
One of the most important things any beginner guitarist can do is learn how to play songs. Not only do you develop vital skills, expand your chord knowledge, and improve your left and right-hand technique, but you also get the buzz of actually playing music! And that’s what we're all here for.
In this first of a 4-part series on what songs to learn first on the guitar, I’ll be looking at my top 10 easy beginner guitar songs with 3 chords or less, meaning you can be playing them in next to no time. This blog is accompanied by the below video posted on my YouTube channel: myguitardiaries
Difficulty, much like music taste, can be subjective. But I think this is a good list for improving your playing while also getting some of those campfire guitar ‘standards’ under your belt.
Unlike most of the lists you find online, I’ve used the actual chords used in the songs rather than simplifying them - although you will need a capo for a few of them if you want to play along to the original recording. All of the songs are in 4/4 time meaning you can start off with a simple 4 strums to the bar, or jump straight in and use the strumming patterns I've suggested.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this blog where I'll be covering 10 easy songs that feature 4 or more chords.
Chord Diagrams/Strumming Patterns


1 – Louie Louie by The Kingsmen
Most beginner guitar song lists lean heavily on the A, D and E chords, as they're often considered the best three beginner chords. This once FBI-investigated song makes life even easier by using the kinder-on-the-fingers Em instead of an E. On top of that it can be played entirely using downstrums and has at least an 8th note space between each chord, giving you a bit more time to change chords, which is why I've chosen it as my number 1 beginner guitar song to learn.
Chords:

Progression:
A - D / Em - D
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
This song has 2 chords in each bar but there are rests between the chords to give you a bit of time to make the changes. It's quite an advanced technique but if you can mute the strings between each chord - using the outside of your strumming hand - you'll add to the staccato feel of the song, making it sound more authentic.
2 – Stir It Up by Bob Marley & The Wailers
A controversial decision for these kind of lists but I've opted against putting Bob Marley's Three Little Birds here for reasons discussed below in the honourable mentions list. However, I have filled that Bob Marley sized hole with the equally great and - in my opinion - slightly easier Stir It Up. Using a simple chord progression throughout, this song can also be played using just downstrums, meaning you can continue working on your chord changes without having to worry about pesky upstrums.
Chords:

Progression:
A / D - E
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
To create more of an authentic reggae feel try just strumming on the offbeats - the &s between the numbers.
3 – Wild Thing by The Troggs
Very similar to Louie Louie this song has 2 chords in each bar and can be played with all downstrums. I've ranked it a bit higher in the list because it does have a few variations in the chord progression, specifically the intro and verses.
For a different take on this song listen to Jimi Hendrix' live version at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.
Chords:

Progression:
A - D / E - D
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
For the end of each verse you just go back and forth between the open D, G, B strings and the A chord.
4 – Hound Dog by Elvis Presley
For the last of the A, D, E songs on this list I've gone for one of the greatest selling singles of all time, Elvis Pressley's version of Hound Dog. This song also happens to be a 12-bar blues progression, which is something all guitarists should learn further down the line. At this stage we introduce upstrums to our strumming patterns. But as long as you remember to keep your strumming hand moving up and down in a regular motion, and not to grip your pick too tight, it shouldn't prove too challenging.
Chords:

Progression:
A / A / A / A / D / D / A / A / E / D / A / A
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
To play along to the studio version of this song you'll need a capo on the 3rd fret.
5 – Love Me Do by The Beatles
The first of two Beatles songs on the list, Love Me Do introduces us to the other standard beginner 3 chord combination of G, C and D. The chord progression is the most complicated so far but if you know the song well it should all come to you naturally.
Chords:

Progression:
Chorus: G / C / G / C / G / C / C / C / C / G / C / G / C
Bridge: D / D / C / G / D / D / C / G
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
For the sequence of 4 bars of C in a row during the chorus there's a break in strumming. This is done by just strumming once on the 1st beat of the 4th bar of Cs but it will sound fine whether you do this or not.
6 – Songbird by Oasis
Although Wonderwall is often one of the first songs new guitarists learn, Songbird - one of the few Oasis songs written by Liam Gallagher instead of Noel - is actually a much easier song to learn. This is in part because Liam is not really a guitar player so his playing is relatively simple. Showing that you don't need to be a virtuoso to write a great tune!
Using the same strumming pattern as the previous 2 songs this chord progression moves back and forth between a G and Em7, briefly using a G/F# to bridge the 2 chords.
Chords:

