Easy Guitar Songs for Beginners
The easiest guitar songs need only one or two chords. Start with Frère Jacques (just G), then Skip to My Lou, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Clementine and Drunken Sailor (two chords each). Next come three-chord songs such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Jingle Bells and Oh! Susanna, using G, C and D7. All 12 songs below are public domain, with chord charts and a strum-along.
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses US music words (measure, quarter note, eighth note, staff); the UK version uses bar, crotchet, quaver and stave. · UK version of this page
Updated · By the Classfern Music Department
Key facts
- 12 songs, all public domain, in order from 1 chord to 5 or more.
- Main chords: G, C and D7 (plus G7, Em, D and Am in a few songs). G and C need three fingers, D7 three, Em two.
- Every song except Drunken Sailor (A minor) is in G major, the friendliest key for open chords.
- Clementine, Silent Night, Home on the Range and Amazing Grace are waltzes in 3/4; the others are in 4/4.
- Each chart shows one chord per measure, four measures to a line.
- A song with chords that change every measure or two is ideal for beginners; one strum per beat is enough to start.
Chord boxes and strum-along
Every chord in these songs, and a strum-along that plays each song’s chords with drums and bass at the speed you choose. Pick a song in the strum-along, or press a “Strum along” button under a song. Self-assessed Can you play the whole song with it, changing chords on time?
- 3 2 0 0 0 3
- x x 0 2 1 2
- x 0 2 2 1 0
- x 3 2 0 1 0
- 3 2 0 0 0 1
- 0 2 2 0 0 0
- x x 0 2 3 2
Chord boxes show the six strings upright, low E on the left. Numbers in the dots are fingers (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little); o = open string, × = do not play. The numbers under each box are the frets from low E to high E.
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What are the easiest songs to play on guitar?
The easiest songs to play on guitar use one or two chords that change slowly: Frère Jacques needs only G, and Skip to My Lou, Mary Had a Little Lamb and Clementine need only G and D7. After that, learn C and play three-chord songs like Jingle Bells and Oh! Susanna.
| Song | Chords | Which chords | Time | Try it in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?) | 1 | G | 4/4 | Day 1 |
| Skip to My Lou | 2 | G, D7 | 4/4 | Week 1 |
| Mary Had a Little Lamb | 2 | G, D7 | 4/4 | Week 1 |
| What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor? | 2 | Am, G | 4/4 | Week 1 |
| Oh My Darling, Clementine | 2 | G, D7 | 3/4 | Week 1 |
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star | 3 | G, C, D7 | 4/4 | Week 2 |
| Jingle Bells (chorus) | 3 | G, C, D7 | 4/4 | Week 2 |
| Oh! Susanna | 3 | G, D7, C | 4/4 | Week 2 |
| Silent Night | 3 | G, D7, C | 3/4 | Week 2 |
| When the Saints Go Marching In | 4 | G, D7, G7, C | 4/4 | Week 3+ |
| Home on the Range | 4 | G, G7, C, D7 | 3/4 | Week 3+ |
| Amazing Grace | 6 | G, G7, C, Em, D, D7 | 3/4 | Week 3+ |
What chords do you need for easy guitar songs?
Learn G, C and D7 first: together they play hundreds of folk songs, carols and children’s songs in the key of G. Add Em and Am next, then D and G7.
G to D7 is the first change to master, because it is in almost every song here. Keep the ring finger in place if you play G with the 3rd finger on the high E string, and lift the others as a group.
For the full beginner chord chart and a strum-along with first strums, see beginner guitar chords.
What are easy guitar songs with two chords?
Skip to My Lou, Mary Had a Little Lamb and Clementine use only G and D7; Drunken Sailor uses Am and G. Two-chord songs are the best way to learn smooth chord changes before adding a third chord.
- Skip to My Lou: G and D7
- Mary Had a Little Lamb: G and D7
- What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?: Am and G
- Oh My Darling, Clementine: G and D7 (3/4)
What are good easy guitar songs for kids?
Frère Jacques, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle, Twinkle and Skip to My Lou are the best easy guitar songs for children: they are short, well known and use one to three chords. A 1/2 or 3/4 size guitar makes the chords easier for small hands.
Switch on kids’ mode for bigger buttons and chord charts, and start the strum-along at 60 beats per minute. A child can strum just the open top four strings on beat 1 while an adult plays the chords.
Why are popular chart songs not on this list?
Modern chart songs are still in copyright, so Classfern only teaches public-domain songs: traditional songs and music by composers who died long ago. The chords and strums you learn here work the same way in any song.
Most songs from the last 70 years or so are still in copyright, so Classfern does not copy their chords, tabs or words. Licensed songbooks and official sheet-music sites are the right place for those. Everything you learn here – chord changes, strumming, reading tab, using a capo – works the same way in any song.
The 12 songs: chord charts
Read each chart left to right, one chord per measure, and strum four down strums per measure (three in 3/4). The strum-along buttons load the song into the player above.
Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)
Skip to My Lou
Mary Had a Little Lamb
What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?
Oh My Darling, Clementine
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Jingle Bells (chorus)
Oh! Susanna
Silent Night
When the Saints Go Marching In
Home on the Range
Amazing Grace
Classfern’s free guitar tools on lessonplanner.info run in your browser. For melodies as tab, see the guitar song tutorials and the guitar tab play-along; for more rhythms, the guitar strumming patterns.
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