Category: Easy Guitar Songs

Ben E. King had a huge hit with this in the 50’s. In fact, it was such a big hit that the chord changes are sometime called the 50’s progression, as it fueled so many classic pop/rock songs. The song was inspired by the spiritual “Lord Stand by Me”, has over 400 recorded versions, and was used in a 1986 film by the same name. It’s a great song to play with others and at sing-alongs as it’s so popular. If you can learn the C, Am, F and G chords, then you can learn how to play Stand By Me on guitar.

1. Listen to the song in the video above so that you are familiar with it.
2. Get the guitar chords and lyrics for an easy version of Stand By Me in the key of C. All you need do is to repeat the chords below, with an easy strum of “down, down/up, down, down”.
   
3. Watch the video below to see how to play the chords and chord progression. It is good to use a metronome (as found in the eMedia Guitar Toolkit) to help you keep a steady tempo.

Watch this video from eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar, which uses the eMedia Animated Fretboard to make it even easier for you to see how to change between the D and G chords.

eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar also helps you master common guitar techniques like palm muting and barre chords, which are used in the middle section of Stand By Me’ and in many other rock, pop and country songs. It also includes Jam tracks to help you learn lead guitar and other great guitar songs like Tired of Waiting for You and You Really Got Me (Kinks),  All Right Now (Free) and others.

Intermediate Version

If you would like to learn how to play Stand By Me’ on guitar with the same chord voicings as Tom Petty, then you will need to use slightly more difficult chord fingerings. His version has the guitar with a capo at the first fret and uses the E, Aadd9, and Bsus4 chords. as seen in the video below.

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) shows a softer side of Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong than the punk anthems he is known for. The band’s producer, Rob Cavallo, had the great idea to add a string arrangement which adds a great Beatles-like dynamic to the track. Often referred to as Time of Your Life, it was an international hit and even had success in the Country charts.  It’s an easy guitar song to play that’s popular at high school graduations, reunions, funerals and other events where people like to reflect on their experiences.

1. Listen to the music video above so that you remember how it Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) goes.
2. Then grab the guitar chords for Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) and lyrics. The song basically only uses G, C, D and Em, which are easy beginner guitar chords.  Note that you can also use a Cadd9 and Dsus4 in the beginning to make it sound more like the recording. Simply substitute these for wherever you see a C and D chord in the music. Also if you need it, here’s a  lesson on how to read guitar chords.
3. Watch the video below to see how to play the chords and chord progression. It is good to use a metronome (as found in the eMedia Guitar Toolkit) to help you keep a steady tempo.

Watch this video from eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar, which uses the eMedia Animated Fretboard to make it even easier for you to see how to change between the D and G chords.

eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar also helps you master common guitar techniques like palm muting and barre chords, which are used in the middle section of Free Fallin’ and in many other rock, pop and country songs. It also includes Jam tracks to help you learn lead guitar and other great guitar songs like Tired of Waiting for You and You Really Got Me (Kinks),  All Right Now (Free) and others.

This song is a timeless Van Morrison hit, enjoyed by generations old and young. Originally released in 1967, the song is a staple in classic rock radio (with over 10 million US radio air plays) and always popular at jam sessions and parties. It’s definitely a great song for any musician to know. To learn how to playBrown Eyed Girl on guitar, all you need to know are three easy chords.

1. Listen to the song in the video above so that you are familiar with it.
2. Get the guitar chords and lyrics for a great, easy version of Brown Eyed Girl. It’s great that such a popular song uses the standard, easy, open G, C and D chords you see below. Here’s a  lesson on how to read guitar chord charts just in case you need it to read the guitar chords below.
   
3. Watch the video below to see how to play the chords and chord progression. Try to use a metronome (such as the one in eMedia Guitar Toolkit), so that you can keep a good rhythm going.

Watch this video from eMedia Guitar Method, which uses the eMedia Animated Fretboard to make it even easier for you to see how to change between the D and G chords.

Learn How to Play Guitar Faster with Award-Winning Guitar Lesson Software

eMedia Guitar Method is the award-winning guitar lesson software that uses interactivity to help you learn to play guitar faster and easier. You see songs and exercises on an Animated Fretboard with an interactive guitar score that can even show you when you aren’t playing the correct note. You get over 180 beginning guitar lessons designed by Kevin Garry, Ph.D., that cover how to play chords, read guitar tabs (guitar tablature) and sheet music, plus you learn over 70 easy guitar songs including hits like Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and Rock’n Me by Steve Miller.

That Opening Guitar Lick

The guitar lick used int he song is a common country-style part used in many songs. It is essentially the same lick, just starting on the different chords in the progression. Watch the video below to see how it works.

This song was a big hit from the Oasis album  (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? album. According to the songwriter Noel Gallagher, the song describes “an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself”. To learn how to playWonderwall on guitar, all you need to know are five easy chords.

