When you are just beginning you may wonder how you go about choosing easy songs to play on guitar. It is not as simple as it sounds. There are many factors that you need to take into account that make a song ‘easy’ to play. Here are four steps to take when choosing an easy song to play on guitar, that will work at any guitar level:

1. Count the chords. The number of different chords in the song is an important indication of its difficulty. Don’t be alarmed if you only know three or four chords at the moment, there are literally hundreds or even thousands of songs that only use a handful of chords. When you are just starting out, make sure you look at the sheet music or the guitar tablature and try to count how many different chords you need to play that song.

2. Look at the melodic line. However, just because a song only has few chords does not automatically mean that it is the easiest to learn as a beginner guitarist. The melodic line is essential to the song and may be complex and embellished above simple chords. When you choose your song, listen to the melody and imagine yourself playing it. Is it fast or slow? Are the notes close together or do they jump around a lot?

3. Check the rhythms. Another thing to watch out for is the rhythms used. When you are a beginner, you may not have learned many different rhythms yet. If you are looking for an easy song try to steer clear of complicate rhythms and syncopations that you haven’t yet learned.

4. Look at the speed. The speed of the song and the speed of the chord changes can also add to its difficulty. Chord changes require plenty of practice until you are able to cleanly move from chord to chord at speed. Songs which need fast chord changes are harder when you are just learning and might need to be avoided until you have more experience.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to select easy songs to play on guitar that are in your level range. Check your favourite songs and see how they measure up! Can you learn any of them now, with your current skill level? If so, you should learn it, learning a song you love will give you the inspiration to learn your guitar so much faster.