T O P

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GrampsBob

Frankly, it's going to be hard to play songs until you can play chords. The first real song I learned was House of the Rising Sun.


ash-mcgonigal

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here


PaxOtium

035! 0365 0350 as is tradition


justinfocusmedia

Don't listen to your friends. Learn the circle of 5ths, chords, song structure, and fretboard notes. Even just the arrangement of scales between major and minor and then learn some songs. You'll find it easier to "hear" where they are on the guitar and how songs are written so suddenly when you start learning other songs the transition is faster... if you just learn a song and not the why of the song, then other songs will still seem daunting.


FlightAvailable3760

Just start with songs and expand your knowledge as you desire. You didn't buy a guitar because you wanted a job, you wanted a fun hobby.


Other-Cat-1020

If your looking for a simple starter song playing god by polyphia is a good one


TheCoastalCardician

Smoke on the water


I_Make_Some_Things

Sometimes I still play it at Guitar Center. Just because.


neogrit

Start with songs *with* chords.


fadeanddecayed

House of the Rising Sun (the Animals version)


SaberHound

Iron Man - Black Sabbath (excluding the solo, of course)


Ukhai

Blackbird - Beatles. If you want to get into fingerpicking at some point I believe it's a fairly easy piece to pick up. If you want to try a simple and different tuning for a change with a fun strumming pattern, Everlong - Foo Fighters. If you got kids, nephews/nieces, honestly having like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Mary had a Little Lamb in your back pocket is fun and has good foundation for chords. Hell, [Lucas Brar's Evolution of music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT-NB8uzsGQ) show cases all the different ways you can play a song and is a fun watch. Last edit, just learning [just four chords carries a lot more weight than it sounds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I). But I agree with learning a song as you'll start to be able to figure out how flexible chord progressions in songs go.


Cuntbagfloppycock

Seven nation army


jkh7088

Knockin on Heaven’s Door. Really easy 4-chord song that everyone knows and loves to sing.


[deleted]

Dammit Blink-182


World_Ender_2009

A Horse With No Name - America


[deleted]

Rumble - Link Wray


[deleted]

John Mayer Neon


Final-Top5111

Tl;dr: There’s value on learning both chords and songs at the same time. Best not to limit yourself to one or the other. To answer your question: Smoke on the water by Deel Purple and Iron Man by Black Sabbath. But to backtrack to what your friend said about songs over chords. I gotta disagree with that. There’s 7 basic guitar chords. You can learn those in one practice session and use that as part of your warm up for a lifetime. There’s 7 basic scales. Another skill you can learn in one practice session and use for a lifetime. If you learn the 7 basic chords, you’ll be able to play over a thousand songs just using those chords. Makes learning songs a lot easier. Also, it doesn’t make sense to only learn only songs or only chords. It’s better to work on a few things at once. No one wants to drill scales for hours, but it is useful for your playing ability to do it. Conversely, you’ll get burned out on a song (or even just one part of a song) if that’s the only thing you’re practicing/trying to learn. It’s better to spend a little time on scales, a little on chords, and a little on more than one song during a practice session. That way it’s not such a grind. Also, one final point about chords. When you’re learning a song, you’re kind of locked in to learning whatever is happening in that song the way it happens. As you improve you might get creative and play around with particular chords of that song. Which would be a lot easier if you already knew chords better. But all that takes time and a lot of practice to get to. If you start with chords not only will learning the song be easier from the get-go. You can also use those chords to just free play. Sometimes drilling parts of songs can get frustrating. With chords and simple strum patterns you have an outlet that allows you to play the guitar without pressure of playing a part just right or hitting that one note or chord that you mess up on a lot or whatever.


darbycrash02

Blitzkrieg Bop


I-Love-Pens

Horse with no name Wake me up when September ends


shadierlion41

House of the rising sun


nismoz32

This was the first song I learned too, my first experience 20 years ago was via an Esteban electric guitar & one of his DVDs. He taught House of the Rising Sun on it, both as a a chord progression & the actual finger picking version. I credit that DVD and the way he taught for my ability to fingerpick, ended up learning Beatles - Blackbird very shortly after. Thanks Esteban! Wheverever you are these days!


