There is a long way from being an enthusiastic guitar beginner to mastering this amazing instrument, but our 10 easiest famous songs to play on guitar can be a good stepping stone on that path.
Contrary to the popular belief, most famous songs are not so difficult to play. The simplicity in music doesn’t have to be bad, and the simple songs are often those who stuck the most. The simplest notes combined often have the catchiest result. Just think of drum intro in Queen’s “We Will Rock You”. It can be pulled off basically by a toddler, and still, it stands as one of the most recognizable and famous intros in modern music.
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For people who are not familiar with musical instruments, all those catchy sounds can seem very hard to pull off. But, after you master the basics of an instrument (guitar in this case), you’ll see that with a bit of practice and dedication, you can play them very close to the original. However, if you want to stick to playing an acoustic guitar on trips and parties, check out our list of 10 easiest acoustic guitar songs to play.
To get our list of 10 easiest famous songs to play on guitar, we took the 500 greatest songs of all-time list made by Rolling Stone magazine as our starting point. Thanks to my music journalism and guitar playing experience, I’ve managed to handpick the 10 songs that fit the both criteria, being famous and being easy to play on guitar. So tune up your guitars and let’s play along with our list of easiest famous songs to play on guitar.
10. Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
To master this famous song, you only need to catch the intro and the verse. After that, everything is smoother. The same rhythm and strumming go along through the entire song. You can use E, G, C, B chords, but it is easier to go with tab instructions that can be found on this link.
9. Rockin’ In The Free World – Neil Young
Whether you like the original Neil Young version or Pearl Jam cover, Rockin’ In The Free World is a fun song and really easy to play. You will just need the basic Em, D, C and G chords with some A chord variations. The key here is in the strumming, so the best thing is to play along with the song until you get the full grip. You can find some helpful instructions and the chords here.
8. Redemption Song – Bob Marley
Although, it can be more demanding to play this Bob Marley classic if you use all the chords he uses in the original version, the beginner-friendly version with Em, Am, C, D and G chords is just as accurate. The song is slow, so you can practice your strumming while singing along. You can find the chords here.
7. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
If you do a survey, probably 3 out of 5 guitar players will tell you that this was one of the first songs they’ve learned to play. This is due to the song uplifting guitar parts that can be easily played even by a beginner. The strumming is simple and includes E, A, G, C chords. Solo will be a lot bigger challenge, but it is also manageable. If you are not so good with chords, here are the tab instructions.
6. Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
Yes, even you, as a guitar beginner can play one of the most recognizable riffs in rock music. After you practice playing the easy riff that stands as a key element of the song, the rest will be a piece of cake since you only need E, A and B chords. You can find the instructions here.
5. With Or Without You – U2
We will continue our list of 10 easiest famous songs to play on guitar with a slow one. If you like ballads or just want to impress girls by playing on the romantic card, start with this U2 song. It features D,A and G chords combined with Bm barre chord. Once when you get a grip on a strumming pattern, you’ll stroll through the song. Here are the chords.
4. Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf
Maybe you wanted to play this song, but it sounded too complicated? Well, it is not. You only need to use Em chord for verses and G, A, E chords for the chorus, in that order. On the bridge, you mix it all together. Simple as that. For proper chord distribution, check out this link.
3. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley
This one has it all. Catchy rhythm, it’s a true classic, famous all around the world and uses only 2 chords; E and A. Song’s faster strumming can be challenging, but once you adapt to it, you’ll know to play the whole song, since it is repetitive. For chord distribution, use this link.
2. Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones
You want it punk, easy and loud? Say no more, Blitzkrieg Bop is your song. Legendary The Ramones decided to keep this one simple, and you can even play it using power chords only. You will need A, D and E chords for this one. Plug your guitar into an amplifier and wake up your neighbors. Here are the full instructions.
1. House Of The Rising Sun – The Animals
In my opinion, House Of The Rising Sun is a fitting conclusion to our 10 easiest famous songs to play on guitar. Although you will need to use a bit more chords, including Am, D, E, F, it is more than suitable if you are making your first guitar steps. The song is slow paced, repetitive and presents and awesome opportunity for you to practice chord change. For details, click here.
