10 Easy Anime Songs To Practice Fingerpicking

There is nothing prettier than hearing a fingerstyle rendition of an anime song. When you combine those long chord progressions and harmonize it with those beautiful melodies, the tension and build up, oh my goodness.

But becoming a great fingerstyle guitarist takes time. You’re not just playing chords nor are you just soloing, you’re doing both at the same time. Thus, to even start fingerstyle, you would need to have your guitar basics down.

As I chose these, I was considering not just the difficulty of the piece, but the speed and techniques required. I’ve avoided songs with alternate tunings, lots of harmonics, weird chords, serious stretches, songs that have you jumping around the fretboard a lot, and so on. Hope this list helps!

If you’re pretty new to guitar tabs, definitely check out My Ultimate Guide To Guitar Tabs where I discuss setup, tunings, techniques, and even things like theory and timing. It’s your all in one resource to understand anything you’ll see when reading guitar tabs 🙂

If you’re interested in regular lead or rhythm guitar songs, you can check out 25 Easy Anime Songs For Guitar, 50 Power Chord Anime Songs, 20 Fun & Funky Anime Songs for Rhythm Guitar, 25 Anime Songs with Epic Riffs & Licks, and 15 Intermediate Anime Songs To Practice Barre Chords. You can also refer to my article with 8 Resources for Anime Chords, Tabs and Tutorials.

And if you love Japanese music and would like to learn and understand it more, please check out My Japanese Music Resources Page. And if you’d like to learn more about Japanese music theory so you can understand and create your own Japanese inspired music, check out The Complete Japanese Music Theory Course!

Sad Song

One Punch Man

This is a nice slow song. What makes it pretty easy is that your