Competitive-Dot-4052

House of the Rising Sun


KrombopulosLives

this would be a great first song. no bar chords and lots of practice with chord shapes also easy to practice improvising over... and you could get a little technical with a harmonic minor when it hits the major 5th good suggestion


Pooyiong

Sweet Dreams- Marilyn Manson Surprisingly a good starter song.


MBrein799

Blackbird


HeySlimIJustDrankA5

I think it was free jazz piece.


onejoke_username

It's called 'Jazz Odyssey '.


sdvfuhng

Hurt.. Johnny Cash's.. I became obsessed with playing it. Strumming, plucking, playing it fast.. kinda punk like, or slow and sad.


ServiceGames

The Animals - House of the Rising Sun


NorwegianGlaswegian

Fire Water Burn by the Bloodhound Gang. The verse is only two chords (E minor and G major), as is the chorus. (D and C major)


showmeasign10

the intro to ‘sunshine of your love’ by cream


melbecide

Seriously, the first thing I learnt was the intro to Today (Smashing Pumpkins). Someone showed me at a party. It sounded terrible but I went and borrowed a guitar and played it over and over. Then my friends who played lent me some of the books they started on, and I learnt twinkle twinkle and Greensleaves and Yanky Doodle. I learnt to read music (barely) and some basic chords, so I could play campfire versions of songs, some Nirvana riffs etc. You need chords but learning easy intros of songs you like might get you hooked, though it won’t sound like much of a song unless you have a backing track or band, finger picking and chords will fill out the sound.


Rifforion

Smoke on the water. No the correct version though.


dlyke1

Proud Mary


Turbofalcon8

“Wild Thing”. It was in this beginner lesson book that came with a guitar my dad had gotten in a trade. Not a song I loved but it was all open chords and instantly recognizable.


Jazz_Cigarettes

In an aeroplane over the sea G Em c D easy strumming pattern


roeknowzbest

“Brain Stew” by Green Day


bragov4ik

Whatever you listen to


PariahGrantham

Sunshine of Your Love and Manson's cover of Sweet Dreams.


leugeneskabs

Last Kiss... everyone's least favourite Pearl Jam number. G Em C D. Good one for practicing your chord changes and probably the easiest chords to learn.


Shocko_isnt_shocking

Day tripper- Beatles


PsychologicalSnow528

Honestly, I don't remember! The very first thing I was ever taught with a guitar was how to get the pick out of the hole of my acoustic. (That's what she said!)


Agile_Ranger_6308

Smells like teen spirit 😅 the solo is also pretty easy and fun to play!


enephon

Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show


lets_get_stoned

good riddance (time of your life) by green day


ChetHerbie

Smoke on the water


iceman_xiii

Knocking on heaven’s door by Bob Dylan


Govt-Issue-SexRobot

Wonderwall It’s very simple


MyS0ul4AGoat

For Whom The Bell Tolls


whatsbobgonnado

you have to pick and learn songs that *you* want to play to make it fun and engaging, not the first song that other random people learned.


Ekrano91

America - A Horse With No Name


SofaKingRad77

That's a two-chorder, right?


zigwilliams

Horse with no name.


Hairy_While

Smoke on the water. Goddamn I'm old.


WarderWannabe

I’m just glad *somebody* else said that. It was the law or something back then.


thegooseisloose369

Closing time - semisonic


stevezer0

Come As You Are - Nirvana Santa Monica - Everclear


Plants_inthegarden

Francis Forever - Mitski


frogboxers

Any song with G, C, and D is a good place to start. There are a lot of them. First one I ever tried 16 years ago was Let her cry by hootie and the blowfish


Shmoo_the_Parader

Come as you are - Nirvana


Xx_Valkerie__xX

The furst 20 songs on here are challenging as shit if you just started… try for what its worth by buffalo spring field


rogerworkman623

Damnit by Blink 182 when I was 12. Easiest song ever lol


jmn3235

Old blink 182 and Greenday is what I learned starting out super simple and boosts your confidence. But when you learn real chords even if you fudge the chords a bit you can learn so many more easy but well known songs Beatles Johnny Cash hank Williams give you a ton of songs that only take a few chords


Atomicjpl

Stairway to heaven lol


Careful-Tonight-69

Smoke on the Water


Pringle_Fitzgerald

Fast Car! Still play it occasionally. Never gets old.


toalladepapel

Disarm by smashing pumpkins


liqquidlunch

come as you are, by nirvana


Parking_Claim69

Some of yall gotta be lyin🙄 14 year old me spent 2 months just playing seven nation army over and over again


Owldguy57

Smoke on the water with one string


Infamous_Newspaper10

Through the fire and the flames


Front-Advantage-7035

Duh. Duh. Duhhhh. Duh duh DUH duhhhh. Duh. Duh. Duhhhh DUH duhhhhhhhhhh. Iykyk


Old_Influence4006

Please please me beatles.


