Learn Beginner Guitar Songs from Expert Teachers

Elements of Beginner Guitar Songs

Let’s start by defining what makes an ideal “beginner” guitar song.

These hallmarks make a song easy and approachable, while still presenting a valuable educational opportunity for new guitarists:

• A slow or steady tempo. Slow songs provide you with more flexibility and are less physically demanding. Steady tempos are also better for training your rhythmic abilities.
• Minimal length. A short song can be repeated many times in a single practice session, while longer songs are harder to practice consistently and harder to memorize.
• Repetitive sections. For similar reasons, songs with highly repetitive sections are ideal; repeated segments buy you more practice time and help you master songs faster.
• Basic chords. Complex jazz chords with added 9ths and intentional dissonance are only going to confuse you at this point. It’s better to start with basics like major and minor variants of A, D, and E.
• Minimal dexterity requirements. Your long-term goal might be to perform the solo from Stairway to Heaven perfectly, but this requires finger strength, speed, and dexterity that even the most ambitious amateur won’t be able to meet. Start with songs with lower physical requirements.

Choosing Your First Beginner Guitar Songs

When looking for beginner guitar songs, keep the following tips in mind:

• Choose something you genuinely like. Even if the song doesn’t meet all the aforementioned criteria, it’s worth taking on if you genuinely like it. Songs you love will be more familiar to you, and therefore easier to learn – and you’ll likely enjoy the learning process a lot more. Don’t be afraid to tailor your curriculum to your personal tastes.
• Keep an eye out for alternative arrangements. In many cases, complex songs have alternative arrangements or simpler ways to play them. For example, instead of playing the lead guitar part or a complex fingerpicking arrangement, you could focus on learning an arrangement that focuses on just the basic chords.
• Pick up a reliable tablature (tab). In time, you’ll want to learn how to read and play sheet music. But in the meantime, tablatures (tabs) are a simpler way to learn songs. With tabs, you can see exactly where your fingers are supposed to be. Find a reliable source and select tabs with a high user rating; these will make it much easier to learn beginner guitar songs from scratch.

How to Learn Beginner Guitar Songs

When you’re ready to start learning beginner guitar songs, you’ll want to follow these steps:

• Listen to the song. The Suzuki method and most other modern styles of music education stress the importance of listening as a tool for learning. Before you touch the guitar or try to read a tab, just spend some time listening to the song and absorbing the music. Think about how it feels and how it flows. This is subjective, but it will make it much easier to learn in the coming steps.
• Listen to the guitar exclusively. After a couple of listens, listen to the song again, and this time, try to focus exclusively on the guitar parts. If you can, isolate the guitar tracks or listen to a guitar-only cover version. This will familiarize you with the guitar’s role in the arrangement.
• Read along while listening. Next, read the tab or sheet music as you listen to the song. Follow along as you hear individual notes and chords. Try to see the relationship between the notation and the music you hear.
• Play along to a small section. Pick a small section to start, such as the intro or the chorus, and start playing along with it, reading the tab or sheet music as you play. Don’t try to learn the entire song at once.
• Repeat until you achieve mastery. Repeat this section over and over until you can play it competently. Listen to the music, read the tab or sheet music, and iron out your slip-ups.
• Learn new sections gradually. With one section down, work on another section and try to link them together. Repeat this until you know each section.
• Play everything at once, with and without accompaniment. At this point, you should be able to play along with the music from start to finish. Do this a few times, until you’re comfortable, then try to play the song without music.
• Wean yourself off the tab/sheet music. There are competing schools of thought on this subject, but it can be useful to memorize songs rather than always relying on tabs or sheet music. Gradually wean yourself off the written notation by playing longer and longer sections from memory.

Additional Tips for Learning Beginner Guitar Songs

We’ve also got a handful of bonus tips to get more out of your beginner guitar song learning experience:

• Work with a pro. If you can, try to work with a pro. Taking guitar lessons will help you learn faster and more effectively than if you merely try to teach yourself. Additionally, an expert teacher will be able to identify mistakes and bad habits you might not be able to recognize in yourself.
• Rotate playing new and familiar songs. As you learn more beginner guitar songs, put together a rotation of new and previously learned numbers. Keep familiar songs fresh in your mind and keep challenging yourself with new material.
• Play to a metronome (or with someone else). For a musician, timing is everything. Make sure you practice with a metronome at least occasionally and consider playing along with another live musician if you can.
• Experiment to liven things up. When you’re very familiar with a song, consider experimenting with it. Play it at different tempos, change up the rhythm, or if you’re feeling brave, add your own solo. It will help you get even better acquainted with the music and will keep things interesting as you practice it repeatedly.

Once you have a few beginner guitar songs under your belt, you’ll feel much more confident as a guitarist. You’ll be able to play songs in front of other people and you’ll begin to get a feel for your strengths and weaknesses as a musician.

If you want to keep growing to that intermediate (and eventually expert) level, you’ll need the help of a professional trainer. Our online guitar lessons are perfect for the endeavor! Sign up today and meet your online guitar instructor. Your first lesson is 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed.