Easy guitar songs depending how many chords you know
Two to four chords: a list of known songs, Latino and Colombian included, with the progression that's repeated and what you practice with each.
The easiest songs to start with with guitar are those that repeat two, three or four open chords: "Hey how goes" are played with two, "La Bamba" or "Guantanamera" with three, and "Let It Be" or "The Way of Life" with four. What makes them easy isn't just the number of chords: also that changes are slow, that the chords are repeated and that you get to know them well with an ear.
Below you have them organized by number of chords, with the artist or author, the progression that's repeated and what you practice with each one. We don't include letters and progressions are in the most common and comfortable way to play them and when the recording's in another tone we have shown you the capo. If you haven't yet mastered the chords open, start with [guitar's basic chords]](/blog/acordes-basicos-de-guitarra-para-principiantes).
To sum up
- A song is easy if it has few open chords, slow changes and a recurring scrape.
- With Sol, Ree, Mim and Do you can play tens of songs, because many share the same progression.
- The capo allows you to sound at the tone of the recording without changing the forms of the chords.
- First learn the unscattering changes, then a simple scattering and, at the end, that of the recording.
- The Fa soon appears: use the simplified version while working the cebilla.
What makes a guitar song easy
- Few chord and open. Without a beak or with a single chord that can be simplified.
- Slow changes. A cordage per bar, or even every two bars. Two changes per bar demand more.
- A progression that's repeated. If the verse and chorus use the same chords, you learn once and play the whole song.
- A moderate tempo. The very quick songs misplace the changes and the very slow ones put out every mistake.
- That you know her by ear. If you can slow her down, you know how soon the change will come even if you don't count.
- That you can have her singing at that tone. Otherwise, use the top or change your tone before you surrender.
Songs with two and three chords
| Song | Artist or complainant | Chords | What do you practice? |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Hey how's it going." | Titus Puente (Titus Puente), famous in Santana's version | Lam - Ree (at the recording, Lam7 and Re9) | A single shift about a chacha's rhythm |
| "La poslera colora" | Juan Madera and Wilson Choperena | Sun - Re7 (tone changes as version) | Cumbia: tonic and dominant, marking the backlash |
| Eleanor Rigby | The Beatles | Mim - Do | Minor tone and matching clordes |
| Song | Artist or complainant | Chords | What do you practice? |
|---|---|---|---|
| "La Bamba." | Traditional Mexican, popular by Ritchie Valens | Do - Fa - Sun (or Sun - Do - re if you have no Fa) | Fast changes and an energy scattering |
| “Guantanamera” | Traditional Cuba | Sun - Do - re | The I-IV-V progression, base of thousands of songs |
| "Sweet Home Alabama" | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Ree - Do - Sol | A quiet rock with Do add9 (x-3-2-0-3-3) the ring does not move from the second string |
| "Three Little Birds." | Bob Marley | La - re - Mi | The short blow of reggae at 2 and 4 |
| “Riptide” | Vance Joy | Lham - Sol - Do | Agile changes with moved scrape |
| "The black shirt" | Juanes | Mim - Si7 - Lam (Captain at Stretch 2 to sound as a recording) | Your first seventh chord: Si7 (x-2-1-2-0-2) |
| "Happy birthday." | Popular Melody | Sun - Re7 - Do | Rhythm of waltz 3 / 4 |
If a two-chord song looks "very little," remember that the challenge there is another: to hold up the rhythm without accelerating. It's the best place to start the [basic scattering]](/blog/ritmos-de-guitarra-rasgueos-basicos)from the black to the pop pattern.
Songs with four chords
| Song | Artist or complainant | Chords | What do you practice? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let It Be | The Beatles | Do - Sol - Lam - Fa | Your first Fa, simplified or with seedling |
| "No Woman, No Cry" | Bob Marley | Do - Sol - Lam - Fa | The same progression as reggae code |
| "Knockin's on Heaven's Door" | Bob Dylan | Reg / Reg | Slow pounding and clear changes |
| “Zombie” | The Cranberries | Mim - Do - Sol - re | Raking with force and contrast between parts |
| "The Way of Life" | Omar Geles, famous in the voice of Los Diablitos | Sun - Mim - re - Do | Roast with guitar and changes at good rhythm |
| "Stand by Me" | Ben E. King | Sun - Mim - Do - Ree (with the original tone: La - Fa Mim - Rema - Mi) | The progression I-vi-IV-V |
| “Perfect” | Ed Sheeran | Sun - Mim - Do - re (master at 1) | Soft paddle, ideal for pounding |
| “Despacito” | Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee | Mim - Do - Sun - Reg with a cape at 7 (with an original tone: Sim - Sun - Reg - La) | Latino pop scattering and using the capo |
With "Let It Be" come the Fa. While the complete cebilla matures, use the four-string version: index at 1 and second string at 1 and finger at 3 at 3 and finger 3 at 4 at 3. When you wish to step up, follow our guide to [make cebilla]](/blog/como-hacer-la-cejilla-en-guitarra).
