Have you started to learn to play the guitar or are you looking for some very easy tunes for your students? Well, I highly recommend easy nursery rhymes that can be played on just one string of the guitar! This way you don’t need to know how to hold a guitar chord, how to strum a pattern, or how to pick different strings.
One-string guitar songs reduce complexity enormously. This can lead to quick success, which is especially good for guitar beginners. In the beginning, playing the guitar seems hard and most people can’t imagine getting a good sound out of the instrument quickly. But when they learn to play a melody on just one string easily and quickly, it can really boost their motivation!
Actually yes but depends on high you want to move your hand the fretboard.
The best Songs to play just with one Guitar Strings
Many songs can be played on just one string. However, some songs have a big range of different notes pitches and you won’t be able to play them just on one string. In addition to that, not every songs won’t sound that nice just on just one string because if a song lives from its sound complexity, you take a lot of it away. That’s why nursery rhymes are the perfect one string guitar songs. They follow a simple melody anyway and most of them sound already really nice on just one string.
Below we have 11 beautiful nursery rhymes that you can play without any great guitar skills. What you do need to know is how to read guitar tabs. This may look a bit complicated for beginners, but remember that guitar tabs were introduced as a simpler alternative to sheet music. The lines represent the guitar string (the top line is the high E and the last line is the low E string of a guitar). The number on the line tells you on which fret to press down on the string. That’s it! If you want to learn more about reading guitar tabs, check out this resource.
We will play all the songs on the first string. But feel free to try them on any other string. The pattern remains the same and in that way you can play a lower version of the song. We also link to the full tutorial where we show you how to play the song with multiple strings and chords.
1. Mary had a little Lamb
A very good song to play on just one guitar string is Mary Had a Little Lamb. You only have to go up to the 7th fret to play it. In addition to that, nearly everybody knows the melody and lyrics and can sing along.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for Mary had a Little Lamb.
2. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
The melody of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is also perfect for playing on one string. However, you will have to go up to the 9th fret. This shouldn’t be a problem for beginners. You just have to move your hand a little more around the neck.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
3. ABC Song
Once you have mastered the melody of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, you won’t have much trouble playing the ABC song because they share the same melody. However, there are some differences in some parts of the melody, which is a great practice.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for the ABC Song.
4. Baa Baa Black Sheep
The old classic nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep has the same melody as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the ABC song. So it’s great to learn one of the three songs because you’ll have the basics for the other two nursery rhymes.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for Baa Baa Black Sheep.
5. Old MacDonald had a Farm
One of my favorite nursery rhymes is Old MacDonald had a Farm because all children love this tune! For this song you need to go up to the 9th fret. Once you master the melody, you can play all the verses, and there are no limits because you can add any farm animal.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for Old MacDonald had a Farm.
6. Happy Birthday to You
One of the best songs to learn on the guitar is Happy Birthday to You! When your child or someone in the family has their birthday and you can play this song on the guitar, everyone will be surprised and love it. And since you can play the melody on just one string, most beginners can learn it in just one day.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for the Happy Birthday to You.
7. Five Little Ducks
Five Little Ducks is not the most popular nursery rhyme, but it definitely deserves more attention. Children can practice counting backwards with this song. For this song, you have to play the first string up to the 12th fret.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for Five Little Ducks.
8. Row Row Row your Boat
For the children’s song Row Row Row Your Boat you have to go up to the 12th fret. Normally this is not a big deal, but it really depends on your guitar. On a standard acoustic guitar you can easily reach the 12th fret. But on smaller classical guitars, it can be a challenge if the guitar doesn’t have a cutaway.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for the Row Row Row your Boat.
9. The Wheels on the Bus
Another great nursery rhyme that almost every child likes is The Wheels on the Bus. There are many different verses that describe different actions and sounds associated with a bus ride. This song also requires playing the one string to the 12th fret.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for the Wheels on the Bus.
10. Itsy Bitsy Spider
If you want to play Itsy Bitsy Spider on only one string of your guitar, you will be playing mostly on the middle and upper part of the neck, because the song has more high notes. But give it a try, it sounds pretty nice!
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for Itsy Bitsy Spider.
11. Yankee Doodle
The popular American children’s song Yankee Doodle is probably the most difficult song on this list to play on one string! Why is that? Because if you want to play it while singing, the melody goes pretty fast and you have to play a lot of notes. On top of that, you have to go up to the 13th fret. On a classical guitar it can be quite a challenge to play the 13th fret correctly.
Get the full guitar tabs, chords and sheet music for Yankee Doodle.
Why playing one String songs should be only a start
Playing simple songs on one string of your guitar should be just the beginning for quick success, but you shouldn’t limit your playing to just one string! The guitar with its six strings gives you so many possibilities to make a song sound in so many different ways. That’s why you should also explore strumming easy guitar chords and picking more complex picking patterns.
