Easy Guitar Songs - Three Vital Tips

Is there any such thing as Easy Guitar Songs for the beginner? Of course there is. They are the songs that you like and want to learn how to play so you expend a lot of time and effort to master them eventually. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a country song, a rock song or a popular song – you will learn to play acoustic guitar quickly if you learn songs that you like. For me, when I was learning I leaned towards acoustic blues guitar songs especially Hendrix and more recently Clapton and Stevie-Ray.

But before you jump into your favorite guitar songs here are three simple but invaluable tips for getting your guitar playing career underway and a few songs under your belt that will build your self esteem and give you a sense of accomplishment and competence. Every small success fuel will keep you going and build your skill level over a period of time and eventually you will be able to play any song with relative ease.

Tip One: you need to learn and master a minimum of three chords

When you first pick up a guitar you will begin to learn chords. A chord is two or three notes played at the same time. You need to frame the chord on the fret board properly and find the sweet spot so that the strings do not buzz. Three very easy and common chords are the G major, the C major and the D major chord. These three chords together allow you to play a number of popular songs such Sweet Home Alabama, Bad Moon Rising and Wild Thing.

Add to these chords the A minor, E major and F major and you will be able to play House of the Rising Sun recorded by the Animals in 1964. Before we get into that lets look at the second tip. 

Tip Two: you need to learn and master the transition between these chords

Smooth chord transition is an important skill to develop for every beginner. Chord transition can be done using the pivot finger and/or the guide finger technique. The guide finger guides the fingers from one chord to the other. The guide finger remains on the fret board while the other two fingers lift off the fret board and re-frame the next chord. 

With the pivot technique one finger remains in place on the same fret during the transition to the next chord. For example when changing from a G major to an E minor, the forefinger remains in place while you shift your middle finger into position for the E minor and remove your third finger from the fret board. This assumes that you use your first, middle and third fingers to frame the G major chord.

Tip Three: you need to learn and master the art of strumming in time

The best way to learn how to strum is to observe someone doing it. But first here are a few basic tips to remember. Relax your body and both your hands and always relax the hands after a good session; shake the tension out of your hands. I used to massage my hands after every session. If you have a metronome, set it to tick at 60 beats per minute. Once you have framed your chord, and then strum in time down then up in time with the metronome. Don’t worry if you don’t have a metronome, you can always watch a large clock. Strum from the wrist and from the elbow. Practice practice and more practice.

My playing career started when I was nine and progressed quickly because watched, listened and played songs I wanted to learn - every single day! It also helped that i lived in a household with older siblings who played. Regardless of your circumstances, you can learn to play easy guitar songs if you following the three simple tips: learn and master at least three chords, learn to shift between these three chords and learn how to strum in time!