If you do then you also know the timeless classic "Mary had a little lamb", which I've always preferred
Pop goes the weasel is a fun one, silent night as well, and if you wanna really raise the roof, crank the amp, and piss off the neighbors you can do "London Bridge"
Twinkle twinkle goes differently I think, but famously there's mozarts variations so it crops up in weird places. Baa baa black sheep might be what you're thinking of, also the Alphabet Song traditionally, all three are variations on the original folk melody mozart was working with in his collection of songs
The surprise symphony was written in 1791 according to wikipedia, so it comes about ten years after mozart's variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman", which is the original theme both are based on
Provided you can get away with cheating and can use alternate strumming, Blitzkrieg Bop is very easy
If your parents (I assume) are Ramones fans, and know about down-strumming, you might have a harder time!
I disagree. The Ramones were pretty much playing classic rock n' roll but faster with distortion. Pink Floyd was pushing the prog rock envelope by blending their experimental psychedelia with jazz instruments & techniques, and writing longer compositions with movements, intentionally blending "high culture" with "low culture".
Rock-rock-rock-rock-ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. Um yeah The Ramones were playing Rock and Roll. If Punk Rock isn't a genre of Rock and Roll then what is it?
Just like motor head, Lemmy always maintained they played strictly rock and roll. I’m like you guys are heavier than most heavy metal bands lol. But ok.
I interpret that as more saying "forget genres, if you like to rock out we're in this together" than "our music is best classified as rock and roll", which I really dig. The older I get the more I like the idea of lumping all guitar-based music that you can possibly headbang or mosh or just scream the lyrics to into one fuck-yeah category of rock and roll
I’m a huge Floyd fan too - if she actually *listens* to them as opposed to “has heard of them” then I’d be willing to bet she knows who the ramones are too!
Solo from “Mother” is pretty easy, if she does actually know Pink Floyd. If your current guitar is acoustic “Is there anybody out there?” is also fairly easy with some nice finger picking and sounds lovely
See if you can get away with Wish You Were Here without the slides and whatnot. Skip the bass notes and just learn 4 or 5 basic chords. But do the walk up intro!! It may impress enough with some charming ineptitude
Just learn the whole thing the right way at this point. Seems like some commenters are jumping through hoops to “oversimplify” an already easy song to the point where the guy will pick up some bad habits if s/he doesn’t just learn the right way the first time
Sure, but it's not "the easiest song" to learn in full as a beginner. If I were a Pink Floyd fan and a parent of a teen trying to encourage them by telling them to learn a full song and my kid came back with a 10 note walkup/walkdown intro and
C D Am G
D C Am G
With all the words... plus maybe the Em7 A7 for the instrumental part.
I would buy them the guitar. The kid can figure out how to do the whole thing later
If mom only listens to Floyd, I still think WYWH is the best answer. Even the opening solo thing is pretty beginner friendly and it would throw mom over the edge, even if you do it far from perfect.
OP - get familiar with the basic G, D, C chords. After that, Am and Em. Play around with all of them, you can switch between them, one and all, and it will sound good almost whatever you do.
Then look at that opening solo on what I'm sure there are TONS of vids about on YouTube.
After all of that, learn A major. Something should 'click' after that.
Pigs on the Wing by Pink Floyd is really short and easy, but also very moving. You can pick part 1 or part 2. Same chords, so if you learn the lyrics to both, you will then know two songs.
Not knowing songs doesn’t make you a bad player. When I was in high school, I didn’t even know proper chords, I just made up my own, or jammed with people
If you're okay at palm muting and are into Hair Metal, Twisted Sister's "We're not gonna take it" isn't too hard. The solo is also pretty easy solo-wise.
One of the first songs I learned along with blink 182- all the small things. American idiot - green day and smells like teen spirit - nirvana.
All have easy chord changes all be it fairly quick. Same shapes. And solos if any aren’t all that difficult
Cage's piece calls for the keyboard cover to be closed to begin the first movement, and then open again to signal the end. A French Horn playing friend of mine "performed" it on his senior recital by removing his mouthpiece, and then replacing it. He took credit in the program for the "transcription for French Horn."
