Bored with playing the same old songs? Well, in this post I have included 20 easy yet fun strumming songs you are going to love.
Most of the songs in this list require only four chords to play and have easy yet fun strumming patterns. If you know all the basic chords, then you are good to go with these guitar songs. Certainly, these songs will make you strum better on guitar and make you more versed in rhythm.
Note: Take your time and learn each song properly before moving on to the next. Practice chord switching to play a song as smoothly as possible.
To make your work easier, I have linked each song with a video lesson so you won’t have to spend time searching for it.
So, here are 20 Fun and Easy Strumming Songs
1. Wonderwall by Oasis
Wonderwall is without a doubt one of Oasis’s most successful and popular compositions. I’m sure a lot of you have heard it, however, it deserves my top spot because of its awesome strumming pattern.
This one is a great pick if you are especially looking for strumming-based songs. The five chords you need to play this song are Em7-G-Dsus4-A7sus4-Cadd9, which are all open chords and require little finger movements.
At first you may find strumming pattern of this song difficult, but in fact, it is quite simple. Refer the video mentioned above by Justin Guitar to learn the strumming pattern and the chord progression of this song in detail.
2. Redemption Song By Bob Marley
This one is the most popular single by ‘Bob Marley and the Wailers’ from their twelfth album ‘Uprising’. This song differs significantly from his usual reggae-influenced songs. You can play it using the chords G-Em-C-Am and a super simple strumming pattern that goes like D-DUU-DU. In addition, it has an easy-to-follow intro on bass strings of the guitar that you can learn.
3. Complicated by Avril Lavigne
Co-written by Avril and The Matrix, this is her debut single from her debut album ‘Let Go’. It is one of the most successful releases by Avril that sold over 3 million copies worldwide. I am sure you have heard this one.
Starting with a super catchy strumming pattern, the song takes off in a great way. The pattern goes like D-D-DU-DU-D-DU and the chord progression goes as C-Am-F-G with the capo on the 5th fret,
If you prefer not to play with a capo, then the chords will be F-Dm-B-Gm. This progression includes some barre chords. You can try any one of the progressions that you like.
4. Let Her Go by Passenger
Let Her Go is another amazing song with a cool strumming pattern. This song was originally written by Mike Rosenberg aka Passenger for his fourth album ‘All the Little Lights’. The song grabbed many awards and sold millions of digital copies all around the world.
There are two ways you can play this song. One by finger-picking and other by simply strumming. In the video mentioned above, you will find instruction for both. The chords for the song are G-F-Am-C-Em without the capo. For the capo version, the chords will be the same with the capo on the seventh fret.
5. Snuff by Corey Taylor (Slipknot)
This one is one of my personal favorites. A classic by Slipknot from their fourth studio album ‘All Hope is Gone’. There are both electric and a live unplugged version of this song. We will look at the unplugged version, which was a tribute to Paul Gray (Bassist) by Corey Taylor.
To play along with the live version, you have to tune your guitar to C# Tuning. Watch the video above to learn this song in C# tuning. If you want to stay with standard tuning, here is a lesson that you can refer.
6. Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
Another beginner friendly song by Green Day that has a cool and easy strumming pattern. It is one of the signature songs of the band that is written by Billie Joe Armstrong (singer of the band) and composed by the whole band.
The length of the song is 4 minutes and 20 seconds which is quite long but fun to play. The main chords of the song are Em-G-D-A. Most parts of the song require only these four chords, but in some parts, you have to use a C and a B power chord. Watch the lesson above to learn all the parts of the song.
7. Zombie by Cranberries
Zombie is the lead single from the band’s second album, ‘No Need To Argue’. With over 379 million views on YouTube and 543 streams on Spotify, this one is one of the popular on this list.
The song has only four chords: Em-C-G-D and a super-easy strumming pattern that goes like DDD-DUU-DD-DU. For a breakdown of the full song, refer to the lesson above by Steve Stine.
8. You are Beautiful by James Blunt
James co-wrote this song with Sacha Skarbek and Amanda Ghost for his debut album Back to Bedlam. After the release, the song grabbed many awards around the world and made its place in various charts, including Billboard Hot 100. According to Blunt, he wrote the lyrics of the song in just 2 minutes at home after seeing her ex-girlfriend with her new partner.
It is a simple song with simple chord shapes and one strumming pattern that sounds great. The chord progression goes like G-D/F#-Em7-Cadd9 with the capo on the eighth fret. This is how James plays it live. Head over to the lesson above to learn the song,
9. One Thing ( Unplugged ) by One Direction
After finishing third in the X-Factor 2010, One Direction released their debut album ‘Up All Night’ under Simon Cowell’s record label Syco Records. ‘One Thing’ is the second single from this album, which was a hit.
There are two versions of this song. The one that I am talking about is the unplugged version that was released 3 years after the original. As we are talking about strumming-based songs, this is a perfect one that has simple chords and a catchy strumming pattern. Above all, it is easy to play.
10 . When You Say Nothing At All by Ronan Keating
Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz originally written this country song. There are three versions of this song and all three are hits. We will look at the Alison Krauss version which was released in 1995 from her album Keith Whitley: A Tribute Album and Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection.
This is her first single to make it in Top-10 country hit. In an interview with Los Angeles Times, she told, “It’s kinda ticklin’ us all. We haven’t had anything really chart before. At all. Isn’t it funny though? We don’t know what’s going’ on….The office said, ‘Hey, it’s charting,’ and we’re like, ‘Huh?
