Beginner Guitar Songs and Riffs

One of the biggest questions we get from teachers of all levels of experience and background is “What is the best song or riff to teach a student during their first guitar lesson?”

Since this question comes up so frequently, we recently posted this question on the RGT Facebook Page to see what RGT tutors and students would suggest as the best beginner guitar songs and riffs to teach and learn in a first guitar lesson.

“What is your favourite riff that you like to teach someone on their very first guitar lesson – i.e. for a complete beginner.”

After getting a great response from teachers and students alike, we’ve compiled all of the songs and riffs into a list that you can check out and bookmark in order to come back and explore these songs in your teaching and studies at a later date.

Beginner Guitar Songs and Riffs List

Here is the complete list of riffs and songs that were posted by our Facebook Community. If you have a song or riff you’d like to add to the list, post it in the comments section below and we’ll add it in.

I IV V Blues Progression
Old MacDonald
7 Nation Army
Smoke on the Water
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Chasing Cars
Wonderwall
Jingle Bells
James Bond Theme
Pink Panther Theme
Beat It
Pretty Woman
Satisfaction
Twinkle Twinkle
Mission Impossible Theme
I Gotta Feeling
Wipe Out
Wild Thing
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Sunshine of Your Love
Moves Like Jagger
Horse With No Name
Mad World
Lucky Man
Zombie
Hey Joe
Halo
Mr. Tambourine Man
Maggie May

What songs or riffs would you add to this list of Beginner Guitar Songs and Riffs?

4 thoughts on “Beginner Guitar Songs and Riffs”

I always like to use Wish you were here by Pink Floyd. I think its a great one to start with as the chords involved are the first ones i teach to beginners.

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With young students I will often get them to play ‘Frere Jacques. It’s one chord. If played in the key of G, to make it even easier, I show them the ‘easy’ G, which is holding down the third fret on E 1st string.
It gives a great sense of achievement to the student and helps develop their rhythm without having to struggle changing chords. Another useful tune is Tom Dooley. Two chords this time, C and G7. The student can easily see how the chord shapes are similar and pick these up quite quickly. Both these songs can be found in the Hal Leonard Guitar Method One Book.

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