Guitar Songs For Kids – Our 5 Favourite Tunes

Guitar songs for kids are a lot of fun to play – let’s learn to play our five favourites!

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In this free lesson you will learn…

• 5 songs for kids that are fun to play
• How to use 7th chords to turn a progression around
• Why singing along helps your ears
• A song that can be sung in English OR French!

If You’re Looking For Guitar Songs For Kids, You’ve Come To The Right Place

Children are brilliant little creatures with extremely absorbent minds, and it’s crucial that we nurture them from the minute they step foot into the world.

Music is an incredible force that can help shape the minds of children in massive ways.

If you’re already even the least bit inclined to play music, it’s worth looking up some guitar songs for kids that you can learn and play to your children.

Children’s songs are a lot of fun, and they can help our little toddlers get familiar with the concept of melodies early on in their development. Let’s explore that concept in today’s lesson.

Guitar songs for kids are fun – they help us learn new chords as guitarists while expanding the minds of our children with simple melodies that will get stuck in their heads and have them singing along in time.

On the other hand, if you’re here because you’re kid has a guitar and you want some handy guitar songs for kids that they can learn, these tunes will help all the same.

You’ll find these songs to be simple and very straightforward, light enough that you can learn to sing along to the chords as you play them.

Before we get to the song list, we should ask ourselves – what makes a good song for children?

What Elements Make Up Great Guitar Songs For Kids?

In short, simplicity – but of course, there’s more to it than that.

Guitar songs for kids are usually written in a major key to signify an uplifting mood that will instill joy in the child listening.

When it comes to kids’ songs, we always want to avoid chords that sound tense, so we often stick to chords that sound very neutral, like major or minor chords.

It sounds weird, but the point of these songs is to make them as happy-sounding as possible.

The biggest part of that is the chord choice, and we encourage you to take a close look at the chords in each of these guitar songs for kids as we go through each of them.

The Fun Behind Simple Songs

Simplicity means that we can focus on the mood of the song rather than stressing over severe chord changes.

This is important with guitar songs for kids, as we want to keep them dancing and grooving for as long as possible.

For this reason, you will never see an abundance of complex chords in children’s music.

Simple songs also mean that the child can memorize the melody and lyrics with ease, no matter how young they are. The guitar songs for kids on this list will no doubt keep your kids singing along for hours.

These tunes come with a lot of benefits for our children due to the way in which they are structured.

To memorize a melody is to stir the memory of your child and encourage them to pick them up on their own.

We would strongly encourage any parent learning these guitar songs for kids to pay attention to how closely their children mimic the melodies played to them from this lesson.

With that all out of the way, let’s explore some guitar songs for kids that will help them further explore the beautiful world of music!

Guitar Songs For Kids I – The ABC Song

You’ll only need four chords to nail this song perfectly for the little tykes in your life, but you’ll want to pay attention to the chord progression as it’s listed below either way.

The “Alphabet Song” as most people know it is a staple in every North American child’s life, and for good reason given the massive lesson that it teaches.

It also teaches us a thing or two about quick chord changes, so don’t discount this song just because it’s on our list of guitar songs for kids.

You’re bound to run into the F and G7 chords here are well, so make sure to give a little stretch before you start to practice.

C MAJOR

 

F MAJOR

G7

G MAJOR

Now that we’ve had a chance to sit with the chords individually for a few minutes, we’re going to want to take a look at the lyrics and sketch out how best to approach the first song in this list of guitar songs for kids.

Have a look at the lyrics below and the chord placement.

C                    F         C

A – B – C – D – E – F – G

 

F        C        G7        C

H – I – J – K – LMNO – P

 

C         F   C         G

Q – R – S – T – U – V

 

C    F    C       G

W – X – Y and Z

 

C                       F C

Now I know my ABC’s

 

F              C             G7          C

next time won’t you sing with me.

Pro Tip: Sing along with these guitar songs for kids to help get a feel for the flow of each tune!

Guitar Songs For Kids II – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

A classic staple in every parent’s household, this tune is one of the first songs that many children learn.

The melody is simple and repetitive, making it the easiest of the guitar songs for kids on this list.

This one is worth singing over and over with your child so that they can learn to sing it back to you.

If you’re looking for easy guitar songs for kids, look no further as this song only contains three chords.

Let’s take a look at the progression below.

C MAJOR

F MAJOR

G7

C                        F     C

Twinkle, twinkle little star.

 

F        C          G7           C

How I wonder what you are.

 

C   F              C            G7

Up above the world so high,

 

C         F           C        G7

Like a diamond in the sky.

 

C                         F      C

Twinkle, twinkle little star.

 

F         C         G7           C

How I wonder what you are.

 

[Verse 2]

C                           F        C

When the blazing sun is gone,

 

F               C          G7      C

When he nothing shines upon,

 

C              F               C      G7

Then you show your little light,

 

C            F           C       G7

Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

 

C                       F      C

Twinkle, twinkle little star.

 

F        C           G7          C

How I wonder what you are.

Guitar Songs For Kids III – Baa Baa Black Sheep

This is one of those songs you just never forget, even as an adult.

“Baa Baa Black Sheep” is a very traditional nursery rhyme and was an essential pick for our list of guitar songs for kids.

