Easy Taylor Swift Songs to Play on Guitar
Updated · The Acoustic Guitarist
The easiest Taylor Swift songs for guitar are the slow and mid-tempo songs from her early country albums, such as "Teardrops on My Guitar", "Tim McGraw", "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me", plus later acoustic songs like "betty". Many published guitar arrangements of them use common open chord shapes with a capo, so they are reachable once you can change between a few open chords in time.
On this page 7
The list: 12 easy Taylor Swift songs
Sorted roughly from easiest to hardest. “Easy” here means slow enough or repetitive enough for a beginner to keep up with the recording.
| Song | Album (year) | What makes it beginner-friendly, and what to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| “Teardrops on My Guitar” | Taylor Swift (2006) | Slow ballad, so there is plenty of time to get to each new chord |
| “Tim McGraw” | Taylor Swift (2006) | Her debut single; slow and even, a good first song for strumming along with a recording |
| “White Horse” | Fearless (2008) | Sparse, quiet recording that suits soft strumming or simple picking; uneven strums are easy to hear and fix |
| “Back to December” | Speak Now (2010) | Slow, with strings carrying much of the arrangement; a plain acoustic strum underneath is enough |
| “Fifteen” | Fearless (2008) | Steady mid-tempo with verses and choruses that repeat; good for keeping time over a whole song |
| “Love Story” | Fearless (2008) | Familiar mid-tempo strum, but the last chorus moves up a whole step, so the chord shapes change near the end |
| “Our Song” | Taylor Swift (2006) | Upbeat country recording with banjo and fiddle; good practice for a brisk, steady strum |
| “You Belong With Me” | Fearless (2008) | Driving strum with almost no gaps, so changes must happen without stopping your hand; a step up in speed |
| “betty” | folklore (2020) | Relaxed acoustic folk groove, but it changes key near the end; learn the main part first |
| “All Too Well” | Red (2012) | Slow, but long: over five minutes on Red and about ten in the 2021 re-recorded version; builds stamina |
| “Shake It Off” | 1989 (2014) | Fast, and recorded with drums and horns rather than guitar, so an acoustic version is an adaptation; save it for later |
| “Mean” | Speak Now (2010) | Fast, banjo-led bluegrass feel; an intermediate goal for clean, quick changes |
Two songs on the list change key near the end, “Love Story” and “betty”, so check your chord sheet for a second set of shapes or a capo move before the last chorus. Start with one song from the top four. Move down the list when you can play a whole song along with the recording without stopping.
How to learn one of these songs in an evening
- Tune up. Playing along with a recording only works if you are in tune. Use the guitar tuner.
- Get a licensed chord sheet. Use an official songbook or a licensed chord app. Check that it lists a capo position.
- Put the capo where the sheet says. That is what makes your open shapes match the recording. If the sheet gives no capo, the song key finder reads the key of the recording and suggests the easiest capo fret.
- Learn each chord on its own. Hold the shape, strum once, check every string rings. The chords below are the ones beginner song sheets use most.
- Practise the changes in pairs. Switch between two chords for one minute, slowly. Then the next pair.
- Strum along with the recording. Start with one down-strum per beat. Add up-strums only when the changes are on time.
The open chords to learn first
Most beginner song sheets, for Taylor Swift and for nearly everyone else, are written with a small set of open chords. Tap a card to hear it and check your own shape against it.
These five shapes are the core of the cowboy chords. G, C, D and Em are also four of the seven chords in the key of G major, which is why they appear together so often.
Using a capo to match her recordings
A capo raises every open shape by one semitone per fret. The chord sheet tells you the shapes; the capo decides the key you actually hear. This table shows what a set of open shapes sounds like at each capo position:
| Capo fret | G shapes sound in | C shapes sound in | D shapes sound in |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | G | C | D |
| 1 | A♭ | D♭ | E♭ |
| 2 | A | D | E |
| 3 | B♭ | E♭ | F |
| 4 | B | E | F♯ |
| 5 | C | F | G |
| 6 | D♭ | F♯ | A♭ |
| 7 | D | G | A |
If a song is too high or too low for your voice, move the capo up or down a fret or two and keep the same shapes. Each fret shifts the song by a semitone. The capo calculator shows which shapes and fret give the key you want.
A strum that fits most of these songs
Many country-pop songs on acoustic guitar work with this one-bar pattern, counted 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &:
| Count | 1 | & | 2 | & | 3 | & | 4 | & |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strum | down | down | up | up | down | up |
Keep your hand moving down and up all the time, and only touch the strings where the table says. If it falls apart, go back to four down-strums per bar. See how to read strumming patterns for more.
Looking for a Taylor guitar instead?
Some people searching for Taylor Swift songs are looking for Taylor guitars, or the other way round. Taylor Guitars is an American acoustic guitar maker based in El Cajon, California; its GS Mini is a smaller-bodied model popular for travel and for players who find a full-size dreadnought bulky. For how body sizes compare, see acoustic guitar body styles and sizes, and for children, how to pick the right size guitar for your child.
Why this page has no chords or lyrics
Song lyrics and chord arrangements are protected by copyright and belong to the songwriters and their publishers. This page names songs and explains how to learn them; for the chords themselves, use a licensed songbook or app. Every chord shape on this page is a general open chord, not an arrangement of any song.
FAQ
What is the easiest Taylor Swift song to play on guitar?
For most beginners, a slow song is easiest because you get time to change chords. "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Tim McGraw" are good first picks; "Love Story" is a good second step once your changes are smoother.
Why do Taylor Swift chord sheets use a capo?
A capo lets you play easy open shapes, like G, C and D, while the song still sounds in the key she sings it in. Put the capo where the sheet says and the open shapes line up with the recording.
Where can I find the chords legally?
Use licensed sources, such as official songbooks from music publishers or chord apps and sites that pay licences to publishers. This page names songs only and does not reproduce chords or lyrics.
Is a Taylor guitar the same thing as a Taylor Swift guitar?
No. Taylor Guitars is an American guitar maker that shares the name. Any acoustic guitar that is set up well and stays in tune is fine for these songs.
Related
- Reading chord charts
- Chorus vs refrainfind the verse and chorus on a chord sheet
Tools for this
- Metronomepractise the strum at a slow tempo
- BPM finderget the tempo of the recording you play along with