Whether you are looking for easy guitar songs to play to your children or for your children to play as part of their lessons, we’ve put together a list of fun and engaging songs which your kids will love. These songs for kids use simple guitar chords that are easy for children to learn. Many of these songs can be played on half size guitars because they only involve a few of the many guitar chords available. Most of these songs are also nursery rhymes and songs that children will already know. For each song, we’ve provided you with the chords so you can play and sing along with your kids.
1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
This is probably the most known nursery rhyme of all time and it has been adapted and translated around the world for kids to enjoy for centuries. This song will sound great on acoustic guitars for kids because it’s easy and helps them learn the basics. Because they will already be familiar with the tune and lyrics it will keep kids engaged and wanting to learn for longer periods of time.
The song is ideal for kids guitar lessons because of the basic chord changes that progress through the verse and into the chorus. You will need to know or teach your children the G, F, C, Am and Dm chords in order to play this tune.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Guitar Tab
2. The ABC Song
Otheriwse known as the Alphabet Song, this piece has been popular for nursery students and preschoolers to learn their ABC’s. When you learn something like the alphabet or counting it is so much easier to sing it because the melody helps the children commit it to memory in a more permanent way. This is a really easy guitar song for kids and adults to learn and would be ideal for anyone who is a teacher to help their students with their letters.
In this song you can either choose to fingerpick or strum each letter of the alphabet. You will need to know the basic chords of G, F, C and G7. If you or your kids can already change from one basic chord to another then you should be able to master both the chorus and verse of this song. Start out with the beginning chords and teach your kids to practice the basics to help build on their guitar playing skills.
3. Frère Jacques
We’re heading over to Europe now for a very well known French nursery rhyme which kids still love to play and sing today. You can pick up this song for the guitar and play it very easily which makes it perfect for a child to learn. The English translation of the title is Brother John and the song is about a French monk who was found sleeping when he should have been attending church.
This is one of the easy guitar songs for kids on our list that is used in guitar lessons and for children to learn in music classes because of its simplicity. The rhyme itself is short and even though the lyrics are in French, they seem to be simple enough for children to remember. Because the rhyme is short you can keep children engaged in their guitar practice more easily even if they have a short attention span. There’s only one chord involved and you don’t need to change chord positions throughout. For the super easy version you only need the D chord although other versions could contain more basic chords.
4. Happy Birthday
All kids want to be able to serande their parents, siblings and extended family on their birthday which is why we’ve included this on our list of easy guitar songs for kids. Everybody knows and has sung this song for someone’s birthday because it’s the most famous song in the English-speaking world.
The song is very short and straightforward to sing so this makes it ideal for our list of songs for kids to learn on the guitar. For this rhyme you just need the basic G, D and C chords. The great thing is you won’t have to teach anyone the lyrics because they’ll know them already.
5. Baa Baa Black Sheep
This is a very traditional nursery rhyme that is believed to have been penned in 1732. The melody that we know today was composed in 1744. There’s never been any songwriter credited with this song and historians have tried to find out the true meaning behind it for centuries. The reason for the song and the intention of the lyrics has never been found to this day although there is a lot of conspiracies behind it. Despite it’s chequered past this song and the tabs that go along with it will be a sing-along hit at children’s parties as an easy music choice for kids.
The beauty of Baa Baa Black Sheep is that it uses the basic chords that every child is taught in their very first guitar lessons. If they’ve ever attended a music class for guitar, they should know the chords in this song. You will need to use your basic G, C and D chords to recreate this song. Start out by learning the strummed version of the nursery rhyme. One you or your child has mastered this then move on to the fingerpicking version of the song which is featured in many guitar tabs. If you are choosing to use tabs or sheet music then you need to make sure your child knows what their playing too. Starting to read music for these simple songs will help their overall musicality moving forward.
Baa Baa Black Sheep Guitar Tab
6. Old MacDonald Had a Farm
E-I-E-I-O! Another popular children’s song takes use down on the farm with Old MacDonald. The great thing about this song is that you can add as many verses in as you want using different animals as the song continues. The lyrics are exactly the same for every verse apart from changing the animal name and the noise it makes. The words are super catchy too so everyone can sing along. And what child doesn’t love to make the different animal noises? Being able to play this song for your children means they can learn their animals in a way that will help them remember them a lot more easily than simply reciting their names or looking at pictures.
This song isn’t as easy as the other songs we’ve mentioned in this list but is still easy enough for children to pick up on the guitar. This is because it’s got a bit more a faster tempo throughout so you really have to keep up with the rhythm. There’s three chords here which are made up of two basic chords of G and C. The third chord is a trickier D7 which isn’t one of the foundations of guitar but is a great chords for children to learn and is still simple enough for them to play. If a child has never been introduced to the D7 chord then this is the ideal opportunity to learn it.
Old MacDonald Had a Farm Guitar Tab
We hope that you and your kids have enjoyed our easy guitar songs for kids. We’ve tried to include songs that children can play simple chords that are also fun for them to play as well. Remember that these songs can be played on both acoustic or electric guitars for kids so make sure you have the right size to suit them. Happy playing and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave your thoughts below.