Learning to play the guitar can seem like a huge undertaking. All the picking, tuning, finding out about different types and weights of strings and plectrums¹, scales and keys can be very trying. Your friends and family will probably make the situation worse by asking how you're getting on and asking for a song, which can be quite tricky when you're still trying to twist your fingers around odd chords.

Help is at hand. Here you'll find an easy guide to playing some tunes that everyone will know.

Open Chords

These are the easily strummable chords we will use to build the songs. They are simple to play and have a nice ringing quality² about them, making them perfect for our purposes. 'Barre' chords are more complex as you need to contort your hand so that the index finger is holding all the strings down at once. This takes practice, so we'll steer clear of these. 'Power' chords are easy to play as you only ever use three fingers in the same shape, but don't sound as nice when strummed, lacking the bright quality of open chords.

These open chords are explained below. Remember:

• The 'top' string is not the one highest on the guitar as you look at it, but the one that makes the highest pitched note! When you hold the guitar, the top string will be at the bottom of the fretboard. It is also known as the first string; the next one up is the second string, and so on until finally you reach the sixth (or 'bottom') string, which makes the deepest pitched note.

• Frets are the metal ridges that run vertically along the neck of the guitar. The first fret is the one furthest from the body. To play a note on the second fret, for example, you would put your finger between the first and second frets (as close as you can to the second fret itself without touching it).

• Your fingers are numbered from 1-4, starting with your index finger and finishing with your pinky. The thumb is notified with a 'T', though this involves a degree of dexterity.

These are the chords you'll need to learn:

A

This is played by placing your first finger on the second fret of the fourth string, second finger on the second fret of the third string and thrid finger on the second fret of the second string. Play all the strings except the bottom one.

A minor (Am)

Quite similar to A, but you need to shuffle your fingers around a bit. Your first finger goes on the first fret of the second string, second finger on the second fret of the fourth string and your third finger on the second fret of the third string.

C

D

D minor (Dm)

E

E minor (Em)

F

G

The Songs

Basic chords are given for each song. Unless you know the tunes really well, it's worth having a listen to see exactly where the chord changes are.

'House Of The Rising Sun' - The Animals

A classic; get to know this one and you'll really be impressing the folks.

The intro follows this progression: Am, C, D, F, Am, E, Am, E.

The verses are almost the same: Am, C, D, F, Am, C, E. The two progressions form the entire song. If you want to sound as good as the original, try picking each string individually and quickly so that each has just enough time to ring. This is called an arpeggio.

'Knocking On Heaven's Door' - Bob Dylan

This features just four chords altogether, in the same pattern repeated through the whole song. Just play G, then D, then C, C again; then G, D, Am, Am.

'Love Me Do' - The Beatles

The verse and chorus follow the same two-chord pattern, starting on a G then moving to a C and back again. The only change to this is in the bridge section, ('Someone to love...etc') where the chords are D, C and G.

'One' - U2

The verse repeats the chords Am, D, F, G, and the chorus is C, Am, F, C. The bridge section ("Love is a temple...") repeats C and Am then drops to G and F before returning to the chorus. It might take you a couple of listens to get the timing right on the bridge section, but persevere!

'Something In The Way' - Nirvana

Very simple as it consists of just two chords. Start with an Em, then move to a C, and repeat until you fall asleep.

'Wild Thing' - The Troggs

This classic song consists of just four chords. The verse starts on A, then goes to D, E, D again and back to A. The only other part to the song is after the line 'Wild thing, I think I love you', where the chords, played quite quickly, are G, A, G, A.

'Wonderful Tonight' - Eric Clapton

The three chords for this one are G, D, C, D - repeated right through the song. If you're feeling adventurous, the guitar solo is easy to play, too - but we'll let you work out the notes to that one yourselves.

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¹ The little bit of plastic you use to hit the strings.
² Also known as being 'harmonically full'.