hi. i recently started learning to play guitar. im a bit lost for what to attempt to learn to start off with. i want songs that are quite easy to learn and easy to recognise when you're playing them, and not something as simple as ramones songs.

an example would be enter sandman. this is the only song that ive started to learn that i think is really helping.

basically, if you play guitar, what songs were useful for you when you were just a beginner.

Hej,
"One" and "the bard's song - in the forest" both intros.

if you want some good coordination in your fingers try the intro to crazy train by ozzy and use your pinky
and btw....USE your pinky.other than that you could try slayer-seasons in the abyss or to tame a land by iron maiden

the beatles - blackbird... it looks hard to play but is not!

the first song i learned how to play was 'Serenissima' by Loreena Mckennitt. not that anyone recognizes it. shes a celtic folk artist, and the song is really easy to play.

you can also try out 'turkish march' by mozart. although, the tabs online are kinda fucked up. if you have gutiar pro, then use that for that song. if you stick to classical songs, those are most recognized by anyone. learn 'fur Elies' by beethoven although it wont help you with your skills. its just soemthing people recognize. same thing goes for his..umm...i think it was the 9th symphony.

'Lemuria' by Therion is a really slow and easy song to learn as well. and the tabs online look as if you have to use sweep picking, but Kristan from the band isnt using it, so why should you? easy song to pull off

Well, I learned how to play "Under the Bridge" By the chili peppers and "Stairway to Heaven" By Zep and it helped me a lot.

Written by Arian Totalis on 29.09.2006 at 03:29

Well, I learned how to play "Under the Bridge" By the chili peppers and "Stairway to Heaven" By Zep and it helped me a lot.

your first, or second song was 'stairway to heaven'? impressive

of course,without the solo...but still if you rape the guitar enough times in an attempt to do a song,no matter the level of difficulty,you'll get it right sometime.that's how i learned the intro to crazy train

I'd rather ask you for the bands you like. It's a lot easier to learn something from a band you like even if those songs aren't "easy" to play. The only real thing to avoid when you're a beginner are (really) fast songs.

I'm a total guitar n00b too but I learnt Burzum's 'War' in pretty much no time (minus solo). It's incredibly simple. I'm just obviously a bit slower than the recorded version.

You could just try simple stuff from the known bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc etc.. and someone mentioned Ozzy's Crazy Train intro, I'd second that. You can also try a bit fast ones, just remember to work on them slowly, that's usually the key to getting the fast stuff, working slowly and with a lot of practice. I'd recommend you Motorhead's Ace Of Spades, and you might be able to play the solo in it after a little practicing, it's not megashred or anything.

The first songs I learned are very, very easy. Smoke On The Water (of course everyone can play it). The first extreme metal song I played was War by Burzum. I learned those songs in like 15 mins each.

Maybe if you get down power chords and tremelo picking you can put them together and learn "Open The Gates" by Dark Funeral if you're into that kind of music.

Here is my selection of "easy to learn" songs:

Anthrax - Medusa,
Cradle of filth - malice through looking glass, Nymphetamine, from the cradle to enslave
Exodus - and there was none,
Fear factory - Replica,
In flames - cloud connected,
Iron Maiden - Moonchild
Judas priest - Breaking the law, Grinder, you've got another thing comin'
Megadeth - countdown to extinction, reckoning day, symphony of destruction,
Metallica - enter sandman, fade to black, for whoom the bells tolls, seek and destroy,
Obituary - redneck stomp,
Pantera - mouth for war,
Paradise lost - hallowed land,
Sepultura - refuse resist, roots bloody roots, we who are not as others,
Slayer - Bloodline, Mandatory suicide, south of heaven,
Testament - let go of my world, low,

I think most of the songs I've mentioned should be easy to learn for beginner-intermediate level player.
Some of the solos might be little tricky, especially slayer solos so I suggest you don't try to learn them at first.
Slayer solos I don't suggest at all
Whenever you encounter solo you can't learn you should learn the escort on the other guitar instead.
You should use guitar pro or similar programs because it will drastically shorten the amount of time you spend learning them.

Transylvanian Hunger by Darkthrone is absurdly easy and recognizable.

Learn some Priest - 'The Ripper' is good to get you used to playing all over the neck. Also try 'Breaking the Law', 'Living After Midnight', hell, anything from British Steel.

Sabbath is awesome beginner music, too. Try 'Paranoid'.

A big thing I'd recommend is learning full songs - even if they're really basic, it's much more impressive and fulfilling than a bunch of random riffs.

