Songs to Learn on Guitar: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced

Learning guitar is incredibly popular due to the instruments range, portability, flexibility and the range of resources that you can use. When it comes to guitar songs, you will want to consider mastering the easier songs first.

Songs with fewer chords are easier to play. The three most popular guitar chords that you should learn are G major, C major and D major. Whilst these are not the easiest chords to learn, they are the most commonly used chords in popular music. With that being said, these songs outlined below are some of the best beginner songs.

Beginner Songs to Learn on Guitar

Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus

This is suggested to be a great song for absolute beginners. It is catchy and the chords used are A and E. It is a song that is great for introducing beginners who are yet to learn or play a song. It is easy to follow and the finger positioning is easy to grasp.

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If you would benefit from a video tutorial instead, click here: Learn Guitar Songs

Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

This is a very popular song, but one that is great for beginners. If you have no experience playing songs on the guitar, this is the perfect one the start with. The main chords used are C, D and G, but the full list can be found below. Given that the song is so popular, you may be able to find other videos on the teaching of this songs, such as the one listed below.

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Click here for a written tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N' Roses

This popular song is great for beginners, perhaps those who have already masters a few songs. It uses the major chords, D, C, G and A, among others. For a full list, access the link below. Some parts of this song are harder than others, but it gives you a chance to further develop those areas and input them with the slightly easier parts.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Let Her Go by Passenger

This song is interesting because you do not need to play the harder chords in order to play the song. Most of them are simple and you would have most likely already achieved them. It is good for a beginner or those who have only practised a couple songs.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Die Young by Kesha

Another great song for beginners, this song uses chords A, D, G and Bm. This common pop song is great for using the basic chords and enhancing your practice around those. It is catchy, making it a memorable song to incorporate into your instrumental learning.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Intermediate Songs to Learn on Guitar

Once you have mastered some easy and simple beginner songs, you will be looking to progress onto some more complicated and intermediate songs. We have provided a list to some of the best songs to learn in order to achieve that transition.

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

This song is great for intermediate learners. It sits on the perfect line where it is a bit too difficult for absolute beginners, but can be easily learnt by those who do have some experience behind them. It has a nice slow tempo that allows you to get used to the chords before playing them at a faster rate.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Every Breath You Take by The Police

This song has a very simple tonal structure, but has particular techniques that are required to play it, which is why we recommend it for intermediate learners. It also requires specific picking that may be difficult for beginners to get the hang of.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

This song is great for intermediate learners as it only uses 8 chords. As with Thinking Out Loud, it has areas that are quite complicated, but with practice, it can be a great challenge for those wanting to learn intermediate songs.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Rolling in The Deep by Adele

This popular pop song is great for testing your intermediate skills. It is easy in terms of chords and the technique that you are going to need for the strumming, but due to the pace of the song, it requires the right amount of timing in order for it to sound correct.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Circles by Post Malone

This song is quite simple and should be an easy play for intermediate learners. It features a one chord progression, but the hard part comes from knowing when to do the chord changes. 

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Advanced Songs to Learn on Guitar

When you feel secure enough to move onto advanced songs, give the following ones a try. They are useful when making that transition into the more difficult songs.

Never Going Back Again by Fleetwood Mac

This is a great song that can be the perfect challenge for advanced guitar players. It is difficult due to the fingerpicking, but once this has been achieved, it can be a great basis for applying the technique to other songs.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Neon by John Mayer

This song can be played in a variety of different ways from beginner to a more advanced method of playing. With that being said, you will need a particular technique in order to achieve it. The chords can also be very difficult to play.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Hotel California by The Eagles

This is probably the easiest one on the advanced list. However, it is incredibly popular with advanced guitar players and is very fun to learn. It features a guitar solo that can be quite challenging, but also extremely rewarding once mastered.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

The solo in this song can be quite difficult to achieve, but the feeling of successfully pulling it off can feel amazing. There are tricky parts that will test you even as an advanced guitarists. Though, if you are up for a challenge, it may be the perfect song for you.