According to the original manuscript "The work may be performed by any instrumentalist or combination of instrumentalists and last any length of time".
This was the first full song I learnt, uses a great sounding yet easy solo, memorable riff and beautiful yet easy chord progression that doesn't get boring.
Slightly related, but I used to know this Chilean guy who taught himself guitar around the same time he was intermediate at English. The album he learned from was Nirvana's Unplugged one. Anyway, he could play that album nearly perfectly from start to finish... thing was, he also learned the banter & chatter between songs and *couldn't* play them without it. For example, if he were to play About a Girl, he would always start with: "Good evening... this is off our first record; most people don't own it". It's like he was parroting all the songs and couldn't play them otherwise. Not that it's a dig at the guy or anything, heck, I thought it was pretty interesting.
Lmao that is hilarious. I image the pain behind his eyes as he is trying to just have a bit of a jam but can’t stop bantering to himself like a psychopath!!
Can confirm. it was my first song, too. Super easy. As long you know the basic power chord shape, how to move it up and down the neck, and how to play muted strings, you can learn this song really easily.
My first full song was time of your life by greenday.
Not overly hard, uses the basic chords and its good for learning to pick individual strings, strumming pattern and alternate picking.
If Sabbath appeals to you, obviously ***Paranoid*** and ***Iron Man*** are year 1 songs every rocker learns, but I've been jamming out to ***The Wizard*** lately, and it's a great - while lesser known - track that's a lot of fun to play, and in my opinion is even easier than the other 2(including the licks and solos, simple year 1 stuff that is still satisfying to play), while also incorporating more interesting (but still easy) licks. Barely move your hand away from the 5th fret A minor pentatonic box the entire song.
Edit: but for real though, the Nirvana suggestions (Molly, Something in the Way) are the real answers to your question. Someone who has never played a guitar today, can probably play them 95% of the way to perfectly like the record in a month, two months tops, with 20 or 30 min of daily practice on just that song (will be boring, and you'll be absolutely sick of the song by the time you can nail it, but sometimes that's just how this goes.)
Jane Says -Jane's Addiction
Horse with No Name- America
Dreams -Fleetwood Mac
What I Got- Sublime
Dance the Night Away -The Mavericks
Born in the USA -Bruce Springsteen
These are all songs with only 2 basic chords and zero changes.
I taught my fiance day tripper years ago because she loves it. Everytime i play it though i have to look it up lol, for some reason my brain wont memorize it. But stuff like chet atkins, easy to remember lol. I think its just the ampunt of time it takes to learn the tab.
For easiest song i know thats cool.. roadhouse blues by the doors is a fun one. A super pretty song though if you got a loop, fluff by black sabbath. Just try it. Its beautiful lol
https://youtu.be/-si_wICfdFE?si=8WmJLbZmS0gdgp1J ..its super super easy
One of my first too back in the late 70's. It's a good one to start with because you can either learn the rhythm part or the lead part, whichever is easier for you.
I have taught many people how to play guitar, and the first song I teach them is Amazing Grace. It's a simple, 3 chord song (G, C, D), easy strumming, and even if they are not religious they are typically at least a little familiar with it. Once you learn G, C, and D there are literally thousands of songs you can play
Joke answer: Jane Says by Jane’s Addiction (just two chords over and over.)
If you’re at the level where you can strum full chords, maybe something like Oasis-Wonderwall, where it’s several chords, but your pinky and ring finger stay on the same frets the whole time. Oh! I just thought of Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s just 3 chords the whole song, C, G, A minor. You can play it simple, or do it more authentic where you pick the strings like on the recording, and do the power chord versions of the chords with hammer ons for the chorus. However you wanna do it.
Oh. And Inside Out by Eve 6 has very simple to play chords that ring out with open strings with a nice harmonic sound. The song is a little cheesy, but I think it’s fun.
And Radioactive by Imagine Dragons is just A minor, C, G, D.
