10 Best Easy Acoustic Guitar Songs (With Video & Chords)

Bend the Bracket – Chevelle

Thank you to MysticGuitar77 for the use of this video!

A little heavier of a song, but it’s a great one! Originally played on an acoustic, ‘Bend the Bracket’ uses almost exclusively power chords, which you can slide around on the fifth string. One tricky bit of business is that Chevelle plays this on a guitar tuned down one half-step.

If you’d rather not worry about retuning but still want to play with the CD, move everything down one fret. There are no open strings, so you won’t have to worry about that. The one thing that could become difficult with the wrong fingering is the intro. If you play the power chord on the fifth string at the seventh fret (or 6th if you’re moving down a fret), you can reach the sixth string at the eighth fret with your middle finger without lifting the power chord.

Get the chords: Bend the Bracket

Heroin – Velvet Underground

Thank you to Naphthalene Man for the use of this video!

Despite the length of this song, there are only two chords in (most of) it, and one can be played with only one hand. How’s that for easy? Like Chevelle’s song, Lou Reed also has his guitar tuned down a half step. If you already returned for the last song, don’t tune back up yet!

If you can form a D chord with your left hand, you’re already well on your way to playing this entire song. Essentially, he bounces between a D chord in the usual formation and a G which can be played using the open 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings. Of course, if you’re already comfortable with a six-string G chord, feel free to mix it in as you think sounds good.

These chords are generally played whole and then picked with the notes separately while the left-hand stays unmoved on the chord. The only other part of the song is the ending.

The ending is where the other chords come in. However, the chords at the end are played using the same D shape you’ve already mastered. Just slide up to the 7th and 9th frets.

Get the chords: Heroin

Disarm – Smashing Pumpkins

Thank you to Marty Music for the use of this video!

This song remains one of my favorite good acoustic guitar songs. You may see versions of the chords of this song listed as G-Em-C-D. While you could play these chords along with the song with no trouble, it would lack some of the sound of the original. It could also be more difficult.

So in the same vein of keeping it easy and sounding better anyway, let’s look at the real chords. G-Em7-Cadd9-Dsus. If those look more complicated, don’t worry. While they’re more complex from a music theory standpoint, they allow us guitarists to keep two fingers down for the WHOLE SONG!

Go ahead and plant your ring and pinky fingers on the 2nd and 1st strings at the 3rd fret. The rest of the chords can be formed as follows:

Get the chords: Disarm

Dumb (acoustic) – Nirvana

Thank you to Marty Music for the use of this video!

Another song that is all power chords, also known as 5th chords (A5 ). Kurt often played his guitar tuned down a half step like some others here. As with the Chevelle song, the power chords make it easy to play a fret lower if you’re in standard tuning.

Get the chords: Dumb

Bard’s Song – Blind Guardian

Thank you to Thomas Zwijsen for the use of this video!

A metal acoustic song? Absolutely! Some guitarists might claim this shouldn’t be on a list of easy acoustic guitar songs, but it’s actually relatively straightforward with a bit of practice.

I’ve personally had students for whom this would be less difficult than previous songs on this list. That being said, if fingerpicking isn’t one of your strengths, use this as a manageable introduction to improve your skills.

Get the chords: Bard’s Song

One Less Addiction – Embodyment

Thank you to neonguru12 for the use of this video!

This is a hauntingly beautiful song that I’m guessing many of you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing before. It should also be a breeze for most beginners.

The majority of this song switches between these two chords in the seventh position. I like to keep my middle finger planted on the third string at the eighth fret as an anchor between these two chords.

Get the chords: Embodyment

Moorish Dance – Aaron Shearer

Thank you to Wei Hu for the use of this video!

‘Moorish Dance’ is one of the best acoustic guitar songs that’s easy for left-handed players. However, it could be tricky if you have a hard time playing without a pick. If you have trouble stretching for chords and getting all the notes to ring, this song will give your left hand a break. You’ll only need it for six, yes six, different notes.

Beyond that, your right hand will alternate between playing the tune with the thumb and playing some higher accompanying notes with the index and/or middle fingers.

Fun story: I was recently talking with a friend and fellow guitar teacher who had broken a bone in his right hand that connected his ring and pinky fingers to his wrist. He mentioned that some of his older students weren’t convinced he could still be a good teacher without all his fingers. He used “Moorish Dance” as his “show-off piece” to prove otherwise.

Get the chords: Moorish Dance

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes – Crosby, Stills & Nash

Thank you to Marty Music for the use of this video!

Technically speaking, this is actually a set of four songs, but they’re all played as a complete piece of music. They also all use the same tricks to keep it easy on the fingers. This is one of the more complicated songs on this list, but that doesn’t mean it has to be hard!

If you look at a bare and accurate chord chart of this song, you’d see a whole bunch of complicated-looking chord symbols with ‘sus’s and numbers and slashes. While you’re all smart players and probably know what those mean, it’s still more information to process and send to our fingers.

The key here, rather than dealing with all of these complicated and frequently difficult to change between chords, is to make sure you’ve got the tuning right. We’ve already covered songs in this list using an alternate tuning (Eb or half step down tuning), but this is a bit more radical. We’ll leave the highest two strings alone, so they’ll remain at E and B, going down from there, we’ll tune the 3rd string down to E, the 4th string **up** to E (always use caution when tuning higher than standard), and finally the 5th string down to E, to match the 6th string.

If you’ve been keeping track, that leaves us with, from low to high, EEEEBE. From there, follow the tab, since your sense of where chords usually are will be totally out of whack. It’s a whole bunch of open and straight barre chords with a few little licks sliding down the first two strings.

Get the chords: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

Cruise – Florida Georgia Line

Thank you to Learn Guitar Favorites for the use of this video!

If you’re looking for some country tunes, here you go! ‘Cruise’ is another relatively simple one. 

Remember the chords from “Disarm”? Same deal here! If you prefer the sound on the Dsus chord, you can play a standard D shape, but keep that 3rd finger planted! The order is G-Dsus(or D)-Em7-Cadd9. Have fun!

Get the chords: Cruise

Easy Acoustic Guitar Songs: Key Takeaways

Hopefully, you found a few new good acoustic guitar songs on this list, even just something you can enjoy listening to. With a list like this, you’re bound to find a song that suits your strengths and weaknesses.

If you haven’t, this list isn’t exhaustive, so don’t give up! A well-versed guitar teacher is a great resource to find the right songs for you. You’ve got a knack for guitar (everyone does in one way or another), and you have to figure out what it is.

What guitar song are you looking forward to learning? Let us know in the comments below!

Post Author: Kirk R.
Kirk is a classical, bass, and acoustic guitar instructor in Denver, CO. He earned a bachelors of music in Guitar performance at The College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati and he is currently pursuing a masters degree in performance.  Learn more about Kirk here!