subject: 10 Easy Riffs To Learn That Sound Great [print this page] These guitar progressions are simple to learn with the basics, and despite their simplicity manage to still be epic. More than a few popular rock n' roll tunes were put together with simple major chords, and these are the songs that are probably most easily recognized. A lot of these also fall into the category of most played songs by guitarists.
1 - Black Sabbath's "Iron Man"
The song is almost totally made of power chords, but is a good metal guitar lesson for beginners to learn and show to their friends. Lot's of guitarists aspire to be Tony Iommi, as he is a pioneer of early metal guitar riffs.
2 - AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
Simple yet high-voltage rock, AC/DC are the masters of this style. This song is a great example of the aforementioned principle.
3 - Rush's "Fly by Night"
Easily recognized, simple to play, sounds catchy.
4 - None other than "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream
After just a couple seconds you should know the song, it's been around forever and every player under the sun knows it. It is not a bad song to listen to either.
5 - "Wonderwall" from English rockers Oasis
Fretboard-wise it's an easy one to learn, and is probably the most widely known and biggest charting Oasis single. Despite the easy finger positioning of the chords, you will have to use a capo.
6 - "Sweet Emotion" as done by Aerosmith
Fans of classic rock riffs will get it instantly, partly because it's played every day of rock radio, and it's also simple for guitarists to sit down and learn. If you want to advance from just playing the same strumming pattern, it's a good one to go for.
7 - The classic riff to Dio's "Holy Diver"
A noteworthy song to learn as it's from the legendary Dio.
8 - Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'"
As Tom's highest charting song ever, it's a catchy one that everyone will know. The progression is so recognizable that you would have a tough challenge finding someone who didn't know it.
9 - Deep Purple's classic "Smoke on the Water"
No description needed here. The only song that could maybe rival "Stairway to Heaven" in a "most played" competition.
10 - The good ole' "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf
One of the very first songs considered hard-rock/heavy-metal.
In this article you've seen a list of songs that you will be able to learn easily but that will also be instantly recognized by your peers.
