Your First Song On  Guitar

also, see How to hold a guitar.

There are millions of songs written in an almost equal number of languages, and whose popularity depends on cultural preference and the genre of music. The first guitar song to play, however, is one melody that overcomes all barriers when it comes to likability and common knowledge.

Yes! It is the most widely played song in the world:

      “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”

Now, as a budding guitarist, you may be impatient to play all your favourite music right away. I certainly wanted to, but although that time will come for sure, it is better to get accustomed to playing one easy song from start to finish and put that in your playlist, to be performed anytime anywhere. The finish is important because that’s where the applause awaits.

It is also a good opportunity for you to showcase yourself to friends and family that you have taken up a new hobby and are doing well.

Friends and family are usually the first audience for any musician and provide the best feedback.

Remember, the chance to play this song presents itself quite often during the course of the year.

This is why I have included the basic version and a more advanced version which you could also learn over time and gain even more applause.

So let’s begin with the first guitar song to play…

The Chords Needed:

Playing Happy Birthday has its advantage, in the fact that it incorporates OPEN or BASE chords in its playing. This is a good starting point for chord learning and can later lead to the more difficult “barre” chords.

The Diagrams are of Chords, showing you the finger positions, stings to play, and the name of the chord shown.

In the first diagram:

The chord name is G, the circles below the letter G indicate that the corresponding string is to be played “OPEN“, i.e. without holding down the string on any fret.

The numbers on the bottom, indicate the finger used to hold down that particular string and the black circles indicate which fret needs to be used.

So, to play the G chord, use your second finger, of your left or fretting hand, on the 6th string, 3rd fret;

your first finger on the 5th string, 2nd fret;

and your 3rd finger on the 1st string,3rd fret.

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings are not fretted but played open, as mentioned.

Lyrics and Chords:

first verse

————G—————–———D

Happy BIRthday to YOU,

————D7————–———G

Happy BIRthday to YOU,

————G———————–————C

Happy BIRthday, Dear ” Name”

———–G—————————D7

Happy BIRthday to YOU

second verse

————G—————–——————D

From good friends and true

————D7————–—————G

From old friends and new,

————G———————–———C

May good luck go with you

———–G—————D7

And happiness too

“REPEAT FIRST VERSE“

The strumming pattern would be the basic:

Down– Up– Down

A pattern that could be improvised on in the future as your feel for playing improves.

So, as promised, your first song on the guitar is a simple one to play utilizing easy open chords but is the most commonly played and well received songs in the world.

You cannot go wrong with this being your first guitar song to play, only praise and recognition would follow.

Finger-Style Version

If you want to impress the crowd a bit more with your first song on the guitar, I have posted below two additional levels of difficulty of the song “Happy Birthday” in the finger-style method of playing.

Click here if you wish to Learn Tablature.

Level ONE

Level TWO

And on that Happy Note, I would like to wish whoever you play your;

“First Song on Guitar” for:

♥ *A Very Happy Birthday* ♥