There are so many love songs to impress that certain special someone in your life. As a beginner, you can pick out easy love songs on guitar (or ukulele) which still sound impressive but will be within your range of skills. Love songs have that special way of talking directly to us even though we didn’t write or compose them. They are a very powerful way of showing someone your true feelings. Love songs can also be a great way of reliving those special moments in your life with the person you love.
Because there are so many love songs out there it can be difficult to know where to start as a beginner. We have put together a list of our favorite easy love songs on guitar to impress someone special. All of the songs in this list, we feel, have heartfelt lyrics and beautiful melodies that can help your love sing out. Start out with these love songs to play on guitar as a beginner and feel yourself falling in love all over again.
1. Ben E. King – Stand By Me
Love songs don’t just have to be for someone you have romantic feelings for. A love song can also help convey how much a friend means to you and someone who you couldn’t imaging being without in your life. This hit is from 1961 and was an iconic hit for Ben E. King. It’s a real must-have song for anyone who is a fan of blues, soul and R&B. In fact, it’s been rated as one of the best ever love songs to come out of the 60s era.
The brilliant thing about playing this love song on the guitar is that it can help you develop your overall guitar skills. The chord progression is very easy which makes it ideal for beginners. The baselines is also a great way to help you practice your fingerstyle. The slower tempo of the song makes learning the harder parts a lot easier, although you will probably feel your hands aching in the beginning.
2. Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling in Love
This is probably one of the easiest love songs to play on guitar ever. You can also transpose it onto many different string instruments to play with others. There are a few more chords in the chord progression than you would normally see in easy love songs but with the tempo being 72 BPM it’s a relatively chill one to play. You can simply strum along to the chords or challenge yourself with the arpeggio featured throughout. No matter how you want to play this it’s still a beautiful melody that is sure to impress.
The 1961 Elvis ballad is the right song if you want to serenade that special someone. There’s no harm telling someone you love them with a song like this. Even if the other person doesn’t feel the same way at least you’ll have learned one of the more popular Elvis songs which is still an impressive feat.
Can’t Help Falling in Love Guitar Tab
3. Jimmie Davis – You Are My Sunshine
Country songs don’t often work as love songs but with this country hit, we think it definitely qualifies. Songs from this genre often talk about love but more of the issues that surround loving someone and difficulties in relationships. It’s actually considered one of the most relatable genres because the struggles that country artists have are issues many of us have experienced.
This song was released in 1939 and has become a country standard in the genre. Over the decades a multitude of artists such as Johnny Cash have continued to cover the song thanks to its lovely melody and relatable lyrics. The words that are used in the song can definitely express how much that certain someone means to you. It reminds us of the warm glow of sunshine which is what love really feels like on the inside.
You Are My Sunshine Guitar Tab
4. John Legend – All of Me
This song is featured heavily in any list about love songs to play and we can see why. Released back in 2013 the surprise hit has a catchy melody and beautiful lyrics that Legend penned after his wife. It truly is a love letter to her that has been sung instead of said. It’s a really phenomenal song to tell someone how much they mean to you and the structure of the melody has a way of getting you right in the feels.
Strumming along to this hit is fine if you are a beginner. There’s a predictable chord progression used throughout the piece that’s hard to miss so start out by learning this. If you really want to impress and be able to play the song properly then you can go on to learn the fingerstyle of the song. Because the piece has a slower tempo it’s not so taxing on the fingers or wrists either.
5. Ed Sheeran – Perfect
Ed Sheeran pops up in so many love
songs for guitar because this is the main thing he writes about in his music. This pop superstar released Perfect in 2017 and it quickly became on of the most popular songs to be played at romantic occasions such as weddings and anniversaries. The lyrics for the song are all about young love that goes unrequited, only to meet years again later and end up together.
As a beginner, you don’t need to worry too much about the more technical aspects of the piece. What you really need to focus on here is the rhythm. It’s this that gives the song character and makes it a unique love song. You can either choose to strum or fingerpick the notes, it really doesn’t matter. The important part you need to make sure of is to hit the correct notes so that the melody sounds right. It’s a great guitar song that many people will recognize and it’s relatively easy to play as well.
6. Christina Perri – A Thousand Years
This song was originally written for the film Breaking Dawn which was an installment in the Twilight Saga of movies. The message was meant to convey the eternal love which two people have for each other, much like the two main protagonists in the film.
Playing this song on an acoustic guitar is actually easy for beginner guitarists. The strumming pattern consists of mostly downward movements which are easy to replicate. It’s a much simpler pattern of guitar playing than if you had to do up and down strums throughout the piece. If you really enjoy this song and want to play it properly then you will want to learn the fingerstyle part as well. The melody is really pretty and there’s also a strings part that brings the whole song together. While you may not have the life span of a vampire, you can convey that you want to spend the rest of your days with that special someone.
7. Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
While many love songs take on the serious aspect of the emotion there are some, such as this hit from Jason Mraz, which adds a little fun to the message. It’s a really lively and bright reggae-style song with a message of love which is perfect for any carefree couple out there. It strays away from the seriousness of the other songs featured in this list so you can have some fun with this one.
The tempo is a lot more upbeat with this one so it’s brilliant for beginners to get better with their skills because you will have to speed up to get it sounding right. The song has been written in a way that will make you want to get up and dance so if you can play your guitar standing then we would definitely recommend you do so. If your partner also plays an instrument there’s a lot of parts to this song where they can join in and you can both play together.
8. Edwin McCain – I’ll Be
This is another song that features a lot on wedding playlists because it really is the perfect song for slow dancing. There are two aspects to this song which was originally released in 1997. The first part of the song depicts the different things someone can bring into your life like how they can make you feel and how your feel about them. The second part of the song was actually meant to imitate a melodic prayer. There’s a lot of interpretations to the songs where some people think it’s actually about a breakup rather than a current relationship.
The chords in this entry of our easy love songs can be really intimidating if you’re relatively new to the instrument. What you can do though is transpose the chords in a different way onto your guitar so that the strumming pattern feels a lot more comfortable. The strumming pattern itself isn’t actually that complicated but once again, it can be offputting if this is your first go-round with a song like this. What we would suggest you do though is focus on the fingerstyle of the song first. It uses an arpeggio technique along with fingerpicking which makes the piece a lot more interesting overall.
9. James Blunt – You’re Beautiful
Although many people wouldn’t consider this hit from James Blunt to actually be an easy love song for the guitar, the melodic structure does a simple romance to it. Classed as being in the soft rock genre, this piece is increasingly easy to play for beginner guitarists while still being a love ballad. But when you’re learning to play forget about what the lyrics are saying and focus on that awesome harmony that so many people love.
We have added this to our list of easy love songs to play on guitar because it is still about love – it’s just a one-sided approach. We think almost everyone will have liked someone at some point and not had that person reciprocate the same feeling. When you start to play this on your guitar then you should make sure you learn the intro first, particularly that tricky arpeggio. Although the melody is on the trickier side the strumming technique is a lot more traditional. This is why it’s probably one of our favorite love song options to play on guitar.
10. Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight
We think that Wonderful Tonight is probably one of the best and most beautiful love songs that came from the 70s era. The song has been made all the better because of the storyline that goes behind the guitar chords. Clapton originally wrote this song for Pattie Boyd who was going through a divorce at the time the song was composed. They were headed to a party with Buddy Holly and Paul McCartney and Pattie was trying on outfits. Every time she asked Clapton how she looked, he responded with ‘you look wonderful tonight’. This is one of those ways we tell people how we love them without saying so.
Even if you’re not a fan of the lyrics the melody of the song is still a great one to learn to play. The melody is soft and has an almost lullaby feel to it. Each individual note has an arpeggio technique used which blends together with the rhythm so that it’s really soothing to listen to. We hope that the person that you play this for feels the same way about it too.
11. The Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
From a genre that was commonly referred to as blue-eyed soul, this is a love song that will really challenge a beginner guitarist. The best way to play this one is by using your fingerpicking technique. We say to do this because it’s the only way you will be able to hit every single individual note in the song. If you the love song like this it also gives it a more melodic feel and almost sounds like the piano the original piece it was played on. It’s an easy song to play though despite the technique because it’s a mild melody and the BPM is gentle sitting at 72.
This is actually a cover of an original song and this cover was released in 1965. The song was originally written from the perspective on an inmate who longs to see his beloved who lives in the outside world. You can really feel the isolation in the lyrics and it’s still a very relatable tune to play on guitar for someone you love.
12. The Calling – Wherever You Will Go
Let’s finish off our list with something a little bit more alternative but still a great song to play on your guitar. This one may not be the cheeriest of love songs considering it comes from the grunge genre but it definitely evokes the feelings of losing the one you care about most. The lyrics tackle the issue of what a dramatic impact losing someone could have on your life.
One of the main reasons we have included this song in our list is because of its catchy rhythm an melody. The fingerstyle technique is also a great practice drill for a beginner and is definitely something you should learn as a basic skill on the guitar. Nailing the technique in the song means that you will be able to play other songs on your guitar in a harmonic and melodic way. If you’re not keen on the chord progression then the song can easily be switched over to a basic strumming technique. The song won’t sound exactly the same but it still sounds good.
Wherever You Will Go Guitar Tab
So, that’s it folks! Some of the easiest love songs to play on your guitar. We hope you enjoyed our list and if you have any more suggestions please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.