The guitar sheet music presented here is color coded and tabbed for use with our Don't Fret Note Map™
These beginner guitar sheet music songs are intended to help novice level players quickly learn easy guitar songs. In the beginning, strive to emphasize beats one and three for the "beginner" songs. Take time to understand how tempo and rhythm are incorporated into a song. Consult a qualified instructor or the internet for more information about tempo and rhythm.
Most recently posted song: El Condor Pasa
Blues in G | Amazing Grace | When the Saints Go Marching In | El Condor Pasa | Little Brown Jug | Scarborough Fair | Oh Susanna | C.C. Rider | Sloop John B | House of the Rising Sun | Hava Naguila | Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out | San Francisco Bay Blues | Tennessee Waltz
These songs features our unique Color Coded Guitar Tablature™. Visit our "How To Use It" page for more about the easiest guitar tablature on the web.
This easy beginner guitar song features our color coded guitar tablature, has no sharps or flats and contains three beats per measure. Go slow at first, tap out the beats with your foot and have fun with this easy guitar song.
This easy beginner guitar version of Scarborough Fair features our color coded guitar tablature, contains one sharp, has three beats per measure and contains "dotted" notes. The dot adds one-half of the duration value of the note to itself. For instance, one-half of the value of a half note is a quarter note. Therefore, a dotted half note equals the time value of a half note plus a quarter note. In this song (being in 3/4 time), a dotted half-note is played for a full measure.
This song features our color coded guitar tab. See more about how to "play by the colors" by visiting our How To Us It page.
Originally known as "See See Rider", this song is also known as "C.C. Rider", "See See Rider Blues", "Easy Rider" and "Easy Rider Blues". The song is most likely traditional in its origin and has no known author. The first recorded version in 1925 was done by the great blues singer Ma Rainey. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels took their version to number one in the US in 1965. The next year the Animals topped the chart with their version.
"The John B. Sails" is a Bahamian folk song of unknown origin that first appeared in a 1917 American novel, Pieces of Eight, written by Richard Le Gallienne. Alan Lomax made a field recording of the song in Nassau, Bahama in 1935, under the title "Histe Up the John B. Sail". The song was first recorded in the United States by the Weavers in 1950 and titled “Wreck of the John B”. The Kingston Trio recorded the song under the title “Sloop John B” in 1958 and then saw the Beach Boys make it a hit in 1966. Please Note: This song is composed in the key of F major which means all B's are flatted.
If I had listened to what mama said,
I'd be at home today.
But being so young and foolish poor girl,
let a gambler lead me astray.
My husband is a gambling man,
he goes from town to town.
And the only time he's satisfied,
is when he drinks his liquour down.
The only thing a gambling man needs,
is a suitcase and a trunk.
And the only time he's satisfied,
is when he's on a drunk.
Go tell my baby sister,
never do like I have done.
To shun that house in New Orleans,
they call the Rising Sun.
It's one foot on the platform,
and the other on the train.
I'm going back to New Orleans,
to wear the ball and chain.
This easy version of Hava Naguila is a classic rendition of the tradition Klezmer song. Listen to a recording of this song to get a feel for how it's played.
“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” is one of many “must learn” blues standards. Written by Jimmy Cox in 1923 the song tells the tail of a millionaire that loses it all during the Prohibition era. The story gives the perspective of the delicate social balance between wealth and failure.
Notable renditions have been done by: Leadbelly, The Spencer Davis Group, Janis Joplin, Derek and the Domino’s, John Lennon, Eric Clapton and B. B. King to name a few.
Once I lived the life of a millionaire
Spending my money, with never a care
Takin' all my friends out for a good time
Drinkin' high-priced liquor, champagne and wine;
Then I began to fall so low;
Didn't have a friend, and noplace to go
If I ever get my hands on a dollar again
I'm gonna squeeze it, until the eagle grins, cause
Nobody knows you when you're down and out.
In your pocket, not one penny
And your friends -- you find you haven't any.
But as soon as you get back on your feet again
Everybody wants to be your long-lost friend
It's might strange, without a doubt
Nobody knows you when you're down and out.
