Easy 3-Chord Songs for Beginners: 10 Songs With G, C and D

You learned your first few chords. Now what? Drills get boring fast, and most "beginner" songs throw in a barre chord or a weird change by the second line. That is where a lot of new players lose steam.

In this lesson, Steve Stine shows you 10 real songs you can play with just three chords: G, C and D. He keeps it simple. For each song he gives you the chords, the order they come in, and how many measures to stay on each one. No tricky sections, no stopping halfway through.

Video: Play 10 Easy Songs with Only 3 Guitar Chords, Steve Stine. Watch on YouTube

The three chords you need

Steve's first point is a relief for beginners: there is no single "correct" G, C or D for these songs. If you play G with three fingers or four, or use an easy one-finger C, that is fine. Use whatever lets you change chords in time.

Here are the common shapes Steve uses. In the diagrams below, the top line is the thinnest string (high E) and the bottom line is the thickest (low E). An "x" means don't play that string.

     D        C        G       Cadd9
e |--2--|  |--0--|  |--3--|  |--3--|
B |--3--|  |--1--|  |--3--|  |--3--|
G |--2--|  |--0--|  |--0--|  |--0--|
D |--0--|  |--2--|  |--0--|  |--2--|
A |--x--|  |--3--|  |--2--|  |--3--|
E |--x--|  |--x--|  |--3--|  |--x--|

• D: first finger on the 3rd string, 2nd fret. Middle finger on the 1st string, 2nd fret. Ring finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret. Strum the four thinnest strings. If you hit one extra string now and then, don't worry about it.
• C: first finger on the 2nd string, 1st fret. Middle finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret. Ring finger on the 5th string, 3rd fret. Strum five strings. Brand new? Play an "easy C" with just your first finger on the 2nd string, 1st fret, and strum the three thinnest strings.
• G: Steve plays it with four fingers. First finger on the 5th string, 2nd fret. Middle finger on the 6th string, 3rd fret. Ring finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret. Pinky on the 1st string, 3rd fret.

If these shapes are new to you, take a few minutes with our guides to the G chord and the D major chord first.

A shortcut: the Cadd9 trick

In a companion video, 7 Easy Songs With 3 Guitar Chords, Steve shares a handy move. Start with the four-finger G above. Keep your ring finger and pinky where they are. Now drop your first and middle fingers down one string each. That's a Cadd9 chord. It sounds a little different from a plain C, but it's used all the time in rock, blues and acoustic music.

Going to D is easy from there too. Leave your ring finger on the 2nd string, 3rd fret, and use it as an anchor while the other fingers move into the D shape. This is the same "keep a finger down" idea we cover in how to change chords smoothly on guitar.

You can use either C or Cadd9 in every song on this page. Pick the one that lets you change in time.

How to read the song charts

Steve doesn't want you staring at a lyric sheet trying to spot chord names. He wants you to picture the song as a simple loop of measures. One measure is four beats. So "D for a measure" means you count "D, 2, 3, 4" while strumming, then change.

Here's a sample count, one chord per measure:

| D . . . | C . . . | G . . . | D . . . |
  1 2 3 4   1 2 3 4   1 2 3 4   1 2 3 4

Steve's favorite memory trick is the "sandwich." If a pattern starts and ends on the same chord, like D, C, G, D, it's a D sandwich. That reminder keeps you from skipping the first chord when the loop starts over.

The 10 songs and their chords

Here's the list from the video. Each chart shows the order of chords and, where Steve gives it, how many measures each chord lasts. Listen to the original recording to get the groove and the feel.

Two-chord songs to start with

If you are brand new, start with the songs that only use two chords.

What I Got is D and G, back and forth, for the whole song. Count "D, 2, 3, 4, G, 2, 3, 4" and keep going.

Tulsa Time only uses G and D. The pattern is eight measures long: three measures of G, one of D, then three of D and one of G. Steve calls this a G sandwich too, since you start and end on G.

Everyday People is G and C back and forth. Steve points out you could even play G for the whole song and it would still sound fine. That makes it a great first song if C is still giving you trouble.

The D, C, G group

Four of the songs use the same three chords in the same order: D, then C, then G.

Sweet Home Alabama, Werewolves of London and All Summer Long all use D, C, G over and over, with almost the same groove. Steve mentions one tiny spot in Sweet Home Alabama with an F chord, but it's so short you can skip it and keep playing D, C, G. Learn one of these and you've basically learned all three.

Can't You See uses the same chords with a slightly different setup: D, C, G, then D again, one measure each. Because it ends on D, you'll play D twice in a row when the loop starts over. Remember the D sandwich.

Songs that start on G

Get a Haircut opens with a G-only intro, so just strum G and have fun. When the vocals come in, the pattern becomes an eight-measure loop: four measures of G, two of C, two of D. Then repeat.

Old Time Rock and Roll is another G sandwich: G for two measures, C for two, D for two, and G for two. Picture it as "G, G, C, C, D, D, G, G." If you'd rather count it as one long measure per chord at half time, that's fine. What matters is knowing the layout.

Using a capo for Hound Dog

Hound Dog is normally in a different key. So Steve puts a capo on the 5th fret. Now the same G, C and D shapes sound higher and match the record. This is a great lesson in itself: if you only know a few chord shapes, a capo lets you use them in many more keys.

The song follows a blues-style layout. It sits on G for a while, moves to C, comes back to G, then touches D and C before landing on G again. Play along with the recording and count four beats per chord to find where each change falls.

More songs from Steve's follow-up video

In the companion video, Steve adds a few more songs built from D, C and G:

• Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses): the verse is D, C, G, D. The chorus is different, and the band tunes down a half step. To play along with the record, tune each string down one fret. Or just play in standard tuning and sing along.
• Blue on Black (Kenny Wayne Shepherd) and Fall to Pieces (Velvet Revolver): both move D, C, G, but the C and G go by quickly. This is a great place to use the Cadd9 shortcut, since only two fingers move. Fall to Pieces is also tuned down a half step.

Keep the strumming simple at first

Steve's advice: if you're still learning the chords, don't worry about fancy strumming. Strum once per measure and count "D, 2, 3, 4, C, 2, 3, 4." When that feels easy, strum on every beat:

Beat:   1   2   3   4  | 1   2   3   4
Strum:  D   D   D   D  | D   D   D   D
        (D = downstroke)

Once your changes are smooth, add more strums and copy the feel of the recording. Build up one step at a time.

A simple practice plan

1. Days 1-2: Play each chord (G, C or Cadd9, D) and let every string ring. Then practice changing D to G for one minute, slowly.
2. Days 3-4: Play What I Got and Everyday People with one strum per measure. Count out loud.
3. Days 5-6: Work on the D, C, G loop. Try both C and Cadd9 and keep the one that's smoother. Play along with one of the D, C, G songs.
4. Day 7: Pick a G-sandwich song (Old Time Rock and Roll or Get a Haircut) and play the full loop four times without stopping.
5. Week 2: Switch to four strums per measure. Try the capo on the 5th fret for Hound Dog.

If you want a step-by-step path through chords, strumming and your first songs, our Play Guitar in 8 Weeks course takes you there in order.

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