Easy Guitar Lullabies for Beginners
Lullabies are some of the best songs a new guitar player can learn: slow, repetitive, forgiving of small mistakes — and genuinely useful the moment you can play them. Here are the only chords you need and six real songs to start with tonight.
Your first 3 chords
A huge number of lullabies — including several on this site — use only these three chords. Learn this shape and you can already play whole songs.
The next 6 essentials
Once Am, Dm and E7 feel natural, these six will unlock the rest of the lullabies on this site — and most campfire songs anywhere.
Getting from chord shapes to a real song
Start with the 3-chord songs
Pick one song from the list below that uses only Am, Dm and E7. Play it through slowly with a simple down-strum on each beat before worrying about a fancier strumming pattern.
Use a basic strum pattern
A simple down-down-up-up-down-up pattern, played slowly and evenly, works for almost every lullaby on this site. Since lullabies are naturally slow, you have more time between chord changes than with most other songs — ideal for a beginner’s hands.
Fingerpick once strumming feels easy
Lullabies also sound beautiful fingerpicked, since a gentle, plucked sound suits a bedtime song even better than a strum. A simple thumb-then-fingers pattern (bass note, then the rest of the chord) is a natural next step once the chord shapes are comfortable.
6 lullabies to try first
All six use nothing but the “first 3 chords” above — Am, Dm and E7 — so you can play a complete, real song from day one.
A, A, A, Kotki Dwa
A gentle, rocking Polish classic — a great first song to learn the Am–Dm–E7 switch.
Ba Ba Mo Leanabh
A Scottish Gaelic lullaby with a simple, singable melody that sits easily over these three chords.
Andean Lullaby
An Andes-inspired melody built on the same three-chord foundation, with a slightly different feel.
Australian Lullaby
An original arrangement inspired by the outback — simple, warm, and easy to sing along to.
Dandini Dandini Dastana
A beloved Turkish lullaby with a rocking rhythm that’s very forgiving for a first attempt at strumming.
Itsuki no Komoriuta
A gentle, well-known Japanese lullaby — a lovely one to add once the chord changes feel smooth.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. None of the chords above require a barre (holding down multiple strings with one finger), which is usually the hardest skill for total beginners. All nine can be played with open strings and one or two fingers.
No. Any acoustic or classical guitar works well. A softer nylon-string classical guitar can sound especially gentle for bedtime songs, but steel-string is perfectly fine too.
Many beginners can play a slow, simple version of a 3-chord song within their first week of practice, especially if they start with just downstrokes.
Every song page on this site includes a complete chord diagram set (guitar and piano) and, once you’re logged in, a free downloadable chord sheet.
Ready to play a whole song?
Browse handplayed lullabies from more than 60 countries, each with full guitar & piano chords and a free chord sheet.
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