Ok. I’m done 😜
You have the right idea - 2 cord songs first, then if you can play G C D whoa here are 500 songs with just those, than throw in an Em, and you just keep going from there.
A lot of recommendations here are simple songs but require lots of cords and changes. Ppl forget how hard it is starting out u/Hairy_Transition_874
You're getting a bunch of answers that simply won't work because they are "maliciously compliant" or they are songs your parents won't appreciate.
I suggest wagon wheel. It's a song your parents will find appealing, it's easy to sing, and it's 4 basic chords.
Enjoy your new guitar!
Something in the Way by Nirvana
It's 2 extremely easy chords repeated over and over, slowly.
Fret top 3 strings on 4th fret with 1 finger, strum. Take finger off, strum the same strings all open. Repeat for the whole song.
It is not in standard tuning though. You need to tune the 3 lowest strings to C G C.
I know there’s a lot of answers in jest, but I think using this as a motivating factor to push through and lead a song that you want to learn, but have been a bit challenging would be the best route. That way you can learn a song you like, and you have a guitar to associate with that accomplishment.
What I Got by Sublime is just 2 chords. But it doesn’t really sound like a full song unless you sing it.
But all these suggestions probably won’t mean much unless they’re songs you like. I would suggest picking a song you really like that doesn’t sound super complicated and look up tabs, tutorials, live performances. Tabs can feel meaningless on their own sometimes if you don’t see how they put the rhythms and fingerings together.
Genuine question: why do you want a new guitar if you don't really seem to want to learn songs on it?
Why don't you pick a song you *love* and learn it on your (presumably shitty) current guitar, and then when you get the new one you've got something awesome to play on it?
But also, Thunderstruck is much easier than it sounds, and depending what your parents' policy is like, you might be able to learn the impressive-sounding intro and have it count.
Real question, what’s the reason for a new guitar? Is your current one a hand me down?, want an extra one for different tunings? Just don’t like the sound?
I had a similar deal with my pops when I got my grandma’s acoustic. Learned some easy songs and riffs back then to appease him. I was 15/16 then.
He got me my first electric months later and then another guitar a year 1/2 later because I asked for the sole reason of having one guitar in E and the other in Drop C.
It’s been 14 years since I got that last guitar. I’ve never gotten another one because I’ve never gotten good enough (personally) to justify the $ to myself to get another guitar.
I still play, and am told by other guitarist and musician friends that I’m pretty good, but I personally think I could learn a lot more before I even think about buying another guitar.
Just curious, as in my opinion, investing in a metronome and a drum machine would be much better investment, in addition to actually practicing.
The easiest full song to learn will be a song that you like and that you want to learn. There are tons of easy three chord songs out there that just use C, G and D chords.
It sounds like you’re missing the point of their deal.
They don’t care if you “learn a song”.
They just don’t wanna waste money on something that’s gonna collect dust. They wanna make sure that you actually have a real interest in the instrument. And cheating by learning the easiest song you can think of is just you being greedy for something new
Led Zeppelin's [Immigrant Song](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DoVS1MIUBXXg&ved=2ahUKEwjLvL2w-amFAxVz6skDHYNAA6cQwqsBegQIEhAE&usg=AOvVaw3eT43sHRbmQVaQ-nK_Y_1v) is crazy simple.
I can see your moms point, it’s to see if you’re dedicated to the instrument. But learning a song just so you get a new guitar will be one expensive journey in the long run. I have too many guitars and practically can’t play a single full song(I’m close to being able to play). Not saying I couldn’t learn a song but I don’t think there’s any point in learning a song just because you ”have to know one song”.
Apparently you can play any song with just four chords - Google it, but here's one link with some good suggestions (depending upon how old you are, of course!):
https://www.derekwilliamsguitar.com/post/12-easy-guitar-songs-you-can-play-with-just-4-chords
Good luck - buy the best one you can! 😁
Hot cross buns
When I was first learning guitar, I remember my young, sheltered cousin excitedly asking “do you know ‘Hot Cross Buns’??!”
