King

“Stand by me” by me, one of the most famous songs ever covered by many artists from every generation that followed, is always on the top 10 list of easy guitar songs. The chords for the song are G – Em – C – D, also referred to as the I – VI – IV – V chord progression, which is a very common chord structure for many popular 4 chord songs. The strumming pattern for the song is down-slap-down-slap ↓-x-↓-x

10. Knocking on heavens door – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan’s classic “Knocking on heavens door” has become an easy rock song due to the cover version of Guns ‘n Roses. The chord progression for the song is | G D | Am | G D | C | and can be simplified by just playing two down strokes on G and D and four down strokes on Am and C.

Check out the Songs List Categories below or scroll right to the Easy Beginner Guitar Songs via the green button:

Easy Guitar Songs List Categories.

Scroll to Easy Beginner Guitar Songs

Basic Open Guitar Chords

Right from the start you want to learn how to read and how to play the most important basic open guitar chords: C – A – G – E – D – Am – Em – Dm (see video and chord diagrams below).

Once you got those under your fingers you can add the F and Bm chord and some dom7 chords like A7 – E7 – D7 – G7 and C7. You can check them out right here: The Second Most Important Guitar Chords For Beginners  Chords are you building blocks to create the harmony for the songs. You don’t need to learn all the chords at once, just start with the ones that are in the song you want to learn.

Strumming patterns

Rhythm guitar is all about the strumming and strumming patterns. It defines the groove, the beat and tempo of the song. For easy songs we’ve got easy strumming patterns that are universal for the most popular songs of all times.

Most songs have a 4/4, 2/4 or 6/8 time signature which can be played in different varieties using simple straightforward strumming patterns.

Playing with a Capo

Some of the songs in this list below are played with a capo. A capo is a small device that you can clamp onto the neck of a guitar and allows you to easily change the key of the guitar. It makes it possible to play the song in the original key but use simple open chords to make the song easier to play.

This is a common thing in guitar playing and guitar players do it all the time, not just beginners. It’s also a way to be more creative with your guitar playing. I always say: “Life is too short not to use a capo.”

Easy guitar songs of all times

In the song lists we’ve got links to video guitar lessons and tutorials, song chord sheets with lyrics and easy-to-read guitar tabs to learn the songs even faster. We’ve got easy songs of all times from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 2010, 2020 up till now, but also every style of music from easy rock, blues, country to jazz songs.

Finally we added some easy song riffs and intros to spice up your playing. Remember, take small steps, practice daily and diligently, and you’ll be playing these songs in no time. 

Start with your first easy guitar song or pick a song in the beginner song lists below:

Easy Guitar Songs List Categories

Click on the links to go to your favorite easy guitar songs category:

Enjoy the songs!

Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners Chords

A super easy guitar song for beginners is Horse With No Name by America. The song contains only two of the easiest chords and a basic strumming pattern that repeats throughout the entire song. Another fairly easy song to play is I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2, which includes three simple major chords (C, F and G) and a very common 4/4 time strumming pattern.

Also “Love me do” by The Beatles, “Lazy Song” by Bruno Mars and “To Love Somebody” by The Bee Gees are great easy beginner guitar songs. Check out the video lessons, chords and tablature below.

Scroll down for easy guitar songs of all times and styles of music ↓

Easy Guitar Songs of the 60’s

The 1960s started a new music revolution where many timeless hit songs and simple guitar songs emerged from the ground. Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond can be played with three major chords: A – D – E using a basic common 4/4 time strumming pattern (pattern #5). Stand By Me – Ben E King is one of the most famous easy guitar songs for beginners, because of it’s popular four-chord-song structure.

Other great contenders are As Tears Go By – Rolling Stones, San Fransisco by Scott McKenzie and Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison which al contains simple open chords with easy rhythm playing.

More Easy 60’s Guitar Songs

Easy Guitar Songs of the 70’s

During the 1970s great bands like The Eagles and Crosby, Still, Nash & Young were dominating and influencing the music of that time. Songs like Hotel California and Teach Your Children are great songs to learn as a guitar student. Knocking On Heavens Door, Working Class Hero, and Have You Ever Seen The Rain are also easy popular guitar songs from the 70s you can play with basic beginner chords.

More Easy 70’s Guitar Songs

Easy Guitar Songs of the 80’s

The music of the 1980s came with a whole generation of new artists and new sounds. Lots of uncomplicated, legendary songs were composed like The River by Bruce Springsteen which uses the chords Em – G – D – C – Am, and Chris Isaak’s beautiful song Wicked Game, that came out in the late 80s, only uses a simple straight forward chord progression | Bm | A | E | E | during the whole song.

