5 Easy Songs On Guitar With 3 Chords

We've teamed up with Leigh over at MGR Music to show you 5 easy songs on guitar using only 3 chords. These are 5 beginner guitar songs and easy songs to play on guitar that will help you hone your skills and bust out a few riffs at parties should you need to!

One of the best things about learning guitar is being able to strum along to some great songs. Whenever anyone finds out that you play guitar, or that you’re learning guitar, they will always ask you the dreaded question: "So, what can you play?"... Most new players immediate reaction to this is to freeze and forget everything they know! In this lesson, we are going to look at 5 well-known songs that each contain 3 simple chords. That way, you will never be short of great material to play when that dreaded question appears.

Across the 5 songs in this lesson, we will be using 6 different chords. Most of these you probably already know by this point and you’re probably comfortable with playing them. We recommend watching the accompanying video first and following along: 

In the video, I mention that it’s possible to play a G Major with just 3 fingers like the next image. Both shapes are correct, choose whichever one you are most comfortable with. I prefer the four-finger G chord myself, but if the three-finger version feels better for you, go with that.  

The other version is further down below

This track is a nice simple strum along that uses the A, E and D major chords. The rhythm for this track is straight eighth notes and uses strict alternate strumming.

“1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &”

This chord pattern can be used throughout the songs and while there are other guitar parts going on through the various sections of the studio version, they all conform to this progression underneath.

This rock classic from the Troggs uses the A, D and E major chords once more but the rhythm has more space throughout. In this track, we use some dotted notes. While dotted notes can be tricky to count initially, just think of them as the note length in question plus half its length. A dotted quarter note (As seen on the second beat of each bar) is a quarter note with an additional eighth note in length on the top of it. In both bars you will be playing on the 1 and 2, the 2 being a dotted quarter note. The D is played on the “&” of the third beat and the fourth beat.

“ 1 2 3 & 4 / 1 2 3 & 4”

This AC/DC track is a guaranteed room pleaser. Three simple chords and a whole lotta rock! This riff is simple to play. Start with a strong downbeat on the first beat with the E chord which is sustained for a beat and a half. At this point, we bring some sixteenth notes into play as we play “& a 3” with the D chord. This is held from the third beat for a beat and a half before playing “& a 1” with the A chord. On the studio version, there are some lead licks but those have been left out now to focus on the chords.

“1 2 & a 3 4 & a / 1 2 3 4”

This swampy bluesy rocker from the 1960s is a great fun song to play with some speedy changes to get the fingers moving. For the most part, the rhythm is fairly straight. The first bar is all the D chord, and it’s played with a strum on the first and second beat. The second beat hit is a dotted quarter note. There are further strums on the “&” of the third beat as well as on the fourth beat. The second bar is just straight quarter notes. The back half of this four-bar loop repeats the same two-bar rhythm but only on the D chord.

“1 2 3 & 4 / 1 2 3 4”

There aren’t many places that you’ll be able to play this song without the room bursting into song. This is always a fan favourite whatever the situation. To play this at the same pitch as the recorded version you will need to use a capo on the 2nd fret. This uses a combination of eighth and sixteenth notes. The first two bars are eighth notes with a pair of sixteenths. The third and fourth beats are straight sixteenths except for the beat that overlaps from the final sixteenth of the third beat into the second sixteenth of the fourth. Spend some time counting this one nice and slowly to make sure you’re lining up those held notes in the right places. This can take a little getting used to. Play this one with down strums on the beat and the “&” notes and up strums on any “e” and “a” sixteenth notes.

“1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a”

About The Author:

This lesson was brought to you by MusicTeacher.com, written by experienced guitar teacher Leigh Fuge. Leigh works as part of a community of guitar teachers based across the UK. The news this week is that we have launched a Guitar Lessons Northampton hub, offering in-person guitar lessons to students based in the Northampton area. To find guitar teachers local to you, as well as online guitar lessons, simply visit the MusicTeacher.com platform.

If you enjoyed this article and video, don’t forget to check out PMTVUK on Youtube for more guitar lesson videos.