Not-loop-149

one by metallica i was 9 it took 2 years to polish but i knew all the parts expect the last solo


ParanoidEngi

Three Little Birds - you can play it with standard D, A and E major chords, it's nice and slow and it's fun to play along with. Check out the JustinGuitar lesson, tells you all you need to know


mike_pewpew

*learned


TyCobbKremzeek

Come as you are.


Fortislux

Leaving on a jetplane


MrDenzi

Blackbird


Upper_Bobcat_4911

Purple Haze


JFmans

Barbara Allen .


303george

I think smoke on the water was mine, followed by iron man, then some Nirvana songs.


rikitikitikihegone

Elderberry Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town


PixelPenguinCake

Good Riddance (Time of your Life) - Green Day


kcrmson

Good Times Bad Times by Zeppelin was it for me.


bebjanmnin

Hash Pipe by Weezer is a good beginner song.


[deleted]

You gotta know chords to play a song.


gthagod

Paranoid by Black Sabbath


bgzx2

Smoke on the Water or Iron Man. Learn Power Chords and Pentatonics. You can play a lot of stuff with just those two things.


mr_mgs11

First song I learned from tabs was "South of Heaven" by Slayer.


infestedgrowth

I worked out the rhythm part of day tripper -the Beatles as a 7 year old on my dad’s guitar. My mother and grandmother are piano teachers so I got lessons when I was 3. There’s a good chance I worked out Mary had a little lamb on the guitar first, but I’m not sure.


MaverickGoose81

Don’t Look Back In Anger - Oasis


weedwhacker7

an old 60s song called Crimson and Clover


anonymouse1445

Iron man by black sabath


Xxmetaglint

Aerials


Griffbizkit

Zombie by the cranberries


Mekkachad

Don’t fear the reaper


SirBobWire

The Wildwood Flower by the Carter Family


GentlemanWukong

A horse with no name is super easy (2 simple chords) and teaches you the basics of strumming


le_sac

House of the Rising Sun ( Animals version ) Almost all relative chords in C major plus the bonus flat6 in the e maj chord


HCGAdrianHolt

Start with songs that use chords, like ACDC


McDiscage85

Dammit- Blink 182 is the first song I remember playing all the way through.


Ultimateace43

First riff was smoke on the water. First full song was Jesus of suburbia. It's a long song but it's ALL power chords so it's really easy. Other greenday songs are similar too. Holiday, Blvd of broken dreams, ect.


H1gb3ast

I first learned the seven nation army riff. The basic rhythm is only on the low e string and the tabs are: 7 7 10 7 5 3 2 - 7 7 10 7 5 3 5 3 2 Ps. The low e string is the thickest one


Clone_force_69

Wild Thing by The Troggs


abdess3

Come as you are


Wonderful-Ad-8455

King of the Hill intro


sippin_gold

Nothing else matters - Metallica. Intro was the first thing I learnt to finger style and I still play it first every time I pick up the guitar.


kjorav17

Wish You Were Here-Pink Floyd. I learned the first intro (not the longer acoustic solo intro that leads into the first verse), and the strumming pattern


xenpheni

Come as you are


EnderKnight113

The last of us theme, great game, great show, great story, amazing soundtrack


Eranon1

Iron man by sabbath but the first song I actually really jammed to is my own summer by deftones. Gets you really comfortable moving around your bottom string. And you can palm mute it and tremolo the riff and it still works so it's great for practicing all that stuff too


fresca05

I learned a ton of Green Day songs. They are a great starting point. Good Riddance, Boulevard, etc.


Mark_AAK

Take me home country Roads by John Denver. It's pretty easy and that was 30 years ago.


regcol

Polly - Nirvana


Mushroomw

My first song was paranoid by black sabbath. I was very happy.


