Here are 30 songs that you can tackle as a beginner. They sequence up from very simple to slightly more complicated. They cover a variety of genres and styles. Most importantly, you'll be playing real music within a very short period of time.
And I have to come clean: I didn't come up with this list off the top of my head. Fortunately, there's a bit more rigor behind it.
Fender Musical Instrument Corp. has recently invested heavily in a digital education platform - Fender PLAY.
The platform is well-conceived and well-executed. They offer a sequence of exercises, theory lessons, and song demos so that you learn guitar correctly, step-by-step. They do this by grouping lessons into something called "Paths" - a combination of short video lessons, customized for acoustic or electric, and for a variety of styles. For acoustic guitar, you can choose 1 of 5 different paths:
Rock
Blues
Folk
Country
Pop
For a more in-depth preview of Fender PLAY, watch the video at the bottom of this article.
In the meantime, here are the first songs of each "Path" in Fender PLAY that will move you from absolute beginner to playing real songs. (Note: This just Level 1 of each Path. There are 5 Levels for each Path, so there's a lot more to learn...)
