The 10 First Songs You Should Learn on Guitar

Young woman playing an acoustic guitar outside. — Quốc Bảo/Pexels

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Updated on 05/02/19

If you're new to the guitar, you are probably anxious to learn some songs. Focus on ten of the simplest songs you can learn to play on the guitar. Although you can play any of these songs on any kind of guitar, this list was chosen with the acoustic guitar in mind.

01

of 10

Free Fallin'

"Full Moon Fever" album cover. — Photo from Amazon

This Tom Petty classic is a good place to start, as you only need to move a couple of fingers around to play the entire song. Although "Free Fallin'" is played with a capo, you can safely play this song without one.

02

of 10

Leaving On A Jet Plane

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If you can play the G major, C major, and D major chords, you've got all the tools you need to tackle this John Denver classic.

03

of 10

Wish You Were Here

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Although the opening acoustic guitar solo is probably too tough to tackle right away, learning the main "riff" of this Pink Floyd song should be fairly straightforward.

04

of 10

Horse With No Name

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This America song was at one point a song that almost everyone knew how to play — including people who didn't know how to play guitar. This song is about as simple as it gets.

05

of 10

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

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You may know the original Bob Dylan version of this song, or the Guns n' Roses cover. Both versions are easy to play. A few simple chords are all you'll need to strum along with this one.

06

of 10

Wonderwall

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This Oasis song uses a few simple chords. The strum may be a challenge, but you should be able to learn this one pretty quickly.

07

of 10

House of the Rising Sun

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If you know this very old folk song, you probably know the recording by the Animals, which features some slightly more advanced picking. The chords, however, are pretty straightforward, although they do include the F major chord.

08

of 10

Wonderful Tonight

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The chords for this Eric Clapton song are simple, and they change slowly. Once you've mastered the chords, you might even want to try playing the lead guitar part of this song.

09

of 10

Brown Eyed Girl

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This is a nice and easy song by Van Morrison that you should be able to learn the chords to quickly. Once you get the hang of the chords, you can tackle the signature opening guitar riff.

10

of 10

Heart of Gold

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This legendary tune from Neil Young's classic 1972 album "Harvest" is simple to play on guitar, but it sounds great. "Heart of Gold" mixes chords with a very simple note pattern.