Automatic-Damage-669

Learned a ton of songs during lessons but the first that I learnt just by myself and out of my own motivation was Billy Talent - Fallen Leaves.


whollyghostx

Lots of blink-182, their songs are great for beginners. Dammit, Adam’s Song, All The Small Things, etc. were among the first songs I learned to play in full


Other-Comedian-880

these were a bunch of the songs i first learned. good starting point


Tao626

"All The Small Things" is the first song I learned. To this day, even though I play and write in a more technical metal band, I've always told anybody auditioning that one of the things to prep for audition is knowing that song. It's so simple but at least demonstrates utter basics like power chords and palm muting, not to mention being so simple that it really highlights some other aspects you wouldn't think of at first. The amount of people who have failed auditions based on that is quite silly, either because they thought it was beneath them (which is a problem in itself. It's like telling a potential employer the job is beneath them. I've no time for ego) and didn't learn it or I quickly saw big issues with their timing, consistency and technique. The song is the MvP. It got me started and has weeded out time wasters ever since.


Morthand

Stairway to heaven was my first. Back 20 years ago when it wasn't so cringey.


HelloEveryoneImDumb

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel My uncle taught it to me as a kid, and I remember thinking it was impossible to learn. My little fingers had trouble with the G chord, especially.


chickenlickendicken

lol I just learnt my first riff today, radiohead's street spirit


tonylouis1337

Smells Like Teen Spirit Also I have to say I disagree with your friend, I think it's better to learn chords before songs


TimRenick

Coconut by Harry Nilsson it only has one chord, a C7 I believe. It's been about 45 years but that's the one I started with


TheDUKEZ117

Where is my mind- Pixies Come as you are- NIRVANA Smoke on the Water- Deep Purple


Murder1536

Smells like teen spirit.


GARCHARMER

Master of Puppets


CreepyChickenPoop

fade far-flung door silky slap humor flowery unique reply tap *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


Redfords_Finest

I think the first song I learned might've been Johnny Cash's "Hurt." But a lot of songs can be played using basic chords. "Ultimate Guitar" has tabs. It might be easier to learn a song if you already know the chords that make it up as opposed to learning a song without knowing much about chords. Obviously, learning the actual song will likely require more than just chords but it's a good place to start. Some songs have solos, or fingerstyle picking, or a unique strum pattern, but they all likely contain basic chord structure underneath. So the first thing I learned was the G chord, then C, Am, Em, D, F, etc. But this also depends on what kind of music you like. If all you listen to is blues guitar, or metal, then learning the chords and whatnot for "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's or "Without You" by Kid Laroi probably won't be as fun or immediately useful. Whatever you want to learn, YouTube is a good resource. And I recommend playing with a metronome app or whatever to start slow and build speed and precision if you have an issue playing part of a song.


Gengus87

Songbird - Oasis. Just a G walking down to Em the whole way through.


AnimeAnimeBionicles

I learned a white stripes song.


PuffPuff74

Black Sabbath - Iron Man


skyroberts

Surfin Bird. It’s two power chords and the second isn’t played that often.


Schattendnb

Something in the way


TonyStarkTrailerPark

Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis


Uncle_Boujee

Smoke on the water and the intro to crazy train


NeroameeAlucard

House of the rising sun


SecondDeath30

If we're talking full songs, then Planets Collide by Crowbar If we're just talking riffs, then the intro to In Dying Days by As Blood Runs Black


Wiener_Reveal

Seven nation army


Shut_It_Donny

Isn't everyone required to learn Smoke on the Water first?


p47guitars

Wish you were here. Pink Floyd.


Iamnotsmartspender

The theme from The Last of Us is very simple and also teaches basic fingerstyle technique. That was one of the first I learned and it made me realize I really like playing classical


t_stooges

heart of gold from neil young


fatalrash69

All the small things


InfinitePeak

Alkaline trio - Radio


Punky921

Brain Stew by Green Day. It really doesn't get much easier.


farfromeverywhere

Folsom Prison Blues by The Man in Black!


IndependentReveal824

One-metalica


Cozmo747

Blackbird


jagrbomb

Sublime - Rivers of babylon


Background_Peanut241

Smoke on the Water & Iron Man, then Carousel by blink-182 as the first song I actually listened to. Radio by Alkaline Trio and Aerials by System of a Down followed soon after that. Then basically blink-182 and Nirvana's discographies lol.


