You NEED These Top 12 Beginner Guitar Riffs – Part 3 (With Tab)

Hey guys, Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com. This is the write-up of my YouTube lesson with 12 (plus a bonus) of the most fun beginner riffs so you can start feeling like a rockstar instead of looping the same three chords.

If you caught part 1 or 2 of this series, tell me which riff was your favorite.

I put all of these in a PDF with tab. Grab it here so you can follow along: simpleguitar.com/top12riffspart3

How to Practice These (Read This First)

If any part gives you trouble: slow it down, isolate it, and repeat it. Most people underestimate how many times they need to repeat things — especially adults. Kids can get it with fewer reps. Adults need about double. Double the repetitions you think you need. That's the "secret" everybody talks about and nobody wants to hear.

1. One – Metallica

Starts with a B power chord on the A string: first finger on the second fret of the A string (fifth string), third finger o...

How to Play Love Me Do on Guitar MADE EASY

Hey guys, Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com. This is the write-up of my YouTube lesson on "Love Me Do" by The Beatles — a beginner song I think everybody should play. It's a lot of fun, and it only uses three very simple chords: G, C, and D. Standard shapes. Nothing fancy.

The song really only has two parts: the verse (which includes the hook) and a bridge. Traditionally you'd call those the A section and B section. Today we're just saying verse and bridge.

I made a free rhythm sheet and tab with the strum patterns laid out. Grab it here: simpleguitar.com/lovemedo

The Three Chords

• G
• C
• D

Assuming you already know those, we're talking song structure, strum pattern, and putting it together.

Most of the song is just G to C, back and forth, with a little variation as we go. The bridge is D for two measures, C for a measure, then G — and we repeat that.

Strumming Patterns (3 Options)

1. Beginner-friendly: boom-chuck

On beats 1 2 3...

How to Play Closing Time by Semisonic

Hey guys, Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com. This is the write-up of my YouTube lesson on Closing Time by Semisonic — power chords, the verse/chorus rhythm, the keyboard parts on guitar, the bridge, and the octave solo.

I started playing this back when I first started guitar. Late '90s, huge song, I loved it.

Grab the tab: simpleguitar.com/closingtime

The Power Chords You Need

Three-string power chords. This is the fundamental basis of the verse and the chorus:

• G — root on the sixth string: 3–5–5 (first finger on 3 of the sixth, third finger on 5 of the fifth, pinky on 5 of the fourth)
• D — root on the fifth string: first finger on 5, then 7 and 7 on the fourth and third strings
• A — shift: 5–7 on the sixth string (and the matching fifth-string note)
• C — on the fifth string: 3–5–5, just like the G shape moved over

G, D, A, C. That's it for verse and chorus.

We'll use different chords in the bridge. For the guitar solo, a different G...

How to Play Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Hey guys, Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com. This is the write-up of my YouTube lesson on the rhythm guitar part to "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. We're going to break it down the way we always do: intro (including two optional little licks), verse, chorus, then the whole song from start to finish.

I put together a free rhythm sheet for this. Grab it first so you can follow along: simpleguitar.com/seentherain

Time Signature and Strumming

The rhythm sheet is in 4/4. Every time you see a chord name, that's how many beats you're playing that chord — four beats per measure.

The strum is just eighth notes: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and — down up down up down up down up. That's all you need.

Add accents on beat 2 and beat 4. In the intro (and a few other spots) you'll hear little 16th-note pickups — and-a 1 — that you can slip in as you hear them. You'll hear that first thing in the int...

If you've been playing guitar for a while but feel like you never actually play enough songs, this lesson is for you. Today we're breaking down "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival in a super simplified way. We're not going for note-for-note accuracy from the record — we're making it easy and fun so you can strum along and enjoy playing.

This version uses just three open chords: D, A, and G. The entire song revolves around two simple chord progressions (verse and chorus). Let's dive in!

The Three Chords You Need

• D chord (standard open position)
• A chord (standard open position)
• G chord (standard open position)

That's it — piece of cake!

Strumming Patterns (3 Options for Any Level)

1. Beginner-Friendly: The Boom-chuck Pick the lowest 1–2 strings of the chord (the "boom"), then strum the rest of the chord (the "chuck").