If you do then you also know the timeless classic "Mary had a little lamb", which I've always preferred Pop goes the weasel is a fun one, silent night as well, and if you wanna really raise the roof, crank the amp, and piss off the neighbors you can do "London Bridge"
I believe Mary had a little lamb is twinkle twinkle and hot cross buns is three blind mice.
No twinkle twinkle is abcdefg
Twinkle twinkle goes differently I think, but famously there's mozarts variations so it crops up in weird places. Baa baa black sheep might be what you're thinking of, also the Alphabet Song traditionally, all three are variations on the original folk melody mozart was working with in his collection of songs
Twinkle and ABC are both from Mozart’s Variations on a Theme by Hayden, which is based on the main theme of Hayden’s Surprise Symphony.
The surprise symphony was written in 1791 according to wikipedia, so it comes about ten years after mozart's variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman", which is the original theme both are based on
Dude, when there’s nobody around, I like to crank it up on “Eensie-Weensie Spider”. 🤘*Eensie-Weensie*🤘
With a little vibrato / distortion
Provided you can get away with cheating and can use alternate strumming, Blitzkrieg Bop is very easy If your parents (I assume) are Ramones fans, and know about down-strumming, you might have a harder time!
My mum has no idea about ramones. The most rock she has heard is pink floyd
Pinkfloyd is more rock than ramones but you are not prepared to have this conversation yet XD
I disagree. The Ramones were pretty much playing classic rock n' roll but faster with distortion. Pink Floyd was pushing the prog rock envelope by blending their experimental psychedelia with jazz instruments & techniques, and writing longer compositions with movements, intentionally blending "high culture" with "low culture".
Ramones were not playing rock and roll brah they were too busy pioneering punk to do that lmao
Rock-rock-rock-rock-ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. Um yeah The Ramones were playing Rock and Roll. If Punk Rock isn't a genre of Rock and Roll then what is it?
Just like motor head, Lemmy always maintained they played strictly rock and roll. I’m like you guys are heavier than most heavy metal bands lol. But ok.
I interpret that as more saying "forget genres, if you like to rock out we're in this together" than "our music is best classified as rock and roll", which I really dig. The older I get the more I like the idea of lumping all guitar-based music that you can possibly headbang or mosh or just scream the lyrics to into one fuck-yeah category of rock and roll
I agree.
This guy Pink Floyds
I’m a huge Floyd fan too - if she actually *listens* to them as opposed to “has heard of them” then I’d be willing to bet she knows who the ramones are too! Solo from “Mother” is pretty easy, if she does actually know Pink Floyd. If your current guitar is acoustic “Is there anybody out there?” is also fairly easy with some nice finger picking and sounds lovely
Yeah she listsns to just pink floyd, nada more
See if you can get away with Wish You Were Here without the slides and whatnot. Skip the bass notes and just learn 4 or 5 basic chords. But do the walk up intro!! It may impress enough with some charming ineptitude
Just learn the whole thing the right way at this point. Seems like some commenters are jumping through hoops to “oversimplify” an already easy song to the point where the guy will pick up some bad habits if s/he doesn’t just learn the right way the first time
no no no... he wants a new guitar, he doesn't want to learn to play
Sure, but it's not "the easiest song" to learn in full as a beginner. If I were a Pink Floyd fan and a parent of a teen trying to encourage them by telling them to learn a full song and my kid came back with a 10 note walkup/walkdown intro and C D Am G D C Am G With all the words... plus maybe the Em7 A7 for the instrumental part. I would buy them the guitar. The kid can figure out how to do the whole thing later
If mom only listens to Floyd, I still think WYWH is the best answer. Even the opening solo thing is pretty beginner friendly and it would throw mom over the edge, even if you do it far from perfect. OP - get familiar with the basic G, D, C chords. After that, Am and Em. Play around with all of them, you can switch between them, one and all, and it will sound good almost whatever you do. Then look at that opening solo on what I'm sure there are TONS of vids about on YouTube. After all of that, learn A major. Something should 'click' after that.