Another brilliant two-chord song is The One I Love is from the band REM. This song can be played with the chords Em and D. The One I Love by REM is by far one of the most easiest songs to play on guitar.

More Easy 80’s Guitar Songs

Easy Guitar Songs of the 90’s

The 90’s was the era of grunge music but also a lot alternative pop songs were hitting the charts that are perfectly cut out for beginner guitar players. Most of those songs are using only 3 or 4 open chords.

More 90’s Guitar Songs

Easy Guitar Pop Songs of the Last Decade

In the last decade with the arrival of new pop artists easy-to-play pop songs are present in great numbers. From Ed Sheeran to Taylor Swift to Maroon 5, they all are fans of the popular easy four-chord-song strategy.

More Easy Last Decade Songs

Easy Guitar Fingerstyle Songs

Easy fingerstyle or fingerpicking songs for beginners are usually played in 4/4 or 6/8 time. Two of the easiest fingerstyle songs are “everybody hurts” by REM and “We’re going to be friends” by the White Stripes. These songs are great to start out with. From there you can try other songs from the list like the more popular fingerstyle song “Hallelujah”.

Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen

More Easy Fingerstyle Songs

Easy Acoustic Guitar Songs

In the list below you can find 5 easy acoustic guitar songs that are timeless classics for anyone who wants to learn to play guitar. “Heart of gold” has a nice recognizable strumming riff and pattern that makes the song fun to play. Also Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” uses easy open chords with a beautiful guitar intro that makes the song stand out. Check out the tutorials, chords and Tabs below.

More Acoustic Guitar Songs

Easy Electric Guitar Rock Songs

More Easy Guitar Rock Songs

Easy Blues Guitar Songs

Blues and blues song fit like a glove for beginners guitar players because of the simple I – IV – V chord progression. Once you know how to play a 12 bar blues progression of 12 bar blues shuffle you will come a long way playing easy blues songs like the ones below.

More Easy Blues Guitar Songs

Easy Country Guitar Songs

More Country Guitar Songs

Easy Jazz Guitar Songs

More Easy Jazz Guitar Songs

Easy Guitar Riffs and Intros Tabs

More Easy Guitar Song Riffs & Intro’s

I hope you like the songs from the lists and if you want to share your favorite easy guitar songs, have any suggestions for the lists or questions about the songs, please share them in the comments below. I appreciate it.

Keep picking!
~Klaus Crow

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Klaus Crow is a professional guitar teacher running a guitar school based in The Netherlands. He started Guitarhabits in 2009 and is now teaching thousands of guitar students from all over the world becoming better guitar players.

There’s this one thing that is so great about the guitar. I love the fact that you can choose to be in two complete different worlds.

One moment you plug in your electric guitar and make it rock, scream and tear up the place. The other time you indulge yourself in beautiful acoustic guitar songs and get swept away by good melody and harmony. It’s the best of both worlds. Obviously today were gonna look at some of the best songs of all time on acoustic.

Skip to The Best Acoustic Guitar Songs

How to Approach and Practice the Songs

As with all lists on this blog the songs are here to give you inspiration. The lists are in no particular order and as with all lists it’s incomplete. It doesn’t matter, what matters is that you grab your guitar out of the stand and start learning these great guitar songs.

Maybe you’ll find a song or artist you haven’t heard before and be pleasantly surprised or you stumble upon a song you haven’t heard in a while and it makes you feel good again. I suggest you pick a few songs and study them thoroughly using the chord and tab sheets provided or watch a video lesson if you need some extra help.

You can also check out the easier guitar classics if you’re just starting out. If you practiced them well enough and feel comfortable to play them to your friends and family you can add them to your repertoire to expand your guitar song vocabulary. Let’s make some progress.

What are The Best Acoustic Guitar Songs of all time?

Time and time again you will see these songs appear in the billboards and Top 50 of all time because these tunes have earned their stripes as best acoustic guitar songs ever.

I’ve picked the songs that are timeless, ideally suited for the steel string western guitar and favorite of many guitar players and musicians ranging from The Eagles to Foo Fighters and from Springsteen to John Mayer.

This is perfect study material for the beginner and intermediate guitar student, but also the accomplished guitar player will have as much fun playing the songs on this list as they are part of the evergreen acoustic guitar songs classics.

Enjoy!

Acoustic Guitar Video Lesson:
Wonderwall – Oasis

Acoustic Guitar Video Lesson:
Redemption song – Bob Marley

Acoustic Guitar Video Lesson:
Yellow – Coldplay

~ Don’t forget to refresh your strings with the best strings for your guitar! ~

What’s your favorite acoustic guitar song of all time?
Please share in the comments. I appreciate it.