You are currently viewing 76 Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners from Every Genre (With Tabs and Chords)

Last Updated on May 26, 2023 by Teemu Suomala

When starting out, easy-to-play guitar songs are THE KEY.  Mastering some easy guitar songs right out of the gate gives you a nice motivation boost and makes you want to learn more. If songs are too hard, your motivation can die quickly and the guitar starts to gather dust in the corner. 

I want you to keep playing, for the rest of your life. That’s why I made this post. But remember, go out of your comfort zone once in a while, and learn some hard songs, riffs, solos, and licks too. That’s how you get better.

Now, let’s see what this post has to offer…

This post includes easy guitar songs for beginners:

  • From the year 1725 to 2017 (that’s not a typo)
  • From many different music genres(from flamenco to metal)
  • Songs to play on classical-, steel-string acoustic-, and electric guitar.

The rhythm, scales, chords, strumming patterns, and keys vary between songs, but in general, all of these are easy songs to play on guitar. At the end of this post, I also reveal:

  • ”what makes some songs easy to play”,
  • ”3 steps that help you to learn hard songs”,
  • and “the #1 guitar practice mistake you should avoid at any cost”.

Let’s get started!

photo reveals owner of guitaristnextdoor.com

Author: Teemu Suomala

I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I love guitars and have played dozens and dozens of different guitars through different amps and pedals over the years, and also, building a website interested me, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website.

I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have also been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as SongsterrMusicnotesGuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar.

I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog (I guess that went the right way…).


Easy Guitar Songs for Beginner Guitar Players

How to use this post: 

Songs are organized by music genre. These genres are included:

  • Pop
  • Country
  • Rock
  • Metal
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk & Soul
  • Classical
  • Flamenco
  • Punk

Under the genre, songs are organized by release year. From oldest to newest.

If you click:

  • the song name, you can listen to it on YouTube. 
  • the ‘’chords’’, you will be directed to the page where you can learn chords for that songs. 
  • the ’’tab’’, you will find tabs for that songs (if you don’t know how to read tabs, check this guide).
  • the ”chords & tabs”, you will be directed to the page where you can find both.

All the chords and tabs are provided through trusted ”ultimate-guitar.com” or “songsterr.com”.

For some songs, I only found chords or tabs(not both), but you can still easily learn from one of those.

If you don’t yet know how, learn how to read guitar chord charts here.

Note that some songs are played with a capo. Capo is used to raising the pitch and changing the key of the guitar and songs. That ables you to use the same open chords from the different locations of the fretboard. Capo can definitely make things easier for you.

If you don’t own a capo, I recommend this(I use it):  Dunlop, Black Capo. (works with regular-sized electric-, and steel-string acoustic guitars).

If you want to know more about guitar capo’s and want to know how to use them, watch this video:

Enjoy the list, and if you have any questions or recommendations for this list, leave a comment down below!

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Easy Pop Songs for Guitar

Pop instruments for easy to play pop songs for guitar - Beginners

Most pop songs are easy to play. In most cases, you need only 4 chords in order to play a song. Of course, some chord shifts can cause headache at first, but when that happens, slow up the tempo a bit and hone your chord shifting. You are able to learn any song you want, you just need to practice!

Here are some easy Pop songs for you:

Let It BeThe Beatles (1970)   Chords
Imagine – John Lennon (1971)     Chords & Tabs
With or Without You – U2 (1987)      ChordsTabs
Wonderwall – Oasis (1995)                 ChordsTabs
Oops!… I Did It Again – Britney Spears (2000)Chords
Clocks – Coldplay (2002)                   ChordsTabs
Lazy song – Bruno Mars (2010)        Chords & Tabs
Die Young – Kesha (2012)                   ChordsTabs
Let Her Go – Passenger (2012)Chords & Tabs
All of Me – John Legend (2013)ChordsTabs
Stay with me – Sam Smith (2014)   Chords Tabs
Ride – Twenty One Pilots (2015)       ChordsTabs
Perfect – Ed Sheeran (2017)Chords & Tabs

Easy Country Songs for Guitar

guitar player playing easy country songs on guitar

Country songs are usually quite easy too, there are some exceptions of course.