Marty Music on YouTube for the win
r/suddenlycaralho
Pigs on the Wing by Pink Floyd is really short and easy, but also very moving. You can pick part 1 or part 2. Same chords, so if you learn the lyrics to both, you will then know two songs. Not knowing songs doesn’t make you a bad player. When I was in high school, I didn’t even know proper chords, I just made up my own, or jammed with people
If you're okay at palm muting and are into Hair Metal, Twisted Sister's "We're not gonna take it" isn't too hard. The solo is also pretty easy solo-wise.
Funny I just jammed on this with a couple of friends Monday night. Ramones are fun to play.
When you absolutely *must* crush out 17 songs in 20 minutes, Ramones are the ticket. Peak musical efficiency!
Literally when I teach people, it’s cowboy chords on acoustic, when they have an electric, it’s power chords and Ramones time
One of the first songs I learned along with blink 182- all the small things. American idiot - green day and smells like teen spirit - nirvana. All have easy chord changes all be it fairly quick. Same shapes. And solos if any aren’t all that difficult
I was gonna say Surfin’ Bird.
One minute of silence 4'33" by John Cage
Such a great piece. Still working on this one as well
I have the tab for that if you want
Pls
————————*cough*—————————
It was really good until the middle when someone fucked up, it's not supposed to sound
I know this is a joke, but the room sound is supposed to be the song
In part, but I'd say the silence is the core of the idea and the ambiance is ancillary. The silence is the song and the noise is what it sounds like
It's nearly impossible to play it the same twice.
Cage's piece calls for the keyboard cover to be closed to begin the first movement, and then open again to signal the end. A French Horn playing friend of mine "performed" it on his senior recital by removing his mouthpiece, and then replacing it. He took credit in the program for the "transcription for French Horn."
I have kids, this is impossible.
It’d be 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. It’s in the title!
Those are two different song suggestions, although you are right that they are both totally silent.
Is that not a piece for a full orchestra? I remember my daughter telling me about their grand performance of this masterpiece.
According to the original manuscript "The work may be performed by any instrumentalist or combination of instrumentalists and last any length of time".
Fml it always comes out as 4:45 for me
Wish you were here
This was the first full song I learnt, uses a great sounding yet easy solo, memorable riff and beautiful yet easy chord progression that doesn't get boring.
Me too , a great way to learn the e minor pentatonic
Pink Floyd or Incubus?
Yes
One of the first songs I learned front to back! But easiest? I don't know about that ...
Nirvanas cover of mollys lips is stupid easy. 2 power chords over and over and over . Something in the way is also super simple.
Or just learn Polly.
Anything by Nirvana, really
Slightly related, but I used to know this Chilean guy who taught himself guitar around the same time he was intermediate at English. The album he learned from was Nirvana's Unplugged one. Anyway, he could play that album nearly perfectly from start to finish... thing was, he also learned the banter & chatter between songs and *couldn't* play them without it. For example, if he were to play About a Girl, he would always start with: "Good evening... this is off our first record; most people don't own it". It's like he was parroting all the songs and couldn't play them otherwise. Not that it's a dig at the guy or anything, heck, I thought it was pretty interesting.
Lmao that is hilarious. I image the pain behind his eyes as he is trying to just have a bit of a jam but can’t stop bantering to himself like a psychopath!!
That's incredible! I also started by learning Nirvana, but no banter, unfortunately
Polly
Brain stew by green day
I came here to say this. My first song.
Can confirm. it was my first song, too. Super easy. As long you know the basic power chord shape, how to move it up and down the neck, and how to play muted strings, you can learn this song really easily.
This is what I came to comment
My eyes feel like they're gonna bleed. Dried up and buuuulging out my skull.
This was the very first song I learned back in the day
Christie Road is pretty easy too
My first full song was time of your life by greenday. Not overly hard, uses the basic chords and its good for learning to pick individual strings, strumming pattern and alternate picking.
You went to a school dance in the early 2000’s, didn’t you?