• On D: Pick strings 4 & 3
• On A: Pick strings 5 & 4
• On G: Pick strings 6 & 5

Play boom-chuck on beats 1-2 and again on 3-4. This keeps th...

✅ 🎸 ✅ 🤘 Pick up the tab for this at http://simpleguitar.com/starwars and you can also pick up a copy of The Top 10 Things to Learn on Guitar First, my free 17 page guide (worth $17) that will help you have more fun & get more bang for your buck out of your playing.

Happy Star Wars Day 2023! Today's beginner guitar lesson is a bonus lesson on how to play the Star Wars Main Theme on guitar with tabs! Hey guys, Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com here with another guitar lesson for beginners. I am a huge Star Wars fan. Always have been. So today, I put together this video to show you how to simply play the melody for the main theme. It's a lot of fun and now you can play this for all your friends and show off! May the force be with you!

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Get the tab for the Top 12 Beginner Guitar Riffs by going to http://simpleguitar.com/beginnerriffs

When it comes to learning guitar, one of the first thing most of us do is start learning famous riffs from our favorite songs. And while I am a big fan of learning entire songs...sometimes you just need to play some riffs. Learning how to play easy riffs is a great way to get yourself motivated & inspired & out of a rut of just practicing exercises & drills. This will help you make sure that you have actual music that you're working on instead of getting hung up on the academics of playing guitar. Hope this helps you out!

You deserve to feel like a rock star! Pick up The Top 10 Things to Learn on Guitar First by going to http://simpleguitar.com/top10 to get my free 17 page guide that will help you have more fun & get more bang for your buck out of your playing.

Let's Connect!
Facebook: http://facebook.com/simpleguitardotcom
Instagram: http://instagram.com/simpleguitardotcom
Twitter...

GRAB THE PDF RHYTHM SHEETS FOR THESE LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS SONGS HERE: http://simpleguitar.com/lastminutechristmas

I get it, this time of year is really busy for everybody so you've probably procrastinated learning any Christmas songs this year. But fear not! I'm here to help save your bacon with TEN songs that you can learn really quickly! Most of these songs only use 3 simple chords & only a few of them have 4 or 5 chords (which are also simple).

Here are the songs we're going to learn:

1) I Saw Three Ships
2) Joy to the World
3) Silent Night
4) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
5) Angels We Have Heard On High
6) The First Noel
7) Jingle Bells
8) Deck the Halls
9) Silver Bells
10) Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.

Hope it helps you out!

✅✅ ►► You deserve to feel like a rock star even if you're just starting out. Download my FREE guide on The Top 10 Things to Learn on Guitar First to start making real music on guitar faster (this is not for you if you would rather learn more boring...

How to play All Apologies by Nirvana on guitar for beginners is what we're covering in today's guitar lesson for beginners. 🎸✅ Pick up the tab for this lesson by going to http://simpleguitar.com/allapologies

Hey guys! Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com here with another beginner guitar lesson for you going over how to play All Apologies by Nirvana! This is one of the best songs of the 90s and one that pretty much everybody likes. It's also not hard to play. In today's All Apologies tutorial I'm going to show you everything you need to start playing All Apologies including how to tune to the correct tuning, how to play the main riff, and what chords to play for the chorus part. Hope this helps you out!

✅✅ ►► You deserve to feel like a rock star even if you're just starting out. Download my FREE guide on The Top 10 Things to Learn on Guitar First to start making real music on guitar faster (this is not for you if you would rather learn more boring exercises) → http://simpleguitar.co...

How to play Something in the Way by Nirvana from The Batman movie (2022) with Robert Pattinson is what we're covering in today's guitar lesson for beginners. Hey guys, Brad Litton from SimpleGuitar.com here with another beginner guitar lesson for you about how to play one of the simplest songs that still sounds awesome. This song, which closes out Nirvana's Nevermind album, is a really moving song using only two chords for the entire songs. In this lesson we're going to over the chords used for Something in the Way & the strum patterns & put it all together for you so you can play the whole song right away.

✅✅ ►► You deserve to feel like a rock star even if you're just starting out. Download my FREE guide on The Top 10 Things to Learn on Guitar First to start making real music on guitar faster (this is not for you if you would rather learn more boring exercises) → http://simpleguitar.com/top10

✅ Want to support my channel? Pick up my beginner lead guitar course, The Instant Rocks...