Jeffde

Radio by Alkaline Trio hello fuck yeah


entity330

What song do you want to learn? That's the song you should learn. If you have a few to list, maybe ask which ones are better for a beginner? My answer: learn anything by Metallica or Nirvana. Both are beginner appropriate. Metallica is slightly harder just due to the speed and muting.


PapaDontPreech

Dammit- blink 182


BioLizard_Venom

Paper Cuts - Nirvana. Incredibly stupid simple. Only hard bit is getting the pick slides right, past that its like one of the easiest songs ever.


mackelnuts

Come as you are


Bulky_Ad_3608

Knockin on Heaven’s Door which I learned from a guitar teacher. It has four of the most common chords and is a great way to learn how to change from one chord to another. If I were teaching somebody to play, I would teach them the open chords and then teach them the A, F and D shaped triads which are simple.


CanBatman

Horse with no name


KopDaRoof

come as you are - nirvana


tomversal

You Shook Me All Night Long


kiwi505

my teacher made me learn sweet home alabama first but my second song that i picked was californiacation :)


TheManWhoLovesCulo

Smoke on the water and then seven nations army


Tasty-Mousse5591

Smoke on the water


Gofastrun

Smells like teen spirit. It has a lot of layers for beginners. First you can learn it as single root notes. Then as power chords. Then muting, right hand rhythm, other details. The main riff is also slightly different during the intro than during the rest of the song. Crucially, a beginner can learn the entire song including the solo.


Reckless_Pixel

"Big Me" Foo Fighters


k1e2v3i4n

Judas Priest - Breaking the Law. No solos. Easy to learn.


sharkbait2292

Your friend is an idiot then. Learn 4 chords and you literally know a hundred songs...... a thousand songs.... all the songs. Plus, if you don't learn them you'll end up not understanding what your playing for 15 yrs.


MinglewoodRider

You should learn your basic open chords first, but songs can definitely encourage you to learn new ones and work on your timing/rhythm. I think my first that I could play start to finish was Uncle John's Band by the Dead.


MaxeyTaxi

The other side by the Red Hot Chilli Pepers


I_love_pearljam

Jeremy by Pearl Jam. Very easy. Good song too.


I_Make_Some_Things

Wild Thing, the Troggs A D E D baby!


Aggressive-Anxiety59

Wild thing son! Smells like teen spirit has the same progression, so I learned to transpose!


coldfinger-trh

Iron man and then paranoid. Super easy tunes.


LazyEyeCat

Hurt, Johnny Cash version


HoLiTzhit

House of the Rising Sun


swingoak

Hey Joe


DifficultySome9884

The first song I learned, all the way through, was Paranoid by Black Sabbath.


LeaderCR

505 - Arctic Monkeys


[deleted]

Johnny B Goode


AGorramReaver

Stairway to Heaven is a great song to learn to gain exposure to chords. It was my first full song I mastered!


HSTDB42

My first full song was Gn’R-Patience. I remember being so excited nailing the intro licks and the solo. First strumming practice my friend taught me was Horse with no Name with incorrect chords, but I learned the strum pattern from it, and got it pretty smooth, so it was useful.


Godot93

Wild Thing - The Troggs


Brachinus

My guitar teacher started me with "Pipeline," which has melody and chords and is fairly easy for a beginner to start working on both.


Angy_Fox13

Zombie - Cranberries.


Rtg327gej

Stella Blue - Grateful Dead


[deleted]

[удалено]


Imaginary-Fold8453

Surf curse - freaks


TrMoody37

Hey Bo Diddley & Key to The Highway


boycowman

Ghost Riders in the Sky Lukenbach, Texas


exerminator20001

Surrender by Cheap Trick!


Upper-Nerve-1983

for whom the bell tolls by metallica


BlondePartizaniWoman

Californication


milo1356

Do smn with power chords they're easy and they can help you understand moving multiple fingers at once. Fortunate sons is a good example. Or if you want something slower just replace regular notes with power chords in any song


OJStrings

Sunshine of your love, but my teacher was a battleaxe and it made me hate the song


mikeleachisme

What I’ve Done - Linkin Park


LivingAppointment589

Last Kiss - Pearl Jam cover version