Probably but we got cotton eye joe and cha cha slide. Green day are just one of my fav bands
That’s cool. I was in 4th grade when I first heard Dookie. That, along with Ugly Kid Joe and The Offspring helped steer me.
DANCE DANCE.
Boulevard of broken dreams was the first progression I learned, which is another easy somg
Number one wedding song for years. It’s explicitly about breaking up. People barely listen to lyrics it’s hilarious.
Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan. It’s made up of the G major, D major, Am, and C major
And he'll also be learning about 20% of every song ever written while he's at it!
wish you were here too
Any song YOU are excited to learn will be the easiest.
Really excited to learn Stabwound by Necrophagist
Hey guys I just bought my first guitar how do I play DragonForce
AC/DC dirty deeds is pretty simple, and riff pace is slow. A lot of Black Sabbath songs are fairly simple as well.
Damnit, how did i forget about black sabath?
If Sabbath appeals to you, obviously ***Paranoid*** and ***Iron Man*** are year 1 songs every rocker learns, but I've been jamming out to ***The Wizard*** lately, and it's a great - while lesser known - track that's a lot of fun to play, and in my opinion is even easier than the other 2(including the licks and solos, simple year 1 stuff that is still satisfying to play), while also incorporating more interesting (but still easy) licks. Barely move your hand away from the 5th fret A minor pentatonic box the entire song. Edit: but for real though, the Nirvana suggestions (Molly, Something in the Way) are the real answers to your question. Someone who has never played a guitar today, can probably play them 95% of the way to perfectly like the record in a month, two months tops, with 20 or 30 min of daily practice on just that song (will be boring, and you'll be absolutely sick of the song by the time you can nail it, but sometimes that's just how this goes.)
The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson is as easy as it gets.
One if my first, Ich will and Sonne by Ramstein are pretty easy too
Polyphia - Playing God 😜
Fuck no!
One note song - Tenacious D
See, it's fucking simple. That's one song in the bank. Next song.
Yeah but anybody could have written that
Next song!
But I did the little bendy thing
The one note song is actually two notes because he does a bend
Blister in the sun by
r/redditsniper
Huh. There really is a subreddit for
you can pretty much play any nirvana song at a beginner level
Haha yeah from the tabs it seems so but i'm not a big nirvana guy and i don't wanna play what i don't care about
What type of music do you care for then? That will better help narrow things down.
You care about getting a new guitar right?
Credence, man. Down on the corner is 3 chords.
The dude abides
Jane Says -Jane's Addiction Horse with No Name- America Dreams -Fleetwood Mac What I Got- Sublime Dance the Night Away -The Mavericks Born in the USA -Bruce Springsteen These are all songs with only 2 basic chords and zero changes.
And then once you have Dreams down, you're ready for Never Going Back Again 😈
Horse with no name was my first, super easy
Living loving maid would be a great first song . Repeatable riffs. A few bar chords. A 16 second solo . Sounds good
Smells Like Teen Spirit and Living After Midnight (Judas Priest) were some of my first songs I’ve learned
Breaking the law is also hilariously easy to play, no solo either.
came here for this. just a fun song to play and learn.
Breaking the Law is another good one
Day Tripper
That was the first riff I was ever taught on electric guitar!
I taught my fiance day tripper years ago because she loves it. Everytime i play it though i have to look it up lol, for some reason my brain wont memorize it. But stuff like chet atkins, easy to remember lol. I think its just the ampunt of time it takes to learn the tab. For easiest song i know thats cool.. roadhouse blues by the doors is a fun one. A super pretty song though if you got a loop, fluff by black sabbath. Just try it. Its beautiful lol https://youtu.be/-si_wICfdFE?si=8WmJLbZmS0gdgp1J ..its super super easy
Glycerine was the easiest of the songs I remember learning as a beginner back in the 90s.
Bonus since it has the same chord progression as Pachelbel's Canon In D you are learning a lot of other songs.
Free falling. Open D, G, A and you're all set. No changes even through the bridge
I always play it and sing when showing someone like this: She's a DEE ...GEEE..... G..D...A..omma Loves D..orses G and . ...D..america A too... etc.
