Pandemic Playlist: Top 5 easy songs to learn on your guitar to strum away those quarantine blues
Hey there, once again, beautiful people! With the ongoing coronavirus lockdown in full effect, most people have decided to entertain themselves at home by bingeing on TV shows and catching up with all the latest music releases. And if you love music, chances are that you have already purchased a musical instrument like a guitar, in the hopes of maybe pulling off your own Stay At Home concert someday. So if you've been dying to figure out how to play some of your favorite tunes on the guitar, we've got you covered today.
We've prepared a list of our Top 5 guitar songs that are so easy to practice, you'll be able to perform them within half an hour, guaranteed. The songs require minimal knowledge of music theory and employ some extremely basic finger patterns, so even amateur musicians and shy noobs will be able to play them with style and confidence. All you need to know is that a guitar chord contains two or three musical notes, usually strummed at the same - we'll show you which songs have the easiest chords to pull off in the list below. So grab your guitar and let's get started on today's entertaining pandemix.
Pandemic Playlist - Easy Guitar Songs
'Horse With No Name' - America
Let's kick off the first part of our journey with this lovely American classic from 1971. It's a soothing, lilting guitar tune that is popular and beloved, as well as being quite easy to play. This entire song just contains two guitar chords, both of which can be played with just two fingers - that's really all there is to it. The chords in question are Em and D6/Add 9/F#, but don't let the complicated long names fool you, it's much easier to play it than to say it. All you've got to do is train two of your fingers to move together and then apart in sync with the song, and you'll be on your way. Here's a handy guitar tutorial to get you started - best of luck.
'Sweet Home Alabama' - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Once you've got the hang of that relatively simple two-chord song, let's up the ante slightly by taking on the challenge of this 3-chord classic from 1974. While it might seem slightly hard at first to synchronize your fingers to work together, you'll be able to make solid progress within a day if you really work on training the muscles in your fingers. The added benefit of learning three-chord songs is once you've mastered the timing of this vintage hit, you'll be able to play other songs that use the same chords, like 'Sweet Child of Mine' by Guns N' Roses for example. So grab your guitar and get ready to rock the tutorial - it's so easy that the supermodel Cara Delevingne can even play this on guitar behind her head.
'Zombie' - The Cranberries
This immortal classic from 1993 by the Irish rock band The Cranberries will go down in history as one of the most anthemic choruses ever. And what's even more music to our ears is the fact that it features some of the easiest chord fingerings you're ever likely to get your hands on. Even though the song contains four chords, a step up from our previous three-chord outing, they're so ridiculously simple to play that you can perform this track by just using two fingers. Check out the sweet guitar tutorial video and you'll soon be singing "What's in your head" all day long.
'Wonderwall' - Oasis
This evergreen song from 1995 launched hundreds of Britpop classics into the limelight and made this track a staple feature at thousands of house party singalongs. What makes this four-chord smash hit so easy to play is the fact that you're only ever moving two fingers on the fretboard, while your remaining two fingers stay anchored in the same place the whole time. And once you're comfortable with playing four-chord songs, there are literally hundreds of songs you can play with just one simple chord progression. So now if anyone ever asks if you know how to play 'Wonderwall', you no longer have to say "Maybe..."
'Nothing Else Matters' - Metallica
After all that finger-aching work, we saved a special treat for you to round up this guitar tutorial pandemix. 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica is famously one of the most epic acoustic guitar songs to have ever been recorded, and there are plenty of beginner guitarists who have worked hard to learn it ever since it was released in 1991. But the reason it made it to our list is because the intro to this song doesn't require any finger work at all - all you need is one free hand to pick the notes! James Hetfield of Metallica famously composed this song on the guitar with one hand while engaging in a phone conversation with his other hand. It doesn't get easier than this guitar tutorial - try it out and see for yourself.
Pandemic Playlist is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained instead of feeling drained while you're isolated at home. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day!