The great thing about this song is you can play it using only 3 chords i.e., C-F-G. It’s a pretty easy song that you must try on guitar.
11. Creep by Radiohead
Creep is the debut and one of the most successful singles by Radio head which was released in 1992. It is a great song that you can consider adding to your learning list. It has a simple four-chord progression of G-B-C-Cm that revolves all throughout the song.
Except for the G, the rest three are barre chords and I know these are turn-offs if you are a beginner. So, here is an easy lesson of this song with the capo on the second fret.
The song may sound little depressing but I really want you to learn it simply because of its strumming and cool chord progression.
12. Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis
This British pop song is the band’s fourth single from their second studio album ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?‘. There are many hit songs by Oasis but this one is one of their signature songs. They almost performed it in all of their live shows and no, doubt it is one of the easy acoustic guitar songs that you can learn on guitar.
The song is in the key of C and has a cool-sounding chord progression that you can learn by watching the video mentioned above by Marty. The chords for the song are C-F-G-Am-E7-Fm-E7/G# and the strumming pattern goes like D-D-DU-D-D-DU.
13. All Of Me by John Legend
This is great piano-based songs by John Legend that you can play on guitar. In the video above, Marty from GuitarJamz has translated it into an easy guitar song that you can watch to learn.
‘All Of Me’ is one of the hit singles from John’s fourth studio album ‘Love in The Future’ which is a dedication to his wife. It peaked to top positions in many charts including Billboard Hot 100. If you are looking for a song to play for your crush then this it.
The chords progression goes like Em-C-G-D and the strumming pattern that you can use is DD-UU-DU.
14. Riptide by Vance Joy
Riptide is the song that I almost cover in all my posts and I want to add it here too. I personally love this ukulele song that you can also play on the guitar with or without the capo. It is a must learn songs if you are new to guitar.
This indie folk song has broken some serious records and sold over 6 million plus copies worldwide. For sure you are going to love the strumming pattern that has the easiest chord progression.
You can play it without the capo but to play along the original song and to get the real feel of of it, you have to use a capo on the first fret. With the capo the chord progression is Am-G-C and the strumming pattern is DD-U-DU.
15. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
Once again a great alternative rock song that you can easily play on guitar. It is the band’s first song that got nominated for the Grammys and went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time.
In an interview the Dan Reynolds (band’s singer) said, “Radioactive, to me, it’s very masculine, powerful-sounding song, and the lyrics behind it, there’s a lot of personal story behind it, but generally speaking, it’s a song about having an awakening; kind of waking up one day and deciding to do something new, and see life in a fresh way,”
You will find many lessons of this song on YouTube but I recommend you to refer the one by Marty Music that you can find above. The whole song revolves around the same four chords that goes like Am-C-G-D with a capo on the second fret. Here is a no-capo version if you don’t like capos.
16. Something by The Beatles
Released in 1969, this song is one of the most iconic singles by The Beatles and considered one of the most beautiful songs ever created. It is written by the band’s lead guitarist George Harrison. It is the most covered Beatles song, with over 150 artists including Shirley Bassey and Frank Sinatra covering it.
The intro chord progression of the song goes as F-Eb-G-C followed by a small guitar solo that is super simple. Do check out the video lesson mentioned above by Marty to learn the song structure and strumming pattern.
17. Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
This one is a pop single by Billie Eilish that was released in 2019. Though it is a piano-based song, I am still listing it out here because of a cool guitar lesson that I found by Marty Music. In this lesson, Marty has completely translated this song into a cool sounding guitar song.
The strumming pattern that he used in this lesson will grab your attention for sure. The chord progression that he used is D7-E-C#m-D7.for the verse and for the chorus it is D7-E-C#7-F#m. Do give a check, I am sure you will like it.
18. Polly by Nirvana
This acoustic rock song is the sixth track from Nirvana’s second album ‘Nevermind’. They first played this song live before finally recording it at Music Source (Seattle). Later in 1990, it was re-recorded by Bryan David “Butch” Vig. In the recording, Kurt Cobain used his five-string Stella guitar that he acquired from a pawn shop for $20 that barely stayed in tune.
I must say that this is one of the easiest songs in this list because you only need four power chords to play it. Power chords are easy as it requires only two notes to hold. If in case you are not aware of these chords, you can learn it here.
The song is in the key of Em and the chord progression goes like E-G-D-C. Check out the video mentioned above to learn the strumming pattern that is super easy.
19. Let it Be by The Beatles
This is one of the hugely popular songs by The Beatles from their twelfth and final studio album ‘Let it Be’. This is the best song on this list to sing along to while strumming. It is in the key of C and without the capo the chords are C-G-Am-Am7-Fmaj7-F-E-D. The strumming pattern goes as D-D-DU-D-D-DU.
20. Hotel California by The Eagles
Released in 1977, this is one of those acoustic guitar songs that almost every guitarist will recommend you to learn. It is written by Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey and performed more than a thousand times live by the whole band. Though most of its chords are barred, I still want to push you to learn this song.
There is only one chord progression that repeats the whole time throughout the song. It goes as Bm-F#-A-E-G-D-Em-F#. The strumming pattern is as beautiful as the chord progression that goes as DD-UU-DD-DU. Here is the tab of the song that you can refer to.