Video: Learn Guitar Songs

Written Tutorial: Learn Guitar Songs

How to Learn Guitar Online

The links that we have supplied are centred towards using the internet to learn how to play the guitar. For some, it may be difficult to learn online as they may require a physical teacher in order to learn. However, with that being said, there are ways in which you can enhance your learning online. Firstly, establish how to play the individual cords and once you have been able to master them, you can then move onto the next step.

Next, determine what kind of online learning is best for you. This can be in the form of written tutorials that will list the cords alongside the lyrics and provide them a step by step guide on how to learn the song. This can be re-read and used to master each section as many times as you want. There are plenty of websites online that allow you to learn new songs.

An alternative to written tutorials are videos. YouTube hosts a massive selection of tutorials that can help you to learn guitar songs. These are great because if you are an audio learner, then they are the perfect way to bridge the gap between in person learning and online learning.

Another edition of online learning is through as structured course, such as Justin Guitar. 

There are many other advantages that come with learning guitar online, as outlined below:

Flexibility

Using online sources to learn guitar means that you are able to access these sources at your convenience. You can fit it into your own schedule, adding to your time management skills. This can mean that there is a better balance between your learning and other responsibilities.

Cost Effective

More often than not, you can access online guitar lessons, visual aids and other forms of teaching resources for free. This means that you can cut the costs of guitar lessons, which can become expensive. Learning the guitar online is an affordable way of being able to learn guitar.

Variety of courses

You can find a large variety of courses, which can be customised to your own learning preferences. The internet is so big that you have so many options to choose from. Whilst it may seem overwhelming, it provides options for every type of learner.

Easy Accessible

Most people will have access to the internet at any time, meaning that online guitar lessons are extremely accessible. You can access them at anytime and any place, as well as fitting them into your busy schedule. The only downside to this is that it is great for people who have internet, but those who don't, cannot reap the same benefits.

How to Learn Guitar Chords Online

As with any guitar lesson, you can use the internet to help you learn guitar chords. This can also be in the form of written or video, but in this instance we recommend using videos, especially if you are a beginner as most videos, if not all, with come with a visual aid, where you are able to watch another play the chord. This visual assist can help you to mimic the chord on your own guitar.

The following videos are some great examples:

8 Guitar Chords You Must Know - Beginner Guitar Lessons

This video covers eight major guitar chords and teaches you how to play each one. The channel, Guitareo, states that all future beginner guitar lessons can be build off this video's eight chord foundation. What's better, is that when you have mastered the eight chords taught in this video, they leave a link to a beginner lesson in their description box, allowing you to move onto the next step of your journey.

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4 EASIEST Absolute Beginner Guitar Chords To Play REAL Songs

This video, created by Lauren Bateman, features a guide for absolute beginners to learn their first four chords. These chords only require two fingers and these four chords that are featured can be used in a wide amount of songs, making the transition into beginner songs much easier. Lauren also has a seven level beginners course that you can find the link to through the link below.

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First 7 Chords To Learn on Guitar

Andy Guitar has created this video to teach you the first seven chords that you should learn as a beginner guitar player. Andy has plenty of beginner resources on his channel which link off to other sources. This involves books, DVD's and his own guitar lessons.

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Guitar Chords

This is a short, but effective video that outlines the main chords for every beginner guitar player. As with most videos, the creator, Guitar Compass, provides free guitar videos for those who would like to use the internet as a way to learn guitar. They also link to their own guitar lessons that are available through their playlist.

This video has gained a massive view count of 13 million (2022).

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Guitar Lesson - How To Play Your First Chord

This video, created by Worship Tutorials, and has gained a huge 15 million views since its release. The channel is dedicated to providing play throughs, tutorials, lessons, gear reviews and leadership insight, making them a great tutorial channel. They also provide a free beginner guitar course, which can be found through the website link below.

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