Looking for acoustic guitar tabs? We’re going to show you 19 iconic acoustic guitar songs. Hold on tight, it’s going to be awesome!
In this free guitar lesson you will learn:
- 19 epic acoustic guitar tabs which sound amazing.
- 3 essential acoustic guitar hacks that will accelerate your guitar progress.
- These acoustic guitar tabs cover a wide range of musical genres; this will enhance your musicality.
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1) ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd
This track is one of Pink Floyd’s most well-known tracks.
This acoustic guitar tabs is perfect for beginners because:
- It blends chords and lead techniques into one awesome package.
- It’s fantastic for practicing your alternate picking and chords.
- It sounds awesome!
Listen to this video to hear this track:
There are a few tricky chords in this one, so look out for them!
2) ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’ by Green Day
This next track was THE sound track of the 1990s.
To play this song, you must know the following chords:
- G major.
- C major.
- D major.
- E minor.
(If you don't understand the above image please read our article "How To Read Guitar Chordboxes In 60 Seconds". It will make everything clear!)
Here are the chord boxes for each of those chords:
G Major
C Major
D Major
E minor
There are two sections to this song:
- Verse
- Chorus
The verse features the following chords:
G |C D
1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4
The bridge features the following chords:
Em G | Em G |Em D
1 2 3 4| 1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4
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3) ‘Redemption Song’ by Bob Marley
This song is a reggae classic and is one of Bob Marley’s most popular songs.
For this part of the lesson, we’re going to learn the opening riff.
In this video, Jack will show you how to play this iconic acoustic guitar tabs:
Here are a few reasons why this acoustic guitar tabs is great to learn:
- It’s fun and easy to play.
- It sounds great!
- It only uses the first 3 strings on the guitar.
4) ‘Hotel California’ by The Eagles
If you’ve ever played ‘Guitar Hero’, you will know this next song.
This song is EPIC and sounds fantastic when played on acoustic guitar.
For this acoustic guitar tabs, we’re going to learn the intro which is played on a 12 string acoustic.
A 12 string guitar is less common than an acoustic. To learn more about weird and wonderful guitar types, go here: 9 Types of Guitar Every Guitarist Should Know
Here’s the acoustic guitar tabs:
5) ‘Here Comes The Sun’ by The Beatles
‘Here Comes The Sun’ is an epic acoustic track. The opening 30 seconds of this song is THE sound of the sixties!
Here are a few reasons why this tab made it onto our list of acoustic guitar tabs:
- This progression uses open chords which sound amazing.
- This song is perfect for practicing your picking.
- It’s a crowd-pleaser, EVERYONE loves this 60s hit.
To learn this song, check out this tab by Ultimate Guitar: Here Comes The Sun by ‘The Beatles’
6) ‘Tears in Heaven’ by Eric Clapton
Tears in heaven is one of Eric Clapton’s softer tracks, however it is an acoustic classic.
This song is perfect for enhancing your finger picking technique.
It isn’t the easiest of songs to learn, however it’s SO iconic we couldn’t possible leave it off of this list.
Listen to it here:
To learn the full tab for this song, go here: ‘Tears In Heaven’ by Eric Clapton
7) ‘Stairway To Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin
The opening of ‘Stairway To Heaven’ has been heard in guitar shops for decades.
There’s a reason for this, it’s one of THE most iconic acoustic guitar riffs of all time.
Here a couple of reasons why you should learn this epic acoustic guitar tabs:
- It’s hugely popular!
- It’s a great way of enhancing your finger dexterity.
- This riff is PERFECT for practicing finger picking.
Fun Fact!
‘Stairway To Heaven’ was originally played on a double neck Gibson SG, an electric guitar. However, this riff also sounds epic on acoustic guitar.
To learn this song in more detail, go here: ‘Hotel California’ by The Eagles
Song Hack!
This song uses a capo on the 7th fret, this makes playing the song FAR easier.
If you how to use a capo, go here:How To Use A Capo
8) ‘Harvest Moon’ by Neil Young
‘Harvest Moon’ is the title track of Neil Young’s 1992 album ‘Harvest Moon’.
Neil Young is known for creating iconic acoustic guitar tracks and ‘Harvest Moon’ is no exception.
Listen to the song here:
To learn this iconic acoustic guitar tabs, go here: ‘Harvest Moon’ by Neil Young
9) ‘She Talks To Angels’ by The Black Crowes
‘She Talks To Angels’ was one of The Black Crowes biggest hits in the 1990s.
It was off of their debut album ‘Shake Your Money Maker’ and was the fourth single which was released off of that album.
This track is a fantastic acoustic number, here are a few reasons why this song made it onto our list of top acoustic guitar tabs:
- The opening riff is fun to play and sounds fantastic!
- It uses open strings and sounds wicked on an acoustic.
- It’s an unusual tuning, so is perfect if you want to experiment with a new tuning.
For this song, you will need to tune your guitar like this:
- E (6th string).
- B (5th string).
- E (4th string).
- G# (3rd string).
- B (2nd string).
- E (1st string).
Experimenting with new tunings can add a new flavour to your guitar playing.