Progression:
G / G / G / G-G/F# / Em7 / Em7 / Em7 / Em7-G/F#
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
One of the things that makes this song perfect for a beginner is the use of anchoring throughout. This means that the pinky finger remains on the 3rd fret of the high E string and the ring finger on the 3rd fret of the B string for the whole song, so very little adjustment is needed to change between the 3 chords.
7 – Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles
On the surface this Paul McCartney penned classic may not seem like a great beginner guitar song, given the fact that it doesn't actually have any guitar in it. But bear with me! The song sounds great when played on guitar and gives us one of the few well known songs that features just 2 chords from start to finish and isn't Achy Breaky Heart! Furthermore, the 2 chords used are Em and C which, in terms of beginner chord voicings and transitioning from one to the other, are as easy as you can get at this stage with the 2nd finger staying in the same place throughout. You can even simplify it further by keeping the B string open on the C chord, turning it into a far more finger friendly Cmaj7, while still keeping the general harmony of the song. This trick works especially well with my younger students who still have trouble making full open chords.
Chords:

Progression:
Intro/Bridge: C / C / Em / Em
Verse: Em / Em / Em / C / C
Chorus: Em7 / Em6 / Em aug / Em
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
It could be argued that the chorus, the bit where the lyrics sing about all the lonely people, adds 3 additional chords but these are all variations of an Em and just require an additional finger moving down the B string to play them. If you find this part of the song tricky it can be simplified by just playing Em for the Em7 and Em6 with C being used for the Em augmented.
8 – I Used To Love Her by Guns N' Roses
This macabre Guns N' Roses B-side is a great beginner song utilising a classic strumming pattern and Rolling Stone-esqe vibe. To play along to the record for this one you'll need to tune your guitar to Eb. This is easily done on most modern tuners and requires that each string is tuned down a half-step leaving you with a tuning of: Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb.
Chords:

Progression:
Intro/Verse: D / A / G / A
Chorus: G / A / G / A / G / A / D / D
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
To play the chords behind Slash's solo simply play the verse and chorus back to back.
9 – Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Most easy beginner song lists will probably have the more well-known Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd on them but I prefer this song because a) it introduces us to another minor chord - the Am - and b) Sweet Home Alabama, unlike Simple Man, just doesn't sound right to me when being strummed as opposed to playing the arpeggiated riff. Plus I love this song! This is another song that will require you to tune to Eb flat if you want to play along to the studio version.
Chords:

Progression:
C / G / Am / Am
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
This song uses an arpeggiated picking pattern in the studio version - meaning the notes of the chords are picked individually - but sounds really nice with a simple strumming pattern. This strumming pattern actually represents 16th notes and half a measure but it's easier at this stage to break it down, and visualise, as 2 groups of 8th note strumming patterns. And if that sounds like gobbledygook, no worries, I just didn't want to be called out in the comments for getting it wrong!
10 – Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan
This early Bob Dylan favourite from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album is a great beginner guitar song with simple changes and a consistent strumming pattern throughout. To play along with the album version you'll need to place a capo on the 7th fret. If you don't have a capo you can still play along to the original by replacing the G with a D, C with G and the D with an A.
Chords:

Progression:
Verse: G / C / D / G / G / C / G / G
G / C / D / G / G / C / D / D
G / C / D / G / G / C / G / G
Chorus: C / D / G / C / C / D / G / G
Strumming Pattern:

Tip:
Although the chord progression for the verse may look confusing it essentially just repeats the same 7 bar pattern 3 times with the last chord changing from G to D for the middle occurrence. To make the song sound more like the original studio version try walking down the bass note of the C chord from the 3rd fret of the A string to the 2nd fret, muting the D string with your ring finger when hitting this passing chord.
Honourable Mentions
Three Little Birds by Bob Marley - just because you can't have a 3 chord beginner guitar list without it. The strumming can be tricky if you want to make it sound like you're playing a reggae classic but it is just A, D and E throughout at a pace that makes the changes fairly easy at this level.
Free Fallin' by Tom Petty - you need a capo on the 3rd fret to play this in the original key and there are some quick changes throughout. But using sparse strumming and just D, G and A this is certainly achievable for a beginner.
Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival - possibly a bit too fast paced for a complete beginner but once you've built up a bit of speed this is a great song to get stuck into. Chords used are D, G and A.
A Horse With No Name by America - pretty much just 2 chords throughout, this song uses an Em and the rather more obscure D6add9/F# from start to finish. The reason it doesn't make my top 10 is you're unlikely to find a D6add9/F# in many situations other than playing A Horse With No Name!
Part 2 posting soon!
Where’s 3 Little Birds! 😊
Great article - thank you!