12 Easy Guitar Songs For Beginners With A Major Chords
If you’ve just learned an A chord, you are in the right spot to begin mastering it with fun and easy songs! In this blog post, I’ve listed a DOZEN beginner friendly songs which feature an A chord–and not too many other chords–so that you can concentrate on your A chord chops! I’m even including links to the audio and music charts, and even some links to video tutorials. This material is guitar uranium! It’s rare, and it contains lots of power, which you can now tap into.
The A chord is a super common open chord–but it is usually learned weeks or even longer after the even more commonly used G, D, and C chords. And once you learn the A chord, you’ve unlocked the door to a new realm of songs.
The A chord has a good friend–the E chord. They are often found together; there is a super slick and clever way of using a finger slide to change from A to E and vice versa–you can see a video about it HERE. <<<<link>>>>
If you DON’T yet know the A chord (or the E chord), DON’T FREAK OUT! Immediately either click this link for easy online guitar tutorials for beginners or sign up for a lesson or class at NYC Guitar School.
And if you DO know an A, then pick up your axe and sit down on your amplifier, and get ready to play!
Keep in mind:
- Sometimes I transposed the song in order to avoid chords like F, Bb, Qrelative, and Zsharp minor 7th.
- If that means that a chart needs to be transposed, the notes on the song will tell you how many half-steps to transpose the song–sounds tricky, but it is easy, just hit the “transpose +” or the “transpose -” button on the song until you know all the chords.
- And if that means you need to use a capo, the notes on the song will tell you what fret to put the capo on.
- Please note that sometimes the transposed chords are a little simpler than the “real” song. Don’t worry! You can always go back and learn the “real” chords later.
Here’s the list of songs, along with where to place your capo (if applicable) plus links to the song, tutorials and charts.
(And don’t forget–if you want to play more and better guitar, we invite you to join our friendly guitar community at NYCGuitarSchool.com. If you’re not in NYC, you can still get the step-by-step goodness at guitarlessons.nyc.)
***Every once in a while links break…please let us know if you notice a broken one!
Sweet Child of Mine – Guns N’ Roses
YOUTUBE http://youtu.be/1w7OgIMMRc4
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/guns_n_roses/sweet_child_o_mine_chords_176076
TUTORIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHlPHOprV2A ***Note this uses Cadd9 and Gadd5 instead of regular G and C***
D – C – G – D ; A – C – D – D
Rock (1988)
Easy
Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen
YOUTUBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/bruce_springsteen/born_in_the_usa_chords_148158 TUTORIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpmAAmxqBX0
transpose down 2
A – D (no capo)
Rock (1984)
Easy
One – U2
YOUTUBE http://youtu.be/ftjEcrrf7r0
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/u2/one_chords_1398916
TUTORIAL (Oh no, we don’t have a good tutorial to share! Let us know if you find one.)
Em – A – C – D; G – Em – C – G (capo 5)
Rock (1992)
Medium
Man of Constant Sorrow – Soggy Bottom Boys
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH8AqsiF_rs
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/soggy_bottom_boys/man_of_constant_sorrow_chords_1113648 – Transpose up 5
TUTORIAL (Oh no, we don’t have a good tutorial to share! Let us know if you find one.)
A – D – E (capo 8)
Country/Bluegrass (Trad.)
Medium
All I Want is You – U2
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gwahh04Y1Y
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/u2/all_i_want_is_you_chords_477621
TUTORIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSXqFKB6DWM
A – D (tune song up 1/2 step)
Rock (1989)
Easy
Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6hQ9HSKlIE
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/tracy_chapman/give_me_one_reason_chords_702441 – transpose up 3
TUTORIAL (Oh no, we don’t have a good tutorial to share! Let us know if you find one.)
A – D – E – A (capo 9)
Acoustic Blues (1995)
Medium
Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People
YOUTUBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTZ7iX4vTQ
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/foster_the_people/pumped_up_kicks_chords_1032143 transpose down 1
TUTORIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpYkvr5h69E
Em – G – D – A (capo 1)
Indie Rock
Easy
Hard Sun – Eddie Vedder
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx13gLCQxmM
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/eddie_vedder/hard_sun_chords_566461 (transpose +2 or until you see As, Ds and Es!)
TUTORIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TzvxvwdzEo
A – D – E (capo 4)
Acoustic Rock (2007)
Easy
Don’t You Forget About Me – Simple Minds
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/simple_minds/dont_you_forget_about_me_chords_1448722
TUTORIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccbDaSfCk_w
D – Em – D – Em – C ; E – A – D- A ; C – G – D – A (no capo)
Pop (1985)
Medium
Mad World – Tears for Fears
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZvPSpLxCg
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/tears_for_fears/mad_world_chords_47761
TUTORIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iebLDKCE8Xs
Em – G – D – A ; Em – A (capo 2)
Pop (1983)
Easy
No Rain – Blind Melon
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qVPNONdF58
CHART https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/blind_melon/no_rain_chords_57624
TUTORIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1HPls9NkOk
E – D; E – D – A – G – E (no capo)
Acoustic Rock (1992)
Medium
Hey Joe – Jimi Hendrix
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXwMrBb2x1Q
TUTORIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNkRT-ojg-s
CHART: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/jimi_hendrix/hey_joe_chords_1419169
C – G – D – A – E – E – E – E (no capo)
Classic Rock (1966)
Medium
(And don’t forget–if you want to play more and better guitar, we invite you to join our friendly guitar community at NYCGuitarSchool.com. If you’re not in NYC, you can still get the step-by-step goodness at guitarlessons.nyc.)
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