Easy Guitar Songs You Can Play With Only a Few Chords

If you’re learning how to play guitar, there’s nothing more satisfying than learning a song.

Whether you’re gorging on free YouTube tutorials, or subscribed to one of the best online guitar schools, the first couple of songs you learn will stay with you for the rest of your life.

It has with me at least, one of my first was the Beatles’ Blackbird which I’ve dug out below – played in my back garden with genuine birds singing in the background!

Don’t make the mistake I made and try and learn Blackbird! It was way too hard.

If you try tunes that are too hard, you’ll get frustrated and give up before you’ve barely started (like I nearly did).

Start with easy songs. The ones with two, three or maximum four chords are the best.

Here are some of the best:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something

We’re going to start with a simple three-chord song called Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The great thing about this one is you play the same three chords for the verse, then just switch the order for the chorus, making it super easy to play.

Have a quick listen to familiarise yourself with it.

So the verse goes like this, D – G – A:

When you get to the chorus, just switch the final two chords, D – G – A:

That was easy, wasn’t it!

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Next, we’re going to introduce a new chord, the C.

First, take a listen:

Here’s how you play it:

Stand By Me – Ben E. King

Here’s another classic using a simple four-chord progression. Check out this INCREDIBLE version:

To play it, just hit these four chords and you’re good:

The Joker – The Steve Miller Band

Another super simple on from the Steve Miller band, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hadn’t heard this song already.

The verse goes like this:

Then the chorus is the same chords, in a slightly different order:

Horse With No Name – America

Three chords too much for you, how about two? The chart-topper Horse With No Name is as simple as it gets.

Here’s how it sounds:

Here’s how you play it – you can’t get easier than this:

Get Lucky – Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers

Let’s get our funk on with this modern classic, Get Lucky.

Here’s the progression:

Shake It Off – Taylor Swift

Staying with modern stuff, here’s another super straight-forward tune.

Pompeii – Bastille

Here’s one from UK indie rockers Bastille. Take a quick listen:

You can play this in open tuning, but it’s better with a capo at the 2nd fret. If you’re not sure what a capo is, or you want to buy a capo, check out our review.

Play all four chords throughout the entire song. Easy!

Knockin’ on Heavens Door – Bob Dylan

Another simple song that any beginner guitarist ought to know is Bob Dylans Knockin’ on Heavens Door. You may be more familiar with Guns & Roses version. Either way, it’s the same song.

It goes G – D – A minor, the G – D again, but add a C instead of the A minor.

Summary

This list should give you plenty to work on 🙂

If you’re wondering how to solo over one of these tracks but not sure what key it’s in, check out our song key finder tool which will help you identify the key it’s in.