Oh, and on a more boring note - always be patient with yourself when it comes to building up speed, and make sure you pick very strictly from the wrist. I've always picked from the elbow, and as I've approached faster/more advanced music it's become obvious that picking from the elbow is simply not efficient at all. Better that you get good picking technique now than having to backtrack like me .

I learned to play guitar by way of a whackload of Metallica tabs and the occasional metal-themed issue of guitar magazines.

Staying away from all solo related works until confidence was built up, I kept to more memorable riffs between those.

Lots of Metallica stuff is dirt simple as far as rhythm goes. Seek & Destroy, Enter Sandman, Leper Messiah and so on. If you're looking for something a bit more thought-provoking, One and Master of Puppets will build up endurance.

Much of the Brave New World album by Iron Maiden is also good for building long-song endurance. Wicker Man, The Nomad, Thin Line Between Love and Hate are perfect for that.

As well, there's a whackload of Iced Earth stuff to promote riffing skills. I wouldn't exactly call Watching Over Me very difficult at all. Of the Something Wicked album, try that one, Burning Times, Melancholy, Consequences and eventually the Something Wicked trilogy (keeping just to rhythm).

It was primarily that stuff that really helped me develop as a rhythm guitarist right from basics.

lets see when I started to play guitar I played mostly Maiden and Sabbath stuff but I dont think u should begin with them, I believ u should start off with sumthin like:
Metallica - Master Of Puppets (2\3 speed or slower then eventually go up the tempo this is to train ur right hand basically..)
Kalmah - Withering Away (to learn sumthing about alternate picking), Moon Of My Nights (a good song to play)
Iced Earth - 1779 (simple and amazing) Pure Evil (can be a bit hard at the beginning but its nice when u've mastered it)

and a final advice: USE YOUR PINKY you're gonna be a lot thankful that u started off with using it. take me as an example I'm still having trouble with my pinky (but I use it when needed)

Alot of Black Metal would be your best bet as most of it is generally the easiest to play...Darkthrone was mentioned and try some early Mayhem too, alot of stuff off DSDM is fairly easy, especially Freezing Moon (except the solo). Black Sabbath has alot of easy stuff which is very recognizable (Ironman ). Dead Skin Mask by Slayer is some good practice, and maybe some slower Maiden songs.

I agree with Trifixion. Mayhem has some easy songs to play, especially Deathcrush, and Freezing Moon is pretty easy. Melancholy by Iced Earth is another song that I picked up really fast.

Hey, Motorheads Ace Of Spades shuoldnt be problem. Also It has very nice and very easy solo, its the first solo I've learned.... Although it might be little to fast if you just started to play, but try it, its very simple.

Metallica intros is where i started...really easy.
try ministry's just one fix. piece of piss.

War by burzum, Deathcrush by Mayhem, Smoke on the water by deep purple, I Burn For You By Nargaroth (Lord Foul Cover)

you should try some rage against the machine, easy and cool.

Well, I first learned smoke on the water and iron man. They get relatively boring fast. Try paranoid and tonite im gonna rock rock you tonite (Spinal Tap). Both songs are a blast to play. Once you get those down, try something something slightly more difficult like Immortal Corroptor (GWAR). The solos are fun and relatively simple.

When I first Started playing I learned picking Riffs like South of Heaven and Dead Skin Mask By Slayer, it really helped to work my fingers so they could move independently.

I'm still a beginner too, but I've been training these songs and they've helped quite a lot, especially Amorphis and Sentenced:

Amorphis - Day of Your Beliefs
Amorphis - House of Sleep
Amorphis - Black Winter Day
Swallow the Sun - Swallow
Sentenced - Aika multaa muistot (Everything Is Nothing)
Wolfmother - Woman
Ajattara - Verivalta
The Shadows - Apache

You can learn most of the Paranoid album by Black Sabbath in no time, the riffs are very recognizable and fun to play, and aren't often too fast for beginners.

When I started to learn to play guitar, I didn't attempted to play any solos at all, I don't recommend you to learn solos if you are starting from nothing. First you must dominate the thick strings, then, you can try the thinner ones.

Stick with a half-dozen of songs, until you can play them. Keep trying and trying, choose around 5 to 7 songs from this thread and start with them. DON'T play any other song UNTIL you can play at least 5 of them.

I learnt with these songs (no solos):
Stratovarius - I Walk To My Own Song
Sodom - Agent Orange
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Sepultura - Territory
Rammstein - Du Hast
Moonspell - Vampiria

Good luck!