Many guitar learners want to learn to play guitar songs as quickly as possible, as they’ve always had a at least few favourite songs in mind that they weren’t able to play. But theory is not to be neglected either, because without it, very few will become good guitarists. I’m pretty sure that any of the beginner guitarists have tried at least one or two times to reproduce the songs they’ve always desired, but when they see that are far away from playing it like the artist himself, they get very disappointed and some even quit.
To learn to play guitar songs, it’s best to start with the easiest of them. The simplest guitar songs consist of 2-3 simple chords. The slowest the song, the easiest to play will be. Love songs are a good idea to look into if you want to play guitar songs and you’re still at the first lessons of this instrument. To help all the fellow guitar players learn to play guitar songs, here are a few of the easiest ones.
No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley. As you know, this is one of the most famous songs ever written and played, it’s ideal for a beginner, and your friends and family will love it. This song involves three simple chords, easy to switch in between. The second section requires bar chord strumming, which might be a little challenging for beginners but it’s excellent for practicing bar chords.
Hey Jude by The Beatles. This song was written by Paul McCartney to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian, during his parents’ divorce. Initially, it was called “Hey Jules”, and was released in August, 1986. The song is based on 3 chords: B-flat, F and C. It’s a well-known song that will certainly make an impression once you master it, and the lyrics are also simple and you can sing along.
Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. This song has one of the most famous guitar riffs of all time. This is one of the riffs that many electric guitar players begin with. This guitar riff is played in the G pentatonic scale and harmonized in fourths. Even if most guitarists don’t use a pick to play this song, it’s indicated that you should use one, especially if you play it on an acoustic. If you are to learn to play guitar songs, especially for electric guitar, this is a good song to begin with.
Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. This is maybe the most known song of Nirvana. It contains a simple guitar solo, very easy to learn by any beginner. This solo can be performed without the pinky finger, but it’s indicated to use it, especially when playing the 8th fret notes when passing from G to D, and from D to A. Also, use the index finger to bend the 8th fret notes, to obtain the characteristic effect of this song.
One By U2. This is also an all-time classic rock song, from the album “Achtung Baby”. It goes a little something like: Am, Dsus2, Fmaj7, G. The strumming pattern for the track is basically straight forward for this song, not very hard to play on guitar, but if you’re going to try to sing it too, you’ll be needing a high voice.
These are just a few songs to begin with if you want to learn to play guitar songs. However, since it’s pretty hard to start playing songs directly, without the knowing at least some of the guitar theory, I recommend the step-by-step Guitar Learning Program that I’ve been working with. In just a few days, without too much of a hassle, you will surely Learn to Play Guitar Songs.