Here are a couple of easy country classics for you:

Together Again – Buck Owens (1964)                     Chords
City of New Orleans – Steven Goodwin (1971)     Chords
On the Road Again – Willie Nelson (1980)ChordsTabs
Drive – Alan Jackson (2002)Chords
Complicated – Carolyn Dawn (2004)Chords
Blown Away – Carrie Underwood (2012)Chords & Tabs

For more easy country songs, check this post: 37 Easy Country Songs on Guitar


Easy Rock Songs for Guitar

Guitarist playing easy to play rock songs with the guitar

Rock songs are harder to play than Pop and Country in general. But there are still a plenty of really catchy and easy Rock sounds for you to master:

House of the Rising Sun – The Animals (1964)ChordsTabs
Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin (1969)ChordsTabs
Have You Ever Seen the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970) ChordsTabs
Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple (1972)ChordsTabs
La Grange – ZZ Top (1973)                                 ChordsTabs
The one I love – REM (1987)ChordsTabs
Knockin’ on heavens door – Bob Dylan (1987)ChordsTabs
Everlong  – Foo Fighters (1997)ChordsTabs
Otherside – Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999)ChordsTabs
Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Green Day (2004)ChordsTabs
Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand (2004)ChordsTabs
Still Counting – Volbeat (2008)ChordsTabs

For more easy rock songs, check these posts: 47 Easy Rock Songs on Guitar & 27 Easy Hard Rock Songs on Guitar


Easy Metal Songs for Guitar

Guitarist is playing easy metal songs with the guitar

Metal songs can be super hard and fast. But I tried to find some pretty easy headbangers for you: (Some of these include easy-to-play riffs, but the solo is hard. Don’t worry. You can first learn the rhythm parts and learn solos later.)

Iron Man – Black Sabbath (1970) (songs from Black Sabbath are pretty easy)Tabs
Breaking the Law – Judas Priest (1980)ChordsTabs
Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne (1980) (solo is not easy)               ChordsTabs
Am I Evil – Diamond Head (1980)Tabs
Holy Diver – Dio (1983)ChordsTabs
For Whom the Bell Tolls – Metallica (1984)ChordsTabs
Symphony of Destruction – Megadeth (1992) (solo is not easy)ChordsTabs
Toxicity – System of a Down (2001)ChordsTabs
Bad Company – Five Finger Death Punch (2009)ChordsTabs
This Means War – Avenged Sevenfold (2013) (solo is not easy)ChordsTabs

For more easy metal songs, check this post: 27 Easy Metal Songs on Guitar.


Easy Jazz Songs for Guitar

Jazz instruments for easy to play jazz songs for guitar - Beginners

Finding great, easy, and new jazz songs is not an easy task because the best years of Jazz were in the ’50s and ’60s, and there are not that many tabs available nowadays. But here are some hits from those golden years:

Summertime – Billie Holiday (1936)Chords
Blue Monk – Thelonius Monk (1954)                     Tabs
Autumn leaves – Nat King Cole (1955)Chords
So What – Miles David (1959)Chords & Tabs
Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra (1964)ChordsTabs

Easy Blues Songs for Guitar

Instruments for easy to play blues songs for guitar

Sadly, blues is not so popular nowadays. If you want to play slightly newer blues go and check out Gary Moore. Gary’s songs are not so easy for beginners, that’s why I didn’t include his songs on this list. But here are a couple of relatively easy blues masterpieces for you:

T Bone Shuffle – T Bone Walker (1947)ChordsTabs
Boogie Chillen – John Lee Hooker (1948) Tabs
Mannish Boy –  Muddy Waters (1955)Tabs
The Thrill is Gone – BB King (1969)ChordsTabs
Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers (1971)ChordsTabs
Alberta – Eric Clapton (1977)ChordsTabs

Easy Funk, and Soul Songs for Guitar

MIcrophone for easy to play funk and soul songs for guitar

These genres include some really catchy and rhythmic songs. Here are a couple of easy ones for you:

Stand by me – Ben E. King (1961)ChordsTabs
Night Train – James Brown & The Famous Flame (1961)Tabs
I Feel Good – James Brown (1964)ChordsTabs
I Second That Emotion – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1967)ChordsTabs
Crazy For You – Adele (2008)ChordsTabs

Easy Reggae Songs for Guitar

This genre originating from the Caribbean island Jamaica offers really simple sing-along songs. Here are a couple of great ones for you:

No Woman No Cry – Bob Marley (1974)ChordsTabs
Three Little Bird – Bob Marley (1977)ChordsTabs
Redemption Song – Bob Marley (1980)ChordsTabs
Stranger In Town – Gregory Isaacs (1982)Chords
Night Nurse – Gregory Isaacs (1982)Chords

Easy Classical Songs for Guitar

Guitarist plays easy classical songs with the guitar

Classical songs are definitely not the easiest to play, but mastering a classical song is really satisfying. And gladly, there are classical songs that are easy to play, here are a couple of them for you: (Note that these songs are usually played with fingers, not with a pick.)

In the Hall of the Mountain King – Grieg (1874)Tabs
Minuet in G – Bach (1725)Tabs
Swan Lake (1877)Tabs
Lagrima – Fransisco Tarrega (unknown)Tabs
Country Dance – Ferdinando Carulli (unknown) Tabs

Easy Flamenco Songs for Guitar

Small band is playing easy to play flamenco songs for guitar, woman is dancing

Flamenco is similar to classical music, played without the pick, and can be tricky, but satisfying.

Here are a couple of easy flamenco songs for you:

Españoleta – Gaspar Sanz (unknown)                                Tabs
Tempestad (Rumba Flamenca) – Juan Serrano (unknown)Tabs
El Porompompero – Manolo Escobar (1979)Tabs
La Gitanita – Jurg Hochweber (1989)Tabs

Easy Punk Songs for Guitar

Man is listening easy to play punk songs for guitar

Punk is not about complex scales and chord progressions, it’s more about dirty riffs full of energy. So in general, punk songs are pretty easy to play and great for beginners. Here is some punk for you:

Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones (1976)ChordsTabs
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana (1991)            ChordsTabs
When I Come Around – Green Day (1994)     ChordsTabs
Last Caress – Misfits (1996)ChordsTabs
The Kids Aren’t Alright – The Offspring (1998)ChordsTabs

What Makes Some Songs Easy to Play?

Main things affecting how hard a specific song are:

  • rhythm and tempo(speed) of the songs
  • what and how many chords are used
  • how fast are the shifts between chords
  • does the song include rhythm changes
  • are there complex and fast guitar solos

Most of the songs in this list had a slow tempo, few chords were used and you have plenty of time to change between the chords. Some were harder than others, but all can be mastered pretty easily(except couple solos).

How to Learn Hard Songs? – 3 Simple Steps

The hardest parts for me are usually fast chord shifts and super fast and complex guitar solos. If I find myself struggling with some songs, I usually do this:

  1. learn to play the song correctly at very slow speed
  2. speed up the playing with small steps
  3. practice the hard parts more than others

These steps have helped me to learn many hard songs, riffs, and solos. The time period spent practicing varies, but eventually, songs start to sound right at the correct speed. That’s how real skills are developed, with practice, practice and practice. But the end goal is worth all the hard work.

The #1 Guitar Practice Mistake When Learning Songs

Please, check this short video I crafted so that you can avoid the #1 practice mistake I made when I started playing:


Conclusion on Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners

I hope that you found plenty of easy guitar songs to master from this post. If you didn’t find any good ones(hows that possible?), here is another ‘’easy songs for guitar-list’’ that I recommend.

Keep playing and having fun with the guitar!

Teemu”the play easy songs” Suomala



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Teemu Suomala

I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I also noticed that most guitar websites don’t do a really good job, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website. I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as Songsterr, Musicnotes, GuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar. I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog(I guess that went the right way…). Expertise: guitar learning techniques, electric guitars, and guitar amplifiers. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or just email me.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Pingback: How to Play Guitar? - Get Started Fast and Free!

  2. Anand

    My all time favorite is Perfect song by Ed Sheeran.. I wish I had read this article much before so that i could have used this site to learn the chords as i feel the content in the site is more relevant than the one I learned from

    Anyways, hope to go through all the links and learn more.

    1. photo reveals owner of guitaristnextdoor.com
      Teemu Suomala

      It’s a great song for sure! Awesome that you liked this post, and I personally usually use the ultimate guitar to learn from tabs, the website is easy to use and tabs are pretty accurate, great site. Although there might be more fancy options available… Thanks for commenting Anand!

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