Five Songs Every New Guitarist Should Know
Easy Songs To Learn In Your First Week Of Playing
Sep 10, 2009
At some point, every musician will admit to the time when they realized they wanted to learn to play an instrument. For Eddie Van Halen, it was the moment he heard the drums on the song “Wipeout.” He later turned to guitar when he discovered his brother was more talented on the drums, and thankfully, Eddie picked up a guitar.
Whether it was watching Angus Young duck walk across a stage or seeing Slash calmly wail out solos with his hair in his face, the reason most musicians get started is the thought “I want to be cool like that guy!” Here are five easily learned songs to get any beginning guitarist jump started;
- AC/DC- “You Shook Me All Night Long.” With an easy to grasp opening riff consisting of three major chords (G, C, and D), and a solo that’s not very challenging and easy to muddle through, this song is one every beginning rock guitarist should know. The majority of AC/DC’s work is simple, with Angus Young’s solo work presenting the challenge to most beginners. This song is one of the exceptions, and is quite learnable in less than a day.
- · Neil Young- “Keep On Rocking In The Free World.” Dirty distortion is a surefire way to hide the flaws of a novice guitarist, and this utilizes it perfectly. Four major chords make up this song (E, D, C, and G), and this song can be learned in just a few minutes. The band Pearl Jam did a wonderful cover of this song, and played it with Neil Young at several live shows, making it a popular song with older and younger crowds alike.
- · Poison- “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn.” One of the definitive power ballads ever, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” contains four chords (G, Cadd, E minor, D, and C). The two solo parts for this song are also relatively easy, but will require a change in sound from the acoustic chords that make up the majority of the tune. The second solo of Poison’s ballad contains some tapping techniques, and will require some time to get comfortable with for a beginner, but the majority of the song can be learned in less than a day.
- · Violent Femmes- “Blister In The Sun.” A party favorite for years, this song by the Violent Femmes runs off four chords (G, C, E minor, D) and has a simply learned intro riff. The song can be played acoustically or with an electric guitar, and will introduce the beginner to ranging their sound from quiet to loud during a song. This song has a true punk rock feel to it, and is challenging for a beginner due to the punk tempo and chord changes. Despite the challenge, it’s a song that is easily learned in an hour.
- · Don McLean- “American Pie.” A classic rock standard, “American Pie” is a learnable, somewhat challenging song for a beginner’s stamina and tempo. The song consists of 10 chords (G, D, E Minor7, A Minor, C, E Minor, A Minor7, D7, A7, A), but the beginner can get away with major chords of G, D, E, A, and D Minor, and still sound fair. This song is a good stamina builder due to its’ length, is easily recognizable, and makes for a good campfire of dorm room song.
The beginning guitarist can quickly have five songs under their belt, more than enough to entertain themselves and others, and to begin a solid practice regimen with. As these songs are easy and recognizable, it makes it more likely to find people to sing or play along with.
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