Guitar for Beginners: How to Play Dozens of Songs with Only Four Guitar Chords

Are you interested in learning how to play songs on a guitar? If yes, then let me share with you this little cheat sheet. This blog is intended for those who may consider themselves able to do basic guitar chords but do not necessarily play the guitar on a permanent basis. If you already know how to do barre chords, then this cheat sheet is not for you.

Let's begin.

Songs are composed using base chords that belong to a certain scale. Don't worry because you don't have to learn about all the chords and what scales are. The chords I will be teaching you today are already in the same scale and I have chosen the scale that uses chords that have "broken" counterparts on the guitar.

On a standard tuning guitar (EADGBe), chords are usually done by making a "barre". A "barre" is where your pointer finger presses all or the five lower strings together in a certain fret. This is quite painful if you are new to guitar playing and the pressure applied on the strings may not be sufficient or consistent, therefore producing a poor sound.

The four chords I will teach you today are "broken" chords, which means they have simplified versions that do not require you to do a "barre". Broken chords usually utilize only the three or four fingers and is played on the first three frets of your guitar.

The chord pattern that will let you play dozens of songs is C-G-Am-F.

Here's how they look like in a tab view:

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And here's how they look like on the actual guitar fretboard:

The C Chord

The G Chord

The Am Chord

The F Chord

Note that the chords are the same for these songs but the rhythm, tempo, and style of playing them may vary. Listen to the songs closely and notice how the original artist plays them.
Here are the songs that you could play using our C-G-Am-F chord pattern:

Journey – “Don’t Stop Believing”
James Blunt – “You’re Beautiful”
Black Eyed Peas – “Where Is the Love”
Alphaville – “Forever Young”
Jason Mraz – “I’m Yours”
Train – “Hey Soul Sister”
The Calling – “Wherever You Will Go”
Elton John – “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” (from The Lion King)
Akon – “Don’t Matter”
John Denver – “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”
U2 – “With Or Without You”
The Last Goodnight – “Pictures of You”
Maroon Five – “She Will Be Loved”
The Beatles – “Let It Be”
Bob Marley – “No Woman No Cry”
Marcy Playground – “Sex and Candy”
Men At Work – “Land Down Under”
Theme from America’s Funniest Home Videos
Jack Johnson – “Taylor”
Spice Girls – “Two Become One”
A Ha – “Take On Me”
Green Day – “When I Come Around”
Eagle Eye Cherry – “Save Tonight”
Toto – “Africa”
Beyonce – “If I Were A Boy”
Kelly Clarkson – “Behind These Hazel Eyes”
Jason DeRulo – “In My Head”
The Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
Joan Osborne – “One Of Us”
Avril Lavigne – “Complicated”
The Offspring – “Self Esteem”
The Offspring – “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid”
Akon – “Beautiful”
Timberland featuring OneRepublic – “Apologize”
Eminem featuring Rihanna – “Love the Way You Lie”
Bon Jovi – “It’s My Life”
Lady Gaga – “Pokerface”
Aqua – “Barbie Girl”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Otherside”
The Gregory Brothers – “Double Rainbow”
MGMT – “Kids”
Andrea Bocelli – “Time To Say Goodbye”
Robert Burns – “Auld Lang Syne”
Five for fighting – “Superman”
The Axis of Awesome – “Birdplane”
Missy Higgins – “Scar”

Here is Axis of Awesome, a comedy band, playing these four chord one-hit wonders:

Read about my journey with music here.

I used an AXTech Stratocaster electric guitar in those photos.
All photos are owned by @xaydtrips except for the one with the linked photo source.

Enjoy playing!

Cheers,
Xayd