20 Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners (Chord Charts Included)
The phrase "easy beginner guitar song" gets thrown around a lot, and a lot of the time it really means "easy once you can already switch chords smoothly." That's not helpful when you've been playing for two weeks. Here's the real list, sorted by genuine beginner-friendliness — the top of the list uses only open chords with slow tempo and forgiving strumming.
The Absolute-Starter Tier (2-3 chords)
1. Horse With No Name — America. Two chords. Em and D6add9 (which is just Em with two fingers moved up a string). You can play this entire song for five minutes without a single chord change being hard.
2. Three Little Birds — Bob Marley. A, D, E. Classic I-IV-V. Slow strumming, no panic. This is the song every first-week student gets through start to finish.
3. Knockin' on Heaven's Door — Bob Dylan. G, D, Am, C. Medium tempo, simple strum. The chord changes come at predictable times so you can count your way through.
4. Ring of Fire — Johnny Cash. G, C, D. Straight four-on-the-floor downstrokes. If you can play the three chords, you can play this song tonight.
5. What's Up — 4 Non Blondes. A, Bm, D. The Bm can be simplified to a Bm7 shape (easier). The strumming is simple and the chord changes repeat constantly.
The 4-Chord Tier (no barre chords yet)
6. Wonderwall — Oasis. Em7, G, D, A7sus4. All simplified shapes, most of which are just variations of chords you know. The strumming pattern takes the most work — see our strumming patterns guide.
7. Let It Be — The Beatles. C, G, Am, F. If the F is intimidating, use Fmaj7 (no barre) or a capo at fret 3 to avoid it entirely. Paul McCartney won't mind.
8. Leaving on a Jet Plane — John Denver. G, C, D, Em. Medium tempo, strum pattern is the folk classic down-down-up-up-down-up.
9. Hey Soul Sister — Train. C, G, Em, D. Extremely predictable chord cycle through the whole song. Use a capo at fret 4 to match the recording.
10. I'm Yours — Jason Mraz. G, D, Em, C. Four chords looped, and it sounds impressive at open mics. Capo at 4th fret for the key in the recording.
The Stretch Tier (still beginner-friendly, but you'll practice)
11. Bad Moon Rising — Creedence Clearwater Revival. D, A, G. Medium strumming, classic country rock rhythm. Good practice for chord-switching speed.
12. Stand By Me — Ben E. King. G, Em, C, D. Bassline-style fingerpicking sounds great but you can just strum it. Four-chord, slow tempo.
13. Hallelujah — Leonard Cohen. C, Am, F, G, E7. One extra chord than the 4-chord tier but moves slowly. Use a capo at 5th fret if the original key feels wrong.
14. Save Tonight — Eagle-Eye Cherry. Am, F, C, G. Same four chords for the whole song. F is your main barrier — see our barre chord survival guide for workarounds.
15. Zombie — The Cranberries. Em, C, G, D. Classic. Use power chord shapes if you want the heavier sound, or strum the open chords for the verse feel.
The "Getting Real" Tier (some barre chords)
16. House of the Rising Sun — The Animals. Fingerpicking classic. Am, C, D, F, E. The F will come up. Tempo is slow and forgiving.
17. Sweet Home Alabama — Lynyrd Skynyrd. D, C, G. Three chords, iconic riff. If you skip the riff and just strum chords, it's actually in the easy tier.
18. Brown Eyed Girl — Van Morrison. G, C, D, Em. The intro riff takes work but the strummed version is beginner-friendly. Capo at fret 2 optional.
19. Free Fallin' — Tom Petty. D, A, E. Only three chords if you capo at fret 3, which is how the recording is played. Tom Petty literally made this a three-chord song on purpose.
20. Perfect — Ed Sheeran. G, Em, C, D. Slow tempo, gentle strumming, huge payoff at weddings and campfires.
How to Pick Your First Song
Don't pick by difficulty — pick by what you actually want to play. If you love Johnny Cash, start with Ring of Fire. If you've had Perfect stuck in your head for a month, start there. The song you're a little embarrassed to still not know how to play is often the right one — you'll practice it twice as long as something you picked off a list because it was "beginner-friendly."
When your strumming feels ragged, slow everything down. Set our online metronome to 60 BPM — lower than you think you need — and focus only on clean chord changes. Speed comes on its own once the muscle memory is there.