When you have an eyebrow
- "Chan chan" (Compay Segundo): Rem - Fa - Solm - La, repeated the whole song. Two cebillas followed, Fa and Solm, in a quiet Cuban son.
- "Colombia tierra dado" (Lucho Bermudez): He's in minor tone and wants several cebilla chords, such as Solm, Dom and Mi. A good challenge for as soon as cebilla changes have been flowing.
A progression, many songs
Did you notice that several songs from the list use the same chords in different order? No coincidence. The musicians number the chords of a tone with Roman numbers (I, IV, V...) and a few combinations appear again and again. When you recognize progression, to learn a new song goes down to listening to what order they are going to.
| Progression | On the Sun | Do | Songs from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
| I - IV - V | Sun - Do - re | Do - Fa - Sol | "La Bamba," "Guantanamera" |
| I - V - vi - IV | Sun - re - Mim - Do | Do - Sol - Lam - Fa | Let It Be, No Woman, No Cry |
| vi - IV - I - V | Mim - Do - Sol - re | Fa and Do and Sun | Zombie, slow. |
| I - vi - IV - V | Sun Mim Do re | Do - Lam - Fa - Sol | Stand by Me, Perfect. |
| I - vi - V - IV | Sun - Mim - re - Do | Do - Lam - Sol - Fa | "The Way of Life" |
An exercise that recommends many teachers: takes progression I - V - vi - IV at Sun, put his pop scrape pattern and try to sing about different songs you know. You'll discover how many they fit.
Colombian and Latino Music: where to start
The traditional cumbia is a great entrance door because many are accompanied with two chords, tonic and dominant, as "La pollera colorá." The challenge isn't at his left but at his right: the accent of the backlash, that in a traditional group carries the llamador. At the pallenato, songs such as "The Roads of Life" move about three or four with an agile binary pulse.
The bambucos and corridors are another story: their harmony usually have more contiguous, with passing and tone changes and their rhythm calls for an accompaniment of their own. If they call you, look at our selection of [Colombian tiple or guitar songs]](/blog/canciones-colombianas-para-aprender-en-tiple-o-guitarra)ordered by difficulty.
How to ride a song in a week
- Listen to her counting. Find out if you are going into 3 (3 / 4) or 4 (4 / 4) and where the chord changes.
- Learn about the changes without a scrape. A hit by chord, following the song, till his left hand arrives in time.
- Put a simple scrape on. Four pounding down by compass with [metronomer]](/herramientas/metronomo) slower than the recording.
- He's a party player. First the chorus, that's usually the most recognizable thing, and then the verses.
- He puts up his tempo and complicates his scattering Just after all that goes out without a break.
- Sing or be late with them. That's the final test: if you can sing while you play, your right hand's already going by itself.
A trick to tone: the capo cuts the ropes and goes up and goes up. If a song looks bad to be singing, try the capo at 3 or 3 with the same forms. If you want someone to help you choose your custom Repertoire, a [acoustic guitar] teacher](/clases/guitarra-acustica) He can put a list up to you as you care and have a level.
Frequently asked questions
What's the easiest song to learn guitar?
One of two chords you know well, as "Hey how goes" (Lam and Ree) or a ponic and dominant cube. If you prefer to start with three, "Guantanamera" (Sol, Do and Ree) is a classic of the first classes.
What do I do if a song has a chord I don't know?
He looks for a simplified version: Fa in four strings, F7M (x-x-3-2-1-0) instead of Fa in some paddes, or a capo that takes the song to tones with open chords. Many songs with Sim, for instance, can be played with coffee and easier forms.
What's the good with the poop?
To change the tone without changing the forms of chords. If you put the poop at 3 and do a Mim, Fa Mim sounds. It's useful to sound as a recording or to accommodate the song to your voice.
Where do I find the letters with chords?
At chord and chord spots there are versions of about everything but many have mistakes. Compare them with the recording and trust your ear: if a chord sounds rare, it's probably bad written.