When you’re just starting out as a musician, it can feel like you’re just kidding yourself. “How can I take myself seriously when I can’t even play a song?” As you start learning chords and rudiments, you’ll eventually be drawn to covering a favorite song or maybe even writing one of your own. Whether it’s a fair measurement or not, many of us judge how good we are by the number of songs we can cover. One of the best ways for Christians to start out is by finding easy worship songs for beginner musicians. Vocalists, drummers, guitar players, keyboardists, and even violinists can look to worship music for an introduction in playing popular songs. Some are harder than others, but there are plenty of easy worship songs for beginner musicians to consider. Here are some of our favorites:
“Holy Spirit”
This worship anthem from Bryan and Katie Torwalt has been covered by many of today’s biggest Christian artists, including Kari Jobe, Francesca Battistelli, and others. Like many of our easy worship songs for beginner musicians, “Holy Spirit” is a basic that is highly effective. If you’re playing it on guitar, about 90% of your work only involves three chords: A, D, and Bm. The bridge will mix things up a bit, otherwise those are all you need to master. The song also has lyrics that are easy to remember, so you won’t have to worry about that aspect too much. Check out the acoustic rendition below.
“Come As You Are” - Easy Worship Songs for Beginner Musicians
David Crowder Band was the go-to worship for a lot of college aged Christians only a short while ago. So many great choices for easy worship songs for beginner musicians, like “Here is Our King,” “Never Let Go,” and “Everything Glorious.” Our choice, “Come As You Are,” is mostly comprised of the guitar chords C, F, A, and G. Like you’ll see in the video below, guitars aren’t the only instruments you can use for this song, though. It’s a great opportunity for a band to collaborate, much like Crowder and his fellow musicians did for years.
“Lord I Lift Your Name on High”
If you search online for easy worship songs for beginner musicians, this classic is definitely going to find its way to your computer screen. We’re not sure if it is universally known as the easiest worship song to play, but it’s certainly a contender. “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” is a classic praise and worship song for kids as well as adults. You can be as music-minded with this song as you like, either being exact with your covering with it or simply working through the process. If you’re like us, having sung this song with hand motions at camp, you’ll recognize a few of the movements in this video of Marines singing the classic.
“How Great is Our God”
You’ll recognize a few songs made famous or covered by Chris Tomlin on this list. That’s because the worship leader has a gift for finding simple songs with a deep message and turning them into best-sellers. “How Great is Our God” was first recorded by Tomlin for the 2004 album “Arriving,” and has never really fallen out of style. What makes this a good choice for easy worship songs for beginners, aside from the skill level necessary to play it, is the fact that you can break it out any time at church and most people will remember the words.
“Here I Am to Worship”
Speaking of songs that Chris Tomlin has recorded, this track was originally written by Tim Hughes but has gone on to be used by just about every worship group in existence. “Here I Am to Worship” is one of our easy worship songs for beginner musicians because it is one which can be taken at your own pace, playing things straight by the book or making it your own as you go along. Just look at what Hillsong did with the song back in 2003.
“Open the Eyes of My Heart”
Another one of the classic worship songs of the early 00s was this track from Paul Baloche. “Open the Eyes of My Heart” is an acoustic guitar-friendly song that also features simple lyrics which often repeat. The well-known anthem received a major signal boost in 2001 when Michael W. Smith covered it on the “Worship” album. While many of today’s most popular praise and worship songs require a full band to enjoy, “Open the Eyes of My Heart” is one that plays just as well all by yourself. Here’s a video of Baloche performing the song years ago.
“10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)”
Like Chris Tomlin and David Crowder, Matt Redman is a name that can’t be left out when discussing famous worship leaders. The singer came onto the Christian music scene in the late 90s and offered up plenty of easy worship songs for beginner musicians which have stood the test of time. “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)” is a 2011 song that works just as well with a piano as with a guitar, either of which is great for a beginner player who is looking to log some practice time. The guitar chords are only made up C, D, G, and Em, all of which a beginner can handle. Here’s Redman’s official video for the song:
“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”
Chris Tomlin released this update to John Newton’s 18th century hymn in 2006. We emphasized before just how much Tomlin has done for those seeking easy worship songs for beginner musicians. On top of this selection we would also recommend “Kindness” and “Famous One” after you learn a few of the songs on this list. “Amazing Grace” is an easy starting point for beginners because it’s a song with which we are all essentially familiar. Throw in some acoustic guitar, a piano, or another instrument of your choice and you’re all set.
“The Heart of Worship”
A common theme we see with many of these easy worship songs for beginner musicians is that the lyrics are usually simple, repeating, and do much of the heavy lifting. Another aspect of such songs is that they can be performed as a solo without losing much value. “The Heart of Worship” is a song that fills in both of these checklist boxes. The title track of Matt Redman’s second album, this song is one that is intimate and contagious. If you are looking to lead worship in a small group or just want something cool to play in your bedroom, “The Heart of Worship” is a good choice.
“Reckless Love”
We know you’re probably looking at this list and thinking “All of those songs are super old! Give me something fresh!” Fair enough, how about this song from Cory Asbury that is currently sitting at the top of several Billboard charts? If you love this song, we’ve got great news for you: it’s actually really simple to play on guitar! Using only Em, D, C, and G (arguably the easiest chords possible), you can work on this chart-topper from the comfort of your own living room.
Now that you’ve seen what some of the easy worship songs for beginner musicians are, you can start to build a library of songs that will impress friends and family and, more importantly, push you onward to becoming the best musician you can be.
At Camp Electric we want to be a resource for you as you grow from a fresh beginner to a seasoned veteran. Each summer we match students up with musicians from the biggest Christian bands for a special week of workshops, concerts, and instruction. Find out how you can be our next student by clicking below.
