Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar
When you consider learning to play the guitar, you may believe you must first master the chords and music theory. You might not realize that you can study the fundamentals of guitar theory while playing your favorite tunes!
So, which songs are the most popular to play on guitar? We all know that different sorts of guitar players have diverse musical inclinations. As a result, we’ve provided you with song selections from many genres and tracks to learn on acoustic and electric guitar.
Well, don’t let the fact that they are beginning guitar tunes fool you into thinking they’re dull. This collection has a fair mix of fast and slow rock ‘n’ roll guitar tracks. They vary from simple three-chord improvements to more sophisticated seven- and eight-chord progressions and are enjoyable to perform regardless of skill level.
Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
Harry has gone from success to triumph in his solo career since leaving One Direction. This song is taken from his second studio album, ‘Fine Line.’ The song is somewhat lighthearted, combining some funky clean guitar work with his usual catchy pop/indie style. It was inspired by the 1968 book ‘Watermelon Sugar.’
As previously said, this has a strong funk influence, so you’ll be doing a lot of arpeggiated hammer-ons with your left hand and clean strumming with your right. The majority of the chords are barred, yet it’s high enough up the neck for a novice to play.
Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar | John Legend – All of Me
This hugely powerful and heartbreaking ballad from John Legend kicks off our selection of simple pop songs on guitar. A beautiful love song inspired by his wife, Chrissy Teigen. This is a song from his fourth studio album, ‘Love in the Future,’ and it was tremendously popular, selling about 5 million copies, receiving a Grammy Award, and having over 2 billion views on YouTube.
This is mainly a keyboard tune, but since you will quickly discover, it is quite simple to adapt the chords defined on the piano to the guitar. Em, C, G, and G chords will be used in their standard open positions here. Strumming will consist of a downstroke on the 1, the & of 2, and the 4.
Radiohead – Creep
Radiohead’s most renowned song is by far “Creep.” Everyone can connect to it, and the words are moving. This is a wonderful first tune to learn if you’re new to rock guitar.
Because it’s such a strong tune, you might believe it’ll be difficult to perform. It features a basic four-chord sequence, so even a novice can play it. This is an excellent tune to practice if you’re learning to sing and play guitar simultaneously.
Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar | Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus – Old Town Road
Hip hop musician Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road was one of the year’s biggest global successes. Billy Ray Cyrus’s live performances frequently featured him strumming a few simple open chords: E, G, D, and C (well, Csus2, really!). But not nearly…
Billy Ray Cyrus plays his guitar using a capo on the fourth fret. This gadget is a clamp that holds the strings down against whichever fret you select, increasing the guitar’s pitch – ideal if you have a higher voice or just need to modify the pitch of a song.
In Old Town Road, Billy Ray performs the shapes you’re familiar with as basic chords but four frets higher. Technically, this means the chord titles are all different, but for now, just remember the E, G, D, and C forms – these are basic chords found in various guitar campfire tunes. What is our recommendation? Purchase a capo. Numerous guitarists make use of them.
Tom Petty – Free Fallin’
Tom Petty is one of America’s most well-known musicians, and Free Falling is one of his most well-known songs. Many people remember this song fondly for various reasons. Many grew up listening to Tom Petty, while others remember it best from a great scene in Jerry Maguire. If you are too young to suit either description, listen to it now because it is fantastic. Another three-chord tune that every aspiring guitarist should master is Free Falling. The chords and overall strumming pattern are not complex.
The timing of the chord changes is something that novices may struggle with. The changes don’t always fall on the beat, which isn’t too difficult, but it may be unfamiliar to most students. It’s occasionally helpful to use a metronome while practicing altering chords between beats. If you don’t have a metronome, try tapping your foot to reinforce the 4/4 sense.
Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar | Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are
This song is a fantastic combination of balladesque piano and vocals, with a soft rock touch from the drums and guitar, all of which combine to produce a feel-good tune unlike any other. This is the first song off his first album, ‘Doo-Wops & Hooligans.’ Despite receiving poor reviews from critics, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for ‘Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and went thirteen times platinum; fans deemed it a success nevertheless.
Although the piano provides most of the harmony here, we can simply transfer those chords to the guitar utilizing the D, Bm7, G, and G progression. Use a capo on the second fret to simplify the chords to hold.
Maroon 5 – Payphone
This song’s accompanying music video, themed as a vintage action movie similar to Die Hard and features guest vocals by American rapper Wiz Khalifa, is extraordinarily professionally filmed and has had over 738 million views. The song was the lead single off their fourth studio album, ‘Overexposed,’ and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
Although presented as a dance/R&B/pop crossover, when they perform this song live, they often do so in a stripped-down version where the acoustic guitar replaces all of the electronic elements, demonstrating that it works just as well as a traditional singer/songwriter piece of music as it does an electronic one.
Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar | Oasis – Wonderwall
Next, we have an incredible classic from the British band Oasis, a favorite among novices since it is so simple to learn and sing to. This is one of Oasis’ most well-known songs, and it was also the first track to reach 1 billion plays on the renowned music streaming service ‘Spotify.’
