Songs for beginners

[he.who.forgets]

I'm only a few months into playing the guitar and wanted to compile a list for us beginners of familiar songs that are relatively easy to play. I know there's a ton of them out there but it's kind of hard doing all the digging to try and find them. So, if you're so inclined, list some songs that you think are appropriate for a beginner to learn. Here's a few I've learned or am learning so far:
Pearl Jam - Down
Pearl Jam - Thin Air
Green Day - Good Riddance
Smashing PUmpkins - Disarm

[djjazzy276]

The first song I ever learned to play was Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues by Bob Dylan. Very easy. Another easy Pearl Jam song is Wishlist. Have fun!

[Geert]

If you're looking for easy songs, here are a few:

Pearl Jam : Small Town
Pearl Jam : Last Kiss
Pearl Jam : Long Road
Bob Dylan : Knockin' on Heavens Door
Neil Young : Rockin' in the Free World (a must have ofcourse)
Foo Fighters : Times Like These

Ofcourse there are many more!
Just a tip ... http://www.justinguitar.com/ left column ... "songs"

[SatansFuton]

Satan's Bed is very easy, as long as you don't try playing the lead parts during the chorus, just play rhythm part.

Here are a few others that come to mind, and if any of them have a solo I don't mean that's easy to play, just the main song.

Lukin - Pearl Jam (very simple as long as you can strum fast)
Smile - Pearl Jam
Ghost - Pearl Jam
Sway - The Rolling Stones (don't even attempt the solo)
Come Together - The Beatles
Tyler - The Toadies
The Passenger - Iggy Pop


Anything by Bush. I like them, but they weren't very talented musicians.

[DriftingByTheStorm]

GO DOWNLOAD GUITAR PRO IMMEDIATELY.
Learning Tab From GP is WAY More Intuitive Than Reading Stupid Tab Files.
You Get An Immediate Way To VIEW The Rythm And See All The Parts Interact.

Pearl Jam - Not For You
Doesn't really get any easier than this as a simple Echord fingering based "riff" for almost the whole song.

Ramones - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
Only A Modicum Harder Than Not For You.

Pixies - Gigantic
good little "solo" to get you appregiating notes (on 2 strings only), and nothing but power chords otherwise.

Jane's - Jane Says
Watch this guy's lesson. The tabs all suck for this. it's easy as pie, and shows you how to "mix" between chords and scales while only requiring you to know and fret 2 very easy chords (G and A). [I happen to think this guy is wrong about the chorus though. Try just fretting a normal G chord, then lift your ring finger off of D with your pointer already placed on the C#, lift it off to B, then back to C# on the b string.]

Creedence - Up Around The Bend
Not really a "beginners" song, but its one to "grow into". If all you ever try is songs that are easy to play, you'll never learn nothin new. It will help you learn how to finger efficiently, that little solo is a good way to learn fingering and bends, and the intro riff is probably something you can start off playing. The chorus is a good little chord progression (G-D-A) to learn. Don't forget to start hammering that F# off and on at the D string when you are hitting the A in the chorus ... a little blues line, most tabs leave it out for some reason.

Zeppelin - Over The Hills & Far Away
Really not *nearly* as hard as you think to play the main lick, and a song *every* guitarist should learn ASAP.

Mad Season - River of Deceit
Again, not nearly as hard as you would think, but challenging enough to give a beginner something to practice for a while, I would think. Also not boring as shit (like not for you). Have fun with it.

[LukinFan]

Just a tip ... http://www.justinguitar.com/ left column ... "songs"

I just started learning how to play about 3 weeks ago now, and I'm loving it. I'm using Justinguitar.com and he makes it real simple to play. I'm about one lesson away from beginning to learning my first song - Bob Marley "Three Little Birds" and I'm stoked!

[JOEJOEJOE]

"Breaking the Law" - Judas Priest

[he.who.forgets]

thanks for all the input everyone

[RedmosquitoIA]

The Animals-House of the Rising sun

Green Day and Nirvana have many three chord songs that are a lot of fun to play as well. I suggest you find the songs that you really enjoy listening to and learning them so that you can hear and feel the music that you are playing. Once you get a couple of songs down you will be surprised how many songs have very similar chords and it will open more doors for you.

[jonesjc14]

Great beginner songs start with music from the Beatles (I'm personally not a fan, but they're almost all simple chords). Drifting by PJ is pretty simple too.

Yeah and the power chord songs that Green Day and Nirvana provides as was mentioned. Try to be the first guitarist whose first song is NOT Smoke on the Water!

[DriftingByTheStorm]

Great beginner songs start with music from the Beatles (I'm personally not a fan, but they're almost all simple chords). Drifting by PJ is pretty simple too.

Eight Days A Week is a good beginners song.

Every Little Thing She Does - probably not for drop-dead beginners, but it would be one to grow on. Again, help you learn fingering to pick out the intro riff, learn a few simple parts that involve sliding your finger position (chorus), and the Bm to E to A part going in to the chorus involves a little walk down on the Bm if you want to add it, with the option for some cool alternate picking at the high and low side of the strings.

Help - really nothing but chords, and strummed at a moderate pace. Good little fingering changes in the chorus. Same thing as in Every Little Thing with the Bm having you lift the pointer finger off the B to A on the A string. Changing the G in the G chord to F#, and then you get to hammer on 7th (d on c string) during the E chord at "Won't you PLEASE" ... and then this cool little decending riff leading out of the chorus back to the verse which should have you stumbling for a while as a beginner to learn it.

I have found that not all Beatles songs are very fun guitar songs, because they rely so heavily on studio effects and the combination of a great many very simple (and often non-guitar) parts to create a complicated whole out of very simplistic pieces. If you are looking for straight guitar songs, i think a lot of beatles songs fail in this respect, honestly.

Polythene Pam is another good beginners song, though.

[DriftingByTheStorm]

I hate to point to songs that SUCK for beginners,
but
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
is pretty pathetically easy.
lol.

[DriftingByTheStorm]

Ok.
Songs that do NOT suck.

This one is, again, not for drop-DEAD beginners but you can grow in to it.
No crazy solo to skip, no parts too hard for you.
Fun song, great chords, really nice.

Led Zeppelin - Hey Hey What Can i Do
make sure you use THAT tab version, because there is one based around an E chord that sucks dick (and is flat wrong, imho) and a BUNCH of other ones that use non-1st-position chording to do the G, E and D chords ... which makes no fucking sense to me.

Knock your self out, impress your friends.
Its fun.

[DriftingByTheStorm]

AC DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
is also pretty easier to play.
Easier than you may think.
EVEN the solo.

Have at it.

You can't fuck it up worse than these two piles of shit:
Celine Dion ruining it with some other waste of breath

Shania Twain making you want to kill ACDC

... sigh.

ACDC with Steven Tyler -- A Slight Redemption
rofl

[DriftingByTheStorm]

Free Fallin' - Axl Rose w\ Petty version

Easy as fucking pie.

1 guitar is playing these chords
F Fsus4(?) and a plain old C chord
1 1
1 1
2 3
3 3
0 0
x x

Second guitar is Capo on 3rd Fred
just playing D - G, G - D - A
if you want to get "advanced" you can hammer on and pull off 7 to 5 on the "A" chord (really a C) when you get to it.

ROCK THE FUCK OUT.