Artists
Beginner-friendly artist guides
Easy songs, capo and key info, the gear they're known for, and the style notes that matter for new players.
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America
1970-present · United Kingdom / United States
A Horse with No Name is the two-chord folk-rock song every guitar beginner can play in an afternoon. America's wider catalog stays just as kind to new players.
1 song ready to play →
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Ben E. King
1958-2015 · United States
Stand by Me is the four-chord soul song every guitarist eventually learns. The rest of Ben E. King's catalog rewards the same beginner-friendly approach.
1 song ready to play →
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Bob Dylan
1961-present · United States
Folk's most-covered songwriter. Dylan's early acoustic catalog runs on open chords, capos high up the neck, and a steady strum that anyone can learn in an afternoon.
1 song ready to play →
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Bob Marley & The Wailers
1960s-1981 · Jamaica
Reggae's gateway artist. Bob Marley songs use small chord sets and one rhythmic move (the offbeat skank) that, once you have it, opens up a whole genre.
1 song ready to play →
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Ed Sheeran
2010s-present · England
Ed Sheeran built his sound on a small-body acoustic, a loop pedal, and capos clamped high up the neck. That same setup plays most of his catalog.
1 song ready to play →
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Johnny Cash
1954-2003 · United States
The Man in Black. Country's most-recorded artist built nearly everything on three chords and a boom-chick rhythm. Beginner territory by definition.
1 song ready to play →
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Lynyrd Skynyrd
1964-present · United States
Southern rock pioneers. Skynyrd's biggest songs sit on three or four open chords in friendly keys, which is why they show up on every beginner playlist.
1 song ready to play →
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Noah Kahan
2017-present · United States
Vermont's biggest folk-pop export. Kahan records in flat keys, but with a capo most of his songs reduce to standard four-chord loops a beginner can play.
1 song ready to play →
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Oasis
1991-2009, reunited 2025 · United Kingdom
Britpop's biggest band built nearly their entire catalog on ringing open chords and descending bass lines. Beginner-friendly even when songs feel huge.
1 song ready to play →
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Old Crow Medicine Show
1998-present · United States
Wagon Wheel is the modern country-folk standard every beginner ends up learning. Three open chords with a capo; the rest of the catalog uses the same template.
1 song ready to play →
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Passenger
2003-present · United Kingdom
Let Her Go is the four-chord folk-pop song every guitar beginner learns. Passenger's wider catalog uses the same capo-7 template, so one shape unlocks several more.
1 song ready to play →
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Vance Joy
2013-present · Australia
Riptide is the four-chord ukulele song every guitar beginner ends up learning. Vance Joy's wider catalog uses the same template, so it doubles your repertoire fast.
1 song ready to play →