This song uses only the G, D and C chords, so it’s impeccably easy to pick up with a little bit of practice.

Pro Tip: If you’re brand new to guitar playing and these chords are taking you a while to learn, just slow down a bit! Slowing our practice and focusing on one note at a time.

G MAJOR

D MAJOR

 

C MAJOR

G            D

Baa baa black sheep

 

C                    G

Have you any wool

 

C          G

Yes sir yes sir

 

D                 G

Three bags full

 

[Verse 2]

 

G                C

One for the master

 

G                D

One for the dame

 

G                    C

And one for the little boy

 

G     D            G

Who lives down the lane

 

[Verse 3]

 

G                  C

Thank you says the master

 

G                D

Thank you says the dame

 

G                  C

And thank you says the little boy

 

G     D        G

Who lives down the lane.

 

This is one of our favourite guitar songs for kids, but we’ve still got two more to go. Let’s keep moving!

Guitar Songs For Kids IV – Old Macdonald Had A Farm

As adults, we all know about Old Macdonald and his farm.

We know how big it was, we know about all the lovely animal friends he took care of on his farm; but we don’t know the chords he used!

What’s up with that?

To keep this list of guitar songs for kids moving steadily, we’re going to look very closely at the four chords used in this song.

There are a lot of lyrics to this once so we’re only going to include the intro and the verse, but these chords can be applied to the rest of the song as well.

A MAJOR

D MAJOR

E MAJOR 

Intro

A             D     A

Old MacDonald had a farm,

 

A    E    A

Ee i ee i oh!

 

A                   D        A

And on that farm he had some chickens,

 

A    E    A

Ee i ee i oh!

 

Verse

D     D     A

With a cluck-cluck here,

 

D     D     A

And a cluck-cluck there

 

A             D

Here a cluck, there a cluck,

 

A            D     D

Everywhere a cluck-cluck

 

A             D     A

Old MacDonald had a farm

 

A    E    A    A

Ee i ee i oh!

As you can see, there isn’t much to this tune – it’s just a matter of good chord placement.

Take note of the chord repetitions, as sometimes this song will call for you to play a chord twice in a row for some added musical “punctuation.”

We’ve got one more tune on our list of guitar songs for kids – are you ready?

Guitar Songs For Kids V – Frère Jacques / Are You Sleeping

“Frère Jacques” a french traditional nursery rhyme that is also quite popular for English-speaking folk.

In fact, this has become such a common nursery rhyme that it sometimes finds its way into being sung in not one, but both languages.

We’ve got both versions written out for you below, so you can sing it any way that you like.

For this last song on our list of guitar songs for kids, we’re playing with only four chords:

G – D – C – D7 

Pro Tip: Watch out for those quick chord changes! Practice slowly to master the changes effectively, as they can be a bit of a doozy if you aren’t prepared for them.

G MAJOR

D MAJOR

C MAJOR

D7

French:

G   D  G            G  D  G

Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,

 

G   C      D        G  C      D

Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?

 

D7              G            D7              G

Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines

 

C      D      G       C      D      G

Ding dang dong, ding dang dong.

—-

English:

 

G   D    G             G    D    G

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?

 

G   C     D      G   C      D

Brother John, Brother John?

 

D7                        G          D7                        G

Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing

 

C      D     G        C     D     G

Ding ding dong, ding ding dong.

Pro Tip: Try counting “1-2-3-4-” throughout the song to pace out your timing. You’ll find that it becomes easier over time to nail the chord changes when you know the beats that they land upon. 

Best Practices To Make These Songs Easier

Any song that is worth practicing will teach you something that will help push your guitar playing forward.

Even though these are guitar songs for kids, there are still plenty of chords that provide teachable moments for us, including the use of 7th chords to turn the chord progressions around.

Whether you’re playing these songs for yourself or for your children, we’ve got a few tips below that will help you play all five of them like a champion.

Scroll down to find some best practices to tighten up with.

Pro Tips:

• Practice slowly and sing along as you learn each chord to hear how the lyrics and melody fit into the chord. This is an extremely beneficial exercise that will help you with your ear training in a big way.
• Use arpeggios to help yourself learn more difficult chords. This technique helps us separate the different notes of our chords so that we can play and hear them more clearly. Arpeggios benefit your ears and your technique, so use them often and use them wisely!
• Practice often. The more time we spend practicing these chords and singing over them, the more used to them our hands and ears will become.

In the words of Adam Neely – “Repetition legitimizes.”

The Power Of Melodies In Guitar Songs For Kids

Simple melodies like the ones found in the songs on this list are easy to get stuck in the heads and ears of our children.

It’s important to get our little ones exposed to as much music as possible at a young age, and these simple guitar songs for kids can serve as wonderful ear training exercises.

Above that, these tunes can serve as excellent gateways to pique a musical interest in our kids.

So what are you waiting for? Get to practicing so you can share these tunes with the apples of your eye. 

Recommended Resources

If you enjoyed this lesson on guitar songs for kids, you’re going to love the other lessons we’ve got plotted out for you below:

• The Ultimate Guide To Guitar Chords
• 9 Power Chord Songs
• Sus Chords – An Essential Guide
• Guitar Lessons For Kids
• Types of Guitar Strings