When starting to play the guitar, it is important to learn beginner acoustic guitar songs. The reason for this is that the best way to learn is by playing. At this stage, it is too early to make up your own songs. Playing other artist’s songs will teach you rhythm, chords, as well as an introduction to songwriting.
As a beginner, the type of songs you want to seek out should be based mostly on strumming chords. But not just any chords, rather the easy ones. There are so many chords on the guitar and while some are easy to play, others can be difficult for even the most advanced players. Starting out, you want to avoid barred chords at least for now, and focus on open chords. Those chords are A, C, D, E, and G. As well you can do minor chords such as A minor, E minor, and D minor.
Lets go over an easy song, which is also a favorite of mine. It will get you started on playing the guitar and can be learned all in one practice. The song is ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ by Van Morrison. It is a rather easy song to play and fun to sing along to as well. The song is based on only 4 chords, which are G, C, D and E minor.
Once you are able to play those chords, here is the progression:
G, C, G, D (repeat 4 times)
G, Em, C, D, G
That is pretty much it. If you sing along, it will be much easier to know where to place each chord in the progression. When it comes to strumming, use either your thumb or a flat pick. As for rhythm, have a listen to the song ahead of time, or just use the lyrics to dictate how long each chord is.
Here is a list of other easy songs that you can play which are ideal for beginners of acoustic guitar:
Love Me Do – The Beatles
Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
Island in the Sun – Weezer
Redemption Song – Bob Marley
Be sure to check out “The Ultimate Guitar Song Collection” for more great easy guitar songs