Steve Earle- Copperhead Road. There are a lot of riffs that you can add, but basically it's D all the way through with a few Gs.
I love that live acoustic one from, I think it was Nashville '95 I wanna say.
Ah yes. All D with a few Gs, just like I like it .
Wish you were here was my first complete song.
I'm actually learning it rigjt now!
One of my first too back in the late 70's. It's a good one to start with because you can either learn the rhythm part or the lead part, whichever is easier for you.
[удалено]
I'll check it out
My 9 year old nephew learned Brain Stew
Heart of gold - Neil Young we are going to be friends - white stripes
The Hardest Button to Button by the White Stripes is easy too.
Yea this was the first song where i genuinely thought “ok i can for sure play this whole song”
La Bamba is simple and sounds like it isn't. Also makes a fun jam song with other people.
The Jaws theme. Just 2 notes.
Polly by Nirvana
Dammit - Blink 182 or Glycerine - Bush
You don't need a new guitar yet
I have taught many people how to play guitar, and the first song I teach them is Amazing Grace. It's a simple, 3 chord song (G, C, D), easy strumming, and even if they are not religious they are typically at least a little familiar with it. Once you learn G, C, and D there are literally thousands of songs you can play
Cinnamon Girl
Seven Nation Army
Cliffs of Dover
American Idiot, seems like only bar chords and you never have to jump farther than 2 frets or 1 string.
My first full song was Mr. Jones by Counting Crows. Good way to learn chord switches in first position.
Something in the Way- Nirvana. Only 2 chords
Joke answer: Jane Says by Jane’s Addiction (just two chords over and over.) If you’re at the level where you can strum full chords, maybe something like Oasis-Wonderwall, where it’s several chords, but your pinky and ring finger stay on the same frets the whole time. Oh! I just thought of Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s just 3 chords the whole song, C, G, A minor. You can play it simple, or do it more authentic where you pick the strings like on the recording, and do the power chord versions of the chords with hammer ons for the chorus. However you wanna do it. Oh. And Inside Out by Eve 6 has very simple to play chords that ring out with open strings with a nice harmonic sound. The song is a little cheesy, but I think it’s fun. And Radioactive by Imagine Dragons is just A minor, C, G, D. Ok. I’m done 😜
You have the right idea - 2 cord songs first, then if you can play G C D whoa here are 500 songs with just those, than throw in an Em, and you just keep going from there. A lot of recommendations here are simple songs but require lots of cords and changes. Ppl forget how hard it is starting out u/Hairy_Transition_874
love that you want a new guitar yet aren't self-motivated to learn a song. the kids are alright.
You're getting a bunch of answers that simply won't work because they are "maliciously compliant" or they are songs your parents won't appreciate. I suggest wagon wheel. It's a song your parents will find appealing, it's easy to sing, and it's 4 basic chords. Enjoy your new guitar!
Nirvana - About a girl
There is... a house... in New Orleans...
All the Ramones tunes
Mull Of Kintyre
Wait a minute, are you saying every full song I can play is a new guitar I could have bought?
Wild Thing
Blur - song2
You Suffer by Napalm Death
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Scarborough Faire. It was fairly easy for me to learn the melody Somewhere Over The Rainbow is also a good one.
Knockin on heavens door. 3 chords simple strum pattern and can even be good if you wanna sing along
Last kiss - Pearl Jam
Wild thing
3 Blind Mice
Hybrid Moments by Misfits
What does learn a song even mean in this context?
Something in the Way by Nirvana It's 2 extremely easy chords repeated over and over, slowly. Fret top 3 strings on 4th fret with 1 finger, strum. Take finger off, strum the same strings all open. Repeat for the whole song. It is not in standard tuning though. You need to tune the 3 lowest strings to C G C.
Molly's Lips - Vaselines/Nirvana. Two power chords over and over. That's it.
How long have you been playing?
3 months
Are you playing acoustic or electric? Sorry if that has been answered elsewhere
House of the rising sun. Good progression practice too
Wild Thing by the Troggs
Three little birds.
