# Simple 3 Chord songs for Guitar beginner **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445 "2006-10-05T23:22:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/1 "2006-10-05T23:22:15Z")
My guitar teacher has requested we start finding some simple songs to learn with the idea being that we are more likely to stick with guitar if we like the songs. The chords we have learned so far are A, D and E. Can you recommend any easy to learn songs that are catchy and fun? I’m going to head to the music store on Saturday to see if I can pick up a book of tabs but any suggestions would be welcome. Oh and I am very beginner! Just had my third lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/2 "2006-10-05T23:33:15Z")
Those chords are all you need to play the greatest garage-rock song of all time, “Wild Thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/3 "2006-10-05T23:35:28Z")
Wow. Tons. You lookin’ for 3-chord rock, 3-chord country, 3-chord Broadway musical hits? Name your genre, there’s tons of 3-chord-only songs. ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/4 "2006-10-05T23:50:19Z")
Margaritaville D A G and A7 ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/5 "2006-10-06T02:16:03Z")
Learn the E as a bar chord and you can play every song by The Ramones. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/6 "2006-10-06T02:24:42Z")
You can start doing 12 bar blues in the key of A with those. Once you have the basic feel down you can change the rythym and tempo and have lots of tunes available to you. Making them into seventh chords (those are traditional blues chords) is pretty easy in the key of A, even if sevenths are probably not the next chords they’re planning to teach you, unless blues is your thing. If you learn a 5 note A minor pentatonic scale as well it’ll be a year before you run out of things to do. Let me know if you want a more info. Larry ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/7 "2006-10-06T03:52:55Z")
I am assuming that you learned some variants of the A, D and E chords, specifically major and minor. Assuming you like rock the following are pretty easy to learn. Fly By Night by Rush is a standard, most people like it and it is pretty easy. Back in Black by AC/DC, another three or four chord song that is pretty easy to learn. Smoke On the Water is the standard that every guitarist learns really early for a reason. Great riff and it is way easy to play. I Don’t Know by Ozzy is fairly easy and if you are going to play rock you need to practice pedal tones. Just for fun you ought to tell your teacher that the next song you want to learn is Tumeni Notes by Steve Morse or Mediterranean Sundance by Al Di Meola. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Fredescu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/73ab20/32.png) [@Fredescu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredescu)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/8 "2006-10-06T04:29:18Z")
There are sooo many possibilities. It’s really a matter of your own taste. A couple of songs I learnt when learning those chords were Beck’s “Fuckin with my Head” and Dinosaur Jr’s “Freak Scene.” E D A is the chord progression for the verse of Beck’s “Fuckin with my Head”. The chorus uses those chords plus G. D Em A is the chorus of Dinosaur Jr’s “Freak Scene”. Em is just an E without the index finger. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/9 "2006-10-06T12:04:12Z")
[Nigel] Dm is the saddest chord… [/Nigel] ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/10 "2006-10-06T12:36:37Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Jim] My guitar teacher has requested we start finding some simple songs to learn with the idea being that we are more likely to stick with guitar if we like the songs. The chords we have learned so far are A, D and E. Can you recommend any easy to learn songs that are catchy and fun? I’m going to head to the music store on Saturday to see if I can pick up a book of tabs but any suggestions would be welcome. Oh and I am very beginner! Just had my third lesson. [/QUOTE] Louie, Louie - A D E D What I Like About You by the Romantics - E A D A (there’s more to it than that, but for a beginner, you’re fine) Rock n’ Roll by Zep - A D E (again, more to it, but them’s the chords) Johnny B. Goode - A D E - you’ll learn the riff later - just find the groove… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/11 "2006-10-06T12:40:42Z")
Neil Diamond made a good living writing songs with those three chords: “Cherry Cherry”, “Thank The Lord For The Nighttime”, and many others. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/12 "2006-10-06T12:46:07Z")
Keep Your Hands To Yourself by The Georgia Satellites uses your 3 chords in the same pattern as Johnny B. Good, but slower. Crossroads by Cream also uses these chords. You can play any 12-bar blues in A using these chords as well. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/13 "2006-10-06T19:18:30Z")
**Wordman** Actually, that 3rd chord in “Louie, Louie” is an E **m** - a subtle but nonetheless significant musical distinction. And as **Fredescu** said, there’s no problem learning the Em chord. Just lift your index finger. And of course there’s the great garage band favorite “ **Gloria** ” by the **Shadows Of Knight** which goes E, D, A . Play with the pick as close to the bridge as possible if you want to sound like the recording. Of course, “Them” had their version of “Gloria” but the Shadows of Knight had the definitive “garage” rendition. Do _not_ confuse the garage band song “Gloria” with the 1985 Laura Branigan recording called “Gloria”. These are 2 completely different songs and have _nothing_ in common. (except for the title I guess). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/14 "2006-10-06T23:24:30Z")
[QUOTE=Crotalus] Keep Your Hands To Yourself by The Georgia Satellites uses your 3 chords in the same pattern as Johnny B. Good, but slower. Crossroads by Cream also uses these chords. You can play any 12-bar blues in A using these chords as well. [/QUOTE] Hey, if Crossroads only uses three chords, how hard can it be? (-: ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/15 "2006-10-06T23:50:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] Hey, if Crossroads only uses three chords, how hard can it be? (-: [/QUOTE] Honestly? Not that hard at all… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/16 "2006-10-07T03:45:49Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] Honestly? Not that hard at all… [/QUOTE] Nothing is really that hard… AFTER YOU SELL YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL!!! ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/17 "2006-10-07T12:06:23Z")
Wow, thanks for all the ideas guys. We’ve learned Hey Jude and our new song this week is Heartbeat (?). I’m still very slow at switching between chords but perhaps a more varied song would help. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/18 "2006-10-07T12:16:15Z")
you really got me by the kinks should only have 3 chords ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/19 "2006-10-07T18:18:28Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] Nothing is really that hard… AFTER YOU SELL YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL!!! [/QUOTE] I don’t know, I bet your gospel tunes would suck ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-3-chord-songs-for-guitar-beginner/375445/20 "2006-10-07T18:28:30Z")
[QUOTE=China Guy] you really got me by the kinks should only have 3 chords [/QUOTE] I think it has four. The main riff has two, then the main riff is transposed up a step (adding a third, new chord), and then the original main riff is up a fifth, adding two more chords–so five chords in total, by my count.