1. Listen to the song in the video above so that you are familiar with it.
2. Get the guitar chords and lyrics for the easy version of Wonderwall. The music indicates to use a capo at the 2nd fret to put it in the key of F#m like the original. The fingerings you use are still easy though, and are the standard open Em or Em7, G, Dsus4 and A7sus4 chords with a Cadd9 used in the Bridge (as seen below). Remember that the capo is optional, too. Note that the G chord below is different than in the sheet music, to make playing transitions from D to G easier.
3. Watch the video below to see how to play the chords and chord progression. It is good to use a metronome (as found in the eMedia Guitar Toolkit) to help you keep a steady tempo.

Watch this video from eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar, which uses the eMedia Animated Fretboard to make it even easier for you to see how to change between the D and G chords.

eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar also helps you master common guitar techniques like palm muting and barre chords, which are used in the middle section of Free Fallin’ and in many other rock, pop and country songs. It also includes Jam tracks to help you learn lead guitar and other great guitar songs like Tired of Waiting for You and You Really Got Me (Kinks),  All Right Now (Free) and others.

Intermediate Version

If you would like to learn how to play Free Fallin’ on guitar with the same chord voicings as Tom Petty, then you will need to use slightly more difficult chord fingerings. His version has the guitar with a capo at the first fret and uses the E, Aadd9, and Bsus4 chords. as seen in the video below.

Margaritavilleis the defining song of Jimmy Buffet‘s career. Reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977, it also hit #1 on easy listening, and #13 on country charts as well. The song is also ranked 234th on the RIAA list of  Songs of the Century. The song was a mix of two subjects that included a drink he found at Lung’s Cocina del Sur restaurant in Austin, Texas, and his observance of the first wave of tourism into Key West, Florida. It forever made him the voice of those wanting to live the island live. To learn how to play Margaritaville on guitar, all you need to know are three easy chords and steady strum.

1. Listen to the song in the video above so that you remember how it goes.
2. Get the Margaritaville guitar chords and lyrics. This version shows you an A7 chord, but that is optional. You can just play an A chord in it’s place if you wish.The fingerings you need to know are for the standard open D, A, A7 (optional) and G chords. Note that on the original record, they sped up to the tape, so that the song sounds like it’s in E flat (Eb). But if you see Buffet in concert you can see that he plays it in D. 
3. Watch the video below to see how to play the chords and chord progression. It is good to use a metronome (as found in the eMedia Guitar Toolkit) to help you keep a steady tempo.

Watch this video from eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar, which uses the eMedia Animated Fretboard to make it even easier for you to see how to change between the D and G chords.

eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar also helps you master common guitar techniques like palm muting and barre chords, which are used in the middle section of Free Fallin’ and in many other rock, pop and country songs. It also includes Jam tracks to help you learn lead guitar and other great guitar songs like Tired of Waiting for You and You Really Got Me (Kinks),  All Right Now (Free) and others.

Intermediate Version

If you would like to learn how to play Free Fallin’ on guitar with the same chord voicings as Tom Petty, then you will need to use slightly more difficult chord fingerings. His version has the guitar with a capo at the first fret and uses the E, Aadd9, and Bsus4 chords. as seen in the video below.

Wild Thing was written by James Wesley Voight, (better known by his stage name Chip Taylor) who is an American songwriter also known for his song Angel of the Morning. Wild Thing was a big hit for British band The Troggs in 1966, but also was played by other famous musicians including a great version by Jimi Hendrix. To learn how to play Wild Thing on guitar, all you need to play are three easy guitar chords.

1. Listen to the song in the video above so that you remember how it goes.
2. Get the chords and words for Wild Thing. It is an easy guitar song that only uses A, D and E. It sounds great just using easy power chords, regular open chords or the Hendrix version uses an Asus4 chord instead of the standard A chord.
3. Watch the video below to see how to play the chords and chord progression. It is good to use a metronome (as found in the eMedia Guitar Toolkit) to help you keep a steady tempo.

Watch this video from eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar, which uses the eMedia Animated Fretboard to make it even easier for you to see how to change between the D and G chords.

eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar also helps you master common guitar techniques like palm muting and barre chords, which are used in the middle section of Free Fallin’ and in many other rock, pop and country songs. It also includes Jam tracks to help you learn lead guitar and other great guitar songs like Tired of Waiting for You and You Really Got Me (Kinks),  All Right Now (Free) and others.

Intermediate Version

If you would like to learn how to play Free Fallin’ on guitar with the same chord voicings as Tom Petty, then you will need to use slightly more difficult chord fingerings. His version has the guitar with a capo at the first fret and uses the E, Aadd9, and Bsus4 chords. as seen in the video below.