The ability of Oasis to combine innovative note choices and chord voicings with excellent accessibility is one of its strengths. So, the song and music are still digestible, but there’s always something unique going on that will perk your ear up. For example, the chords in this song may appear easy, but they have some ‘extra’ notes tossed in for spice, which are Em7, G, Dsus4, and A7sus4.
Imagine Dragons – Radioactive
Imagine Dragons are a popular band with a catchy name. Radioactive, one of their biggest successes to date has enjoyed a lot of success in TV/Film usage.
Radioactive is among those songs that remain new and intriguing from beginning to end while delivering very few alterations. But this is fantastic news for us since it’s one of the simplest tunes to play on the guitar.
Four chords are utilized throughout the song and performed in the same order. In terms of harmonic structure, nothing alters from verse to chorus.
The only difference is in the strumming pattern. Before the chorus, the verse begins with a normal pop singer-songwriter strumming rhythm. Although there is a modification in the design, it is just a little one; therefore, it should not be a problem.
Learning songs like Radioactive allows you to practice remaining focused. When a shift is so minor that it is virtually indistinguishable, it is easy to lose concentration and miss it entirely. This tune will keep you focused.
Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar | Daft Punk – Get Lucky
In this Grammy-winning hit by Daft Punk, Pharell Williams’ falsetto vocals and Nile Rodgers’ incredible guitar talents meet. “Get Lucky” was published as the lead single from Daft Punk’s final studio album and became their first US top 10 success.
This ecstatic hymn has a throwback sound that will appeal to individuals who enjoy shaking a leg whenever they have the chance. Rodgers’ funky licks are also enough to put this track on the wishlist of every pop guitarist. While the studio version has a Bm7- D- F#m7- E chord sequence, you may shorten it by adding a capo on the second fret. After that, you’ll play open chord patterns in Am, C, Em, and D.
Ed Sheeran – Photograph
Ed Sheeran created this song while in a long-distance relationship and had to be away from his girlfriend to perform. He ended up creating the song’s foundation in a motel. A fan favorite, it was previously only performed during live performances before being professionally recorded and released as the third single from Sheeran’s album ‘x.’
Although there are numerous instruments in the song, including a piano and a cello, this song began as a solo acoustic/vocal composition and performed best when played in this manner. A capo on the second fret of the guitar is required, and the chords played (in their open positions) are D, Bm, A, and G.
Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar | Twenty-One Pilots – Ride
Here’s a terrific electro-pop tune that dabbles with other genres like reggae and hip-hop. This is a track from the inventive American musical duo Twenty One Pilots’ fourth album, Blurryface. It was a commercial success, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
This song has an intriguing and distinct mood, and as such, it employs several unusual chords that are not easily accessible in conventional tuning. For this song, tune each string down by one-half step (making Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb). You’ll employ the chords G, Am, Em, and C, but they’ll all be one-half step lower due to the altered tuning.
The Beatles – Let it Be
Few bands have had the same influence on the world of pop music as the Beatles, influencing and motivating an entire generation with their distinctive spin on pop and rock genres. This song was inspired by songwriter Paul McCartney’s dream about his mother, who died of cancer when he was a child. This, combined with the band’s difficult internal relationship, resulted in the creation of this song.
This is a pleasant and simple popular guitar tune that any beginner can hop in and learn, and what’s more, if you master it, you’ll be well on your way to learning not only other Beatles songs but many more pop songs in general that flirt with this basic concept. We’ll be using C, G, Am, and F chords.
Popular Songs That Are Easy To Play On Guitar | The Mammas and The Pappas – California Dreamin’
The legendary folk-rock group The Mammas and The Papas’ bright, feel-good song “California Dreamin'” ought to be in every novice guitarist’s repertoire. Michelle Phillips and John Phillips wrote it when longing for the sunny West Coast during a particularly cold and snowy New York City. This peppy favorite from 1965 is a great example of sunshine pop, an easygoing, radio-friendly subgenre with beautiful harmonies.
We recommend it for beginners who want to practice their new skills before going on to more difficult intermediate-level tunes. You should use a capo on the fourth fret and six chords to get start: Am, G, F, E7sus4, E, C. To save time, replace the F barre chord with a simpler Fmaj7. Later, you might wish to listen to The Beach Boys’ version, which has a strong 12-string guitar and a difficult time signature.
Final Thoughts
Once you’ve mastered switching between chords, you may start using a capo and/or a barre chord to travel up and down different keys or riffs if you want to build on your fingerpicking abilities.
Other popular songs use simple chords that you may learn. Consider some Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, or John Denver tunes. The most vital tool is practice because the longer time you can spend playing, the great you’ll be.
In the Deplike Learning App, you can find many popular songs to learn how to play on guitar. The Deplike Learning App uses an interactive learning approach, and on the other hand, it shows you how you improve your guitar playing. The Deplike Blog also helps you to understand guitar playing and music theory. You can find some trivia about your favorite musicians or important tricks about playing guitar on the Deplike Blog.
