Whether you want to play sweet nursery rhymes for your toddler at bedtime or play Happy Birthday for your child at their next celebration, having a list of easy guitar songs at the ready is a great choice.
We found 20 easy beginner guitar songs for children that you can use to entertain and delight your child in any situation. Plus, we’ve also added the chords used in each. Keep reading to check them out.
Here are the List of Easy Guitar Songs for Kids:
1. “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”- This is one of the most famous and most sung bedtime lullabies by parents for their children. Most children should be able to recognize this song instantly, and it’s one of the most straightforward songs to learn by the children on the guitar.
The basic chords required are- G, C, D7.
2. “The ABC Song”- The famous alphabet song, which we all learn in our kindergarten and preschool, is a great nursery rhyme and an easy-to-teach guitar song for children. If you are a preschool teacher who teaches the alphabet, you can also teach your children this easy-to-learn guitar song. For beginners, the fingerpicked method is easy to learn and teach the children.
The chords required are – D, G, A.
3. “Are You Sleeping?”- Frere Jacques is a famous French nursery rhyme used in different languages worldwide. It is one of the most straightforward nursery rhymes to learn on guitar. There are different methods with varying chords, but the easiest version contains just one chord.
The chord used is – C.
4. “Happy Birthday to You”- Yet another famous and easiest song to sing and learn on guitar. The best part is the children as well as the adults, and both are well versed with the words of the song. This makes it very easy to learn and play the guitar.
The song is concise, and the chords are simple- C, G, F.
5.”Baa Baa Black Sheep”- This is a classic nursery rhyme that’s sweet and short. The melody is similar to the song- Twinkle twinkle little star and also to the ABC song. Thus, it is easy for the children to play the guitar.
The three basic guitar chords needed for this, one of the easy guitar songs for children, is- G, C, D.
6. “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”- Another very lively and animated nursery rhyme we all learn at kindergarten.
This is a fun-filled and very easy guitar song that needs only three guitar chords- G, C, D.
The fun fact about this song is that along with learning this easy guitar song for children, the teacher or parents can involve the children in other activities like dance, etc., along with singing the song.
7. “Mary Had a Little Lamb”- Very few people know that this ever-famous nursery rhyme is based on an actual event. It has several versions and tells a nice beautiful story for the children to picture.
Although the song needs two basic chords while learning this, one of the very easy guitar songs for children is- C, G.
8. “Wheels on the Bus”- This is yet another favorite children’s song and is sung in many countries. It also has many translated versions, English being the most popular. It has mainly seven verses, yet it is one of the easy guitar songs for children to learn.
This song has a simple structure, and the chords used are- D, A.
9. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”- This is a very short and easy-to-learn children’s song. This makes it easy for it to be played on guitar by the children. This also has the added benefit of playing the guitar and learning to imitate rowing boats.
The chords used are- C, G.
10.”Humpty Dumpty”- This is a very famous nursery rhyme, where the song’s lyrics talk about a character known as Humpty Dumpty, which resembles an egg. There are many theories about the origin of this famous song. children know the lyrics well; the song is short and easy to learn on guitar.
It is a great exercise, needs practice, and uses the guitar chords- A, D, E.
11. “Five little Ducks”- Another sweet and easy-to-play guitar nursery rhyme, which makes the children learn about numbers and counting.
The chords used are- F, C, C7.
12. “Let it Go”- This Disney song became famous among all ages, especially children. This song has a compelling message, which the children love to sing and learn to play on guitar. It has six chords and one strumming pattern, making it one of the easiest guitar songs for children.
The chords are- Em, C, D, Am, A, and G.
13. “Riptide”- This is a pop song with four open chords and two easy strumming patterns, making this song easy for the children to play. This guitar song has no barre chords, which means the children can learn it really easily. Advice, make your child play it on acoustic guitar; it sounds perfect.
The chords are- Am, G, C, Fmaj7.
14. “London Bridge”- It is one of the classic evergreen melodies, known to children as well adults of all ages. It has easy lyrics and a very catchy and attractive melody. It has repeated notes and chords, making it one of the easy guitar songs for children to learn. Unfortunately, only one guitar string can be used along with the chords- G and D, to play this song.
15. “If You Are Happy and You Know It”- This is another nursery rhyme, taught in preschool along with some interesting hand actions and dancing moves- clapping your hands, tapping your toes, tapping the shoulders, etc. This is an easy and interesting song to be taught to children to play on guitar, as the children love this song. It has easy chords- G, D, C.
16. “Hey, Soul Sister”- It is an upbeat song, has a beautiful melody, and is an easy song to learn on guitar by the children. It uses 4 chords- C, G, Am, and F, and one easy strumming pattern.
17. “Hot Cross Buns”- This is a famous nursery rhyme and easter song in the west. Although the song melody is slow, it is a very easy song to learn on guitar. The song is played with chords- G, A.
18. “Baby Shark” – This song has a groovy tune and an easy-to-learn catchy melody, and the children’ lyrics are straightforward to understand. People of all ages know this song, and the chords used are E and G. The children can also learn the lyrics to sing while learning this one of the easy children’s songs on guitar.
19.” Itsy Bitsy Spider”- This is a famous nursery rhyme known to children and adults of all ages. The song is one of the easiest melodies to be played on guitar, as the tempo is adjusted according to the learner’s needs. The song is learned and played on G major.
20. “How Much is That Doggie”- This easy-to-play guitar song helps beginners master the G major chord in progressions. This song is sweet, calming, and fun to learn and play, thus making it one of the easy guitar songs for children.
Conclusion
When a child begins to play the guitar, it is easy to learn these above-listed songs on guitar because they have easy chords and repeated strumming patterns. These songs must be played slowly so that gradually the children can pace up the speed.
When a child learns the chords of the guitar at their own pace, they enjoy it better. Along with this, by adding some mnemonics like – “Every Boy Gets Dinner At Eight,” etc., to make your child remember the order of strings ( E, B, G, D, A, E), you can make the entire learning process more fun-filled.
To begin with, teach the children 2 to 3 easy guitar chords, which are used in nearly all the above easy songs. Then teach them to change between these chords, followed by teaching them different strumming patterns. This way, one can help build the foundation to easily learn songs with the same basic chords.
We hope this blog has given you some ideas about easy guitar songs for children and will make the guitar lessons more fun for them. You can also refer to BYJU’S blogs for more information.
Happy strumming!
BYJU’S FutureSchool can teach children some great tunes. Our research-based music curriculum incorporates fun and engaging interactive challenges and projects that broaden their musical skills and creativity.
You might also like:
Guitar Capo: What is a Guitar Capo Used For
Schedule a free class