If you're just learning how to read tabs, playing very easy songs can help you get used to this style of reading guitar music. There are lots of tabs available online, in a wide variety of genres, that are perfect for anyone looking for easy songs to play. Try some of these songs to start off with.
Simple Guitar Tabs
While these songs vary a great deal in style, they are all very easy guitar tabs that anyone can play.
Very Easy Nursery Rhyme Tabs
Nursery rhymes are a great way for parents to connect with their kids. Try playing these songs together:
- Hot Cross Buns - This song is super easy because it allows players to repeat the same pattern over and over. It also has very few notes so you'll quickly get used to the fingering.
- Mary Had a Little Lamb - Mary Had a Little Lamb is an extremely easy song to play. The finger positioning of the notes is very simple, never requiring you to hold down more than one string at a time. Most of the movements in the song require you to do nothing more than slide your finger up and down the fret board holding down the same string for a few plucks. Scroll down to find several other nursery rhyme tunes in the same style.
Simple Gospel Music Tabs
Gospel music serves as an inspiration to people all over the world. If you love this style, grab your guitar and practice with these tabs:
- Gospel by The National - This tab is a very simple western-themed gospel song. It only uses a few chords and they're all basic. The verse backing is a really simple strumming pattern using mostly C, F, G and Am chords, which are some of the easiest to learn.
- Lost Gospel by Madrugada - Lost Gospel is a song that only uses four notes, and they're all 3-string bars. This makes them very easy to play and the picking pattern isn't complicated.
Easy Classic Rock Songs
There are many classic rock songs that are easy to play, which makes them a great learning tool. Since the guitar is such a big part of rock music, it's no surprise that these songs are popular with budding guitarists:
- Creep by Stone Temple Pilots - Creep has a very simple chord progression that is easy to learn and play. It is essentially the same few chords over and over again, with a few different mods on some of the simpler chords. For example, there are some variations on C and E chords, which are both common and easy to pick up.
- House of the Rising Sun by The Animals - This is a popular song for guitar instructors teaching new guitarists. It's a very simple song to play and it features a basic main guitar rhythm that essentially comes down to dragging the pick down the fret board to the beat of the song. This is a great song to learn since it forces students to get comfortable with where their strings are without having to constantly look at them.
Very Easy Pop Tabs
There are lots of newer pop songs that have very easy guitar lines in them. Most of the time the easiest of these songs are acoustic in nature:
- Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T's - This song is essentially the same few notes played over and over again. It's finger-picked on the album, and it's a great song to get started with when you're learning finger picking.
- Hero of War by Rise Against - Hero of War is a melodic song that has a very simple guitar backing which is easy to sing along with. The chords are quite basic and the strumming pattern is not difficult to pick up.
Choose Your Own Style
For anyone looking for super simple tabs there are numerous resources out there to help. Choose the style of music that you're most comfortable with so that you'll truly enjoy the experience of using tabs to make music with your guitar.
