Piano Guidance
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How many songs can you play with 4 chords?

By learning just 4 simple chords, you can play more than 200 popular songs. Having some variety in your playlist keeps your guitar practicing fresh and keeps you learning new things.

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If you’re teaching yourself to play guitar or taking guitar lessons, there’s nothing more fun than playing your favorite songs. But you may think you need to learn dozens of chords before you start to play. Nothing could be farther from the truth! By learning just 4 simple chords, you can play more than 200 popular songs. Having some variety in your playlist keeps your guitar practicing fresh and keeps you learning new things.

Learn therse 4 chords

Here is a list of songs that can all be played in the key of E with the following chords: E, B, C#m, A. Click on any chord to learn more about how to play it, and variations if you prefer not to play barre chords. Looking for a fun and easy way to learn these essential chords? Download our printable chord flashcards for free. Most of these songs follow the I-V-vi-IV chord progression. Some of them follow the vi-IV-I-V progression, which is the same chords but in a different order.

A quick primer on chord progressions

Here is a chart showing the chords in E major. The roman numerals correspond to the chords of the song. So a song with a vi-IV-I-V progression will be C#m, A, E, and B. A song with the I-V-vi-IV progression will be E, B, C#m, and A. Key I ii iii IV V vi vii E Major E F#m G#m A B C#m D# dim Once you learn the sound of these progressions, you will start hearing them everywhere. I always hear Glycerine by Bush when I hear I-V-vi-IV. As a teenager, I worked in a guitar store and every Tuesday a kid would come in for his lesson a few minutes early. He’d grab a guitar off the wall and play Glycerine. It is now forever etched into my brain. Hopefully this sparks you to think of songs in terms of chord progressions. As a player, it will benefit you to know how to play the same songs in different keys.

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Learn More »

Songs that use I-V-vi-IV

I’ve Been Waiting For This Night – Donny Montell

Ride – Twenty One Pilots

20 Good Reasons – Thirsty Merc

A Letter to Elise – The Cure

Afterlife – Avenged Sevenfold

All Too Well – Taylor Swift

Almost – Bowling for Soup

Always on My Mind – Brenda Lee

Am I Not Too Sweet – Natural Born Hippies

Androgynous – The Replacements

Another Girl, Another Planet – The Only Ones

Beast of Burden – The Rolling Stones

Brighter – Against the Current

Bullet – Hollywood Undead

California King Bed – Rihanna

Caramelldansen – Caramell

Con te partirò (Time To Say Goodbye) – Andrea Bocelli

Cruise – Florida Georgia Line

Cryin’ – Aerosmith

Dammit – Blink-182

Demons – Imagine Dragons

Dirty Little Secret – The All-American Rejects

Don’t Stop the Dancing – DJ Manian

Down Under – Men at Work

Dragostea Din Tei – O-Zone

Dream Catch Me – Newton Faulkner

Feeling This – Blink-182

Flashlight – Jessie J

Forever Young – Alphaville

Fuckin’ Perfect – P!nk

Glycerine – Bush

Going to Pasalacqua – Green Day

Hair – Lady Gaga

Happy Ending – Mika

Heaven – Troye Sivan

Heist aan zee – Bart Peeters

Here (In Your Arms) – Hellogoodbye

Here Without You – 3 Doors Down

Hey, Soul Sister – Train

Hide and Seek – Imogen Heap

High – Lighthouse Family

I Knew You Were Trouble[52] – Taylor Swift

I Need Your Love – Calvin Harris

I See You – Mika

I Try – Macy Gray

I Wanna Talk About Me – Toby Keith

I’m Goin’ Down[53] – Bruce Springsteen

I’m Yours – Jason Mraz

If We Ever Meet Again – Timbaland feat. Katy Perry

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Innocent – Taylor Swift

Just Ace – Grinspoon

Let It Be – The Beatles

Love – Lana Del Rey

My Name Is Jonas – Weezer

Nights With You – MØ

No One Else – Weezer

No One – Alicia Keys

No Scrubs – TLC

No Woman, No Cry – Bob Marley

On Melancholy Hill – Gorillaz

One Day – Matisyahu

Out of the Woods – Taylor Swift

Party in the U.S.A. – Miley Cyrus

Pork and Beans – Weezer

Push – Matchbox Twenty

Right Here Waiting – Richard Marx

Rods and Cones – Blue Man Group

Save as Draft – Katy Perry

Say You Won’t Let Go – James Arthur

Scar – Missy Higgins

Shooting Star – Amy Diamond

Since You Been Gone – Russ Ballard

So Lonely – The Police

Summer Paradise – Simple Plan

Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver

Television Romance – Pale Waves

The Cheat Is Not Dead – Strong Bad

The Edge of Glory – Lady Gaga

The Office theme – The Scrantones

The Story – Brandi Carlile

To Know Him Is to Love Him – The Teddy Bears

Torn – Natalie Imbruglia

Tuesday’s Gone – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show

Walking Disaster – Sum 41

What About Now – Lonestar

What Would I Change It To – Avicii & AlunaGeorge

When I Come Around – Green Day

Wherever You Will Go – The Calling

With or Without You – U2

Would You Be So Kind – dodie

X-Kid – Green Day

Youth – Troye Sivan

Songs that use vi-IV-I-V

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