Whether you are a fan of Christmas carols or you find them a necessary evil, one thing is for sure; Christmas songs are great for learning to play the guitar. The traditional composure and simple chord progression makes playing these tunes the quickest road to guitar mastery. Here are some of the easiest Christmas songs to practise with on this festive season

3-4 Chord Christmas Songs

The great thing about Christmas carols is their adaptability. You can simply try different compositions to make the song work better or make it easier to play. And many Christmas songs can be adapted so that you’ll only need to use 3-4 chords.

Once you’ve mastered the basic chords of G, Em, C and D, you can pick up your guitar and play a list of big Christmas hits such as ‘Feliz Navidad’, ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Silent Night’. If you are looking for something a little different, you could use these same chords to play ‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues or ‘Mud’s Lonely This Christmas’.

You can even master a Christmas song by using just three chords. ‘Jingle Bells’, ‘The First Noel’ and ‘Joy To The World’ can be played with just three chords.

6 Chord Christmas Songs

Once you master the above, you should try to add a few more chords and move onto tougher Christmas carols. Although these songs use six chords, they are still easy enough for a beginner.

You can play many great Christmas carols by just using six chords. Songs like ‘Deck The Halls’, ‘Hark! The Heralds Angels Sing’, ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas and ‘O Christmas Tree’ require a bit more skill, but you’ll get there with practice.

If playing ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Silent Night’ seemed straightforward with 3 and 4 chords, then you can find compositions that use six chords. The additional chords provide more structure to your song, adding some depth to your playing.

Easy Contemporary Songs

If you are looking for a challenge and you prefer to play more contemporary Christmas songs, then you have plenty of choice available. For beginner guitarists, Christmas songs such as John Lennon’s ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ and Chris Rea’s ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ are great picks.

Both songs use a bit more chords, but if you have the basics under control, you can master these songs as well. The John Lennon song will teach you a lot about timing your chords right and you’ll improve your speed by practicing the song.

Remember to pick a song that you like, to ensure you don’t find practice too frustrating. The great thing about playing Christmas songs is how you’ll be able to pick mistakes quicker. You’ll know how the song is supposed to sound, so it makes it easier to know where you played wrong. Easy Christmas songs enhance your ability to pick mistakes by ear, as well as know the right chords without having to continuously stare the sheet!

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