Listen to the track here:
To learn this classic track, go here: ‘She Talks To Angels’ by The Black Crowes
.
10) ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz
This next track is perfect for any aspiring guitarist.
Here are a few reasons why:
- It uses the same chords all the way through.
- It’s a great introduction into reggae style strumming patterns.
- It’s a crowd pleaser, EVERYONE loves this song.
Click play to listen to this track:
The chords in this track are:
- G6.
- Dsus2.
- E minor.
- C major 7.
G6
Dsus2
Em
Cmaj7
For this song, the strumming pattern is slightly unusual.
In music, most of the time you strum on every beat.
Like this:
1 2 3 4
In this song, we’re only going to strum on beats 2 and 4.
Like this:
1 2 3 4
11) ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran
‘Thinking out loud’ was one of the most played tracks of 2014. It hit number one in the UK, US, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia and South Africa.
It was one of the first singles to spend a whole year in the UK top 40.
Here a few reasons why this song made it onto our list of acoustic guitar tabs:
- It’s simple to learn, it only uses a few chords.
- The strumming pattern is fun and interesting to play.
- It’s a crowd pleaser, if you played this at a party you would tear the house down!
Here’s the video:
This song uses the following chords:
- D major.
- D/F#.
- G major.
- A major.
You must know these chords if you want to be able to play the intro.
Here are the chord boxes for each of these songs:
D Major
D/F#
G Major
A Major
To learn this song in more detail, go here: ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran
12) ‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman
‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman is an 80s classic. This track put acoustic guitar on the map!
If you’re an guitarist, you must know how to play this guitar riff.
Here are a few fun facts why you should learn this track:
- This acoustic guitar riff is guaranteed to make you sound amazing.
- It goes down SO well at parties.
- It’s fun to play!
Here’s the acoustic guitar tabs:
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13) ‘Better Together’ by Jack Johnson
This song is one of the best songs you can learn on acoustic.
Here are a few reasons why:
- It uses string slapping technique. Learning how to string slap enhances your musical phrasing and musicality.
- It’s great for practicing barre chords.
- It’s a very popular track, great for those chill out guitar sessions at home.
If you want to know how to play this track, you must know how to barre chords.Watch this video to learn how:
You also might want to brush up on your string slapping technique, watch this video to learn how to string slap:
To learn how to play this track, go here: ‘Better Together’ by Jack Johnson
14) ‘Under The Bridge’ by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
This ballad is one of The Red Hot Chili Peppers most successful songs. It’s was a HUGE hit for them in the 1990s and allowed them to break into the mainstream music scene.
Here are a few reasons why this track made it onto our list of acoustic guitar tabs:
- It sounds great, EVERYONE loves this track.
- It’s perfect for practicing barre chords.
- If you want to nail your alternate picking, you should learn this track.
Here’s the video for this epic track:
Be careful when learning this song, barring each chord is tricky. If you find barring difficult, use a capo on the 2nd fret and play the following chords:
- C Major.
- A Minor.
15) ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd
This track is one of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s most iconic tracks.
It’s perfect for beginners because it uses 3 chords all the way through.
It sounds fantastic and is the perfect song for parties and gigs.
If you want to learn this song, you must know the following chords:
- D major.
- C major.
- G major.
To learn the track, watch this video:
16) ‘Blowin In The Wind’ by Bob Dylan
This song is perfect for acoustic guitarists as it only uses 3 chords.
Those chords are:
- G
- C
- D
If you want to learn this song, you need to know these chords!
To learn this chords, check out these lessons:
This song has two sections:
- A Verse.
- A Chorus.
The verse progression goes like this:
G C |D G |G C | D |
1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4 |
The chorus goes like this:
C D |G C |C D |G |
1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4 |
17) ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis
If you ever think of songs on acoustic, the first song which comes to mind is ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis.
Even though it’s a cliché, it wouldn’t be right to not have it on this list.
This song is the sound of the 90s, to listen to this song go here:
For this song, you will need to know the following chords:
- Em7.
- G.
- Dsus4.
- A7sus4.
- C add 9.
This chords are a little different to standard open chords, however you could still play the following chords:
- Em
- G
- D
- A
- C
These chords would work perfectly.
To learn this song in more detail, go here: ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis
18) ‘Street Spirit’ by Radiohead
Even though this song is played on an electric, it also sounds fantastic on an acoustic too.
There’s no better sound than huge chords ringing out an acoustic.
This track is perfect for the guitarist who wants to:
- Develop their technique and dexterity.
- Practice complex chord shapes.
- Enhance their picking skills!
Watch this video to hear this song:
Here’s the acoustic guitar tabs for the opening riff of this song:
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19) ‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift
‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift is one of the most popular songs of the 21st century. With other a billion hits on YouTube, there’s no way that you don’t know this song.
Click ‘play’ to watch this video:
This song is perfect for beginner acoustic guitarists to learn.
Here’s why:
- It uses 3 chords.
- The strumming pattern is really fun to play.
- It’s a crowd pleaser, EVERYONE loves this song.
The chords in this song are:
- Am7
- Cmaj7
- G6
To learn this song, watch this video:
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