100+ Songs You Can Play With Only Three Chords

 

“Any time you use more than three chords, you’re just showing off!”

               Woody Guthrie

 

With Only One Chord (Tonic)

Frere Jaques  4/4

Where is Thumbkin?  4/4

Row Row Row  6/8

Three Blind Mice  6/8

Honkey Tonkin’ 4/4

 

I & V Chords Only

(Tonic & Dominant)

Easiest

Ain't Gonna Rain  4/4

Apples & Bananas 4/4

Down In The Valley  3/4 

Dreidl Song 4/4

Go Eat Worms  4/4 

Hokey Pokey  4/4 

Iko Iko  4/4 

Jambalaya  4/4 

Tom Dooley  4/4 

A Little Harder

Allouette  4/4

Beans In My Ears  3/4 

Buffalo Gals  4/4 

Clementine  3/4 

Did You Ever See a Lassie?  3/4

Down At The Station  4/4 

Eensy Weensy Spider  6/8 

Go Tell Aunt Rhody  4/4 

I Know An Old Lady  6/8 

Mama's Gonna Buy You a

    Mockingbird  4/4 

Memphis Tennessee   4/4

Ms Murphy's Chowder  4/4 

My Home's Across The

    Blue Ridge Mntns  4/4 

Oh Tannenbaum 3/4

Rock O' My Soul  4/4 

Skip To My Lou  4/4 

That’s Amore ¾

They All Asked For You 4/4

Tom The Toad  3/4 

Wheels On The Bus  4/4 

Whole World  4/4 


I, IV and V Chords 

(Tonic, Subdominant & Dominant) 

Easiest

La Bamba  4/4 

On Top Of Old

   Smokey/Spaghetti 3/4

Pack Up Your Sorrows 4/4 

Paradise  3/4 

Rock Around Clock  4/4

This Land Is Your Land  4/4

Twist And Shout  4/4 

A Little Harder

Ain’t No Cure Summertime Blues 4/4

All God's Critters  4/4 

Amazing Grace  3/4

Banks Of The Ohio  4/4  *

Boom Boom  4/4 

Brahms' Lullabye  3/4 

Bringing In Sheaves 4/4 

Bye Bye Love 4/4

Camptown Races  4/4 

Careless Love  4/4  *

Charlie & The MTA  4/4 

Cindy  4/4 

Coming Thru The Rye  4/4 

Crawdad  4/4  *

Cripple Creek  4/4 

Dark as a Dungeon  4/4 

Deportee  3/4 

Down By The Bay  4/4 

Erica Levine  4/4 

Everybody Loves Saturday Night 4/4

Feelin’ Groovy  4/4

The Fox  4/4 

Frankie And Johnny  4/4

Frozen Logger  3/4 

Going To The Zoo  4/4 

Goodnight Irene  3/4  *

Hallelujah, I'm A Bum  3/4 

Hills Of Isle Au Haut  4/4 

Home On The Range  3/4

I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow 4/4

I'll Fly Away  4/4 

I'm A Little Teapot  6/8 

I Never Will Marry  3/4 

I Still Miss Someone  4/4 

If You Miss Me At The

    Back Of The Bus  4/4

If You're Happy And You Know It 4/4

Jamaica Farewell Calypso 

John B. Sails  Calypso  

Johnny B Goode  4/4

King Of The Road  4/4 

Lean On Me 4/4

Leaning On The

    Everlasting Arms  4/4

Little Boxes  3/4 

Long Black Veil  4/4 

Long Tall Texan  4/4 

Mama Don't Allow  4/4  *

Me And Bobby McGee 4/4

Midnight Special  4/4

New River Train  4/4  *

Oh Suzannah  4/4 

Old MacDonald  4/4 

Old Time Religion  4/4  *

Old Texas  6/8 

Purple People Eater  4/4 

Put Your Finger In The Air  4/4  *

Red River Valley  4/4  *

Riding In The Car  4/4  *

Rivers / Babylon Calypso

Study War No More  4/4

Tis A Gift To Be Simple 4/4

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 4/4 

Unicorn Song* 4/4

When The Saints  4/4  *

Wildwood Flower  4/4 

Will The Circle Be Unbroken  4/4

Yellow Is The Color  4/4 

Yakkety Yak  4/4

You Are My Sunshine  4/4

 

*   Contains   I   I7  IV   and maybe iv or iv° (diminished) sequence in the third line.

 

 

Musician’s Calculator

 

        A       

     G        B   

    F           C

       E    D

 

 

I           IV         V

A          D          E

C          F          G

D          G          A

E          A          B7

G          C          D

 

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