Strumming is essential for all of us guitarists. There aren’t many better sounds than that of a well-strummed acoustic guitar accompanied by a soulful, engaging singer. Best of all, most simple strumming songs require only a handful of chords that, once you can change between, allow you to play a huge variety of songs.
Every guitarist, acoustic or electric, should learn the following 10 strumming songs (as long as they enjoy them, of course). Once added to your repertoire, this list of songs will be sure to impress your audience and give you more confidence in your guitar playing.
At first, learning any song can be a challenge. You have to deal with learning the chord shapes, playing the chords so they sound clean, the ‘dreaded change’ between chords, playing the correct strumming pattern, and playing it in time.
That’s quite a lot to deal with, but fear not, I have listed the following ten songs in order of difficulty. Remember, at first, no song is easy, so take your time and learn each one if you enjoy them. There are always new skills that can be developed whenever you learn a new song.
Sometimes, these skills are big, such as learning a new and popular strumming pattern, and sometimes these skills are minor, such as learning a new and unusual chord change. Either way, remember that every time you learn a new song, you will be improving as a guitarist.
You can be learning more than one of these songs at a time, just try not to be working on more than two at any one time, and try to learn all the parts for each song and not just the cool part everyone knows!
You will learn a lot about songwriting, structure and the song itself by learning all the parts and then playing along with the original recording and other musicians too.
10 of the Best Simple Yet Stunning Strumming Guitar Songs Every Guitarist Should Know
Sugar-Mountain-Skuret-210312-03 by Markus Thorsen, licensed under (CC BY-SA 2.0)
If you are an experienced strummer, these ten songs won’t be too difficult for you, but I would be surprised if you didn’t learn at least a few new things about your playing and music as a whole once you learn all ten. I have ordered the list of ten in order of difficulty (based on how easily my private students learn them on average).
Number 1 is the easiest, and each one gets harder. Have fun with these 10 best simple yet stunning strumming songs every guitarist should know.
1) The Beatles – Let It Be
2) Oasis – Half the World Away
3) The Troggs – Wild Thing
4) Prince – Purple Rain
5) Daft Punk – Get Lucky
6) Lou Reed – Perfect Day
7) The Beatles – Here Comes the Sun (Yes, you can play this one as a strumming song)
8) Outkast – Hey Ya!
9) Oasis – The Importance of Being Idle
10) Amy Winehouse – Love Is A Losing Game
For more help on improving your strumming, chords, core technique, and the essentials of your playing, you can check out this free mini-course of mine. It’s specifically created for frustrated guitarists age 40+ needing clear and concise lessons, and fast results. Check it out below:
These songs all use great strumming patterns and sound great on electric and acoustic guitar and even the ukulele. Post a comment with the song you would most like me to teach you and I will create a video for the one with the most votes.
[…] If you haven`t played guitar for long and want to learn something a little easier, check out my `Classic Strumming Series`. […]
This was a well thought out list. The chords are not only easy to play, but to easy listen to as well. Koodos!
Queen Crazy little thing called love is great to strum and only 4 chords
That`s a good fun one, Dave. Taught this in my membership programme. Always enjoy a big strummer like this!