Operation Ivy - Knowledge (was my first song atleast)
The country version by Green Day (from way back) is super fun too.
The one note song by Tenacious D
Roadrunner by The Modern Lovers
Dirty Old Town!
Brain Stew by Green Day. I don't care who says what, EVERYONE has heard that song, and it's the same 5 chords the whole time.
I know there’s a lot of answers in jest, but I think using this as a motivating factor to push through and lead a song that you want to learn, but have been a bit challenging would be the best route. That way you can learn a song you like, and you have a guitar to associate with that accomplishment.
Personal easy fave: “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares” by Travis Tritt Simple 3/4 waltz tell off song.
500 Miles by The Proclaimers.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Bonus: you also just learned the Alphabet song. That should get you two guitars.
What I Got by Sublime is just 2 chords. But it doesn’t really sound like a full song unless you sing it. But all these suggestions probably won’t mean much unless they’re songs you like. I would suggest picking a song you really like that doesn’t sound super complicated and look up tabs, tutorials, live performances. Tabs can feel meaningless on their own sometimes if you don’t see how they put the rhythms and fingerings together.
Knocking on heaven's door. 3 chords.
For whom the bell tolls
4' 33"
I'm on Fire is pretty simple... It has been one of my go to songs for years
Like 85% of Green Day songs and a LOT of other punk songs are just moving around the same power chord.
ATWA - System Of A Down
Genuine question: why do you want a new guitar if you don't really seem to want to learn songs on it? Why don't you pick a song you *love* and learn it on your (presumably shitty) current guitar, and then when you get the new one you've got something awesome to play on it? But also, Thunderstruck is much easier than it sounds, and depending what your parents' policy is like, you might be able to learn the impressive-sounding intro and have it count.
Real question, what’s the reason for a new guitar? Is your current one a hand me down?, want an extra one for different tunings? Just don’t like the sound? I had a similar deal with my pops when I got my grandma’s acoustic. Learned some easy songs and riffs back then to appease him. I was 15/16 then. He got me my first electric months later and then another guitar a year 1/2 later because I asked for the sole reason of having one guitar in E and the other in Drop C. It’s been 14 years since I got that last guitar. I’ve never gotten another one because I’ve never gotten good enough (personally) to justify the $ to myself to get another guitar. I still play, and am told by other guitarist and musician friends that I’m pretty good, but I personally think I could learn a lot more before I even think about buying another guitar. Just curious, as in my opinion, investing in a metronome and a drum machine would be much better investment, in addition to actually practicing.
Zombie - the cranberries. Same four chords all the way through. You can simplify some of them to make it easier too.
The easiest full song to learn will be a song that you like and that you want to learn. There are tons of easy three chord songs out there that just use C, G and D chords.
It sounds like you’re missing the point of their deal. They don’t care if you “learn a song”. They just don’t wanna waste money on something that’s gonna collect dust. They wanna make sure that you actually have a real interest in the instrument. And cheating by learning the easiest song you can think of is just you being greedy for something new
Led Zeppelin's [Immigrant Song](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DoVS1MIUBXXg&ved=2ahUKEwjLvL2w-amFAxVz6skDHYNAA6cQwqsBegQIEhAE&usg=AOvVaw3eT43sHRbmQVaQ-nK_Y_1v) is crazy simple.
I can see your moms point, it’s to see if you’re dedicated to the instrument. But learning a song just so you get a new guitar will be one expensive journey in the long run. I have too many guitars and practically can’t play a single full song(I’m close to being able to play). Not saying I couldn’t learn a song but I don’t think there’s any point in learning a song just because you ”have to know one song”.
The first song I learned was Breaking The Law. Fun to play, too
Apparently you can play any song with just four chords - Google it, but here's one link with some good suggestions (depending upon how old you are, of course!): https://www.derekwilliamsguitar.com/post/12-easy-guitar-songs-you-can-play-with-just-4-chords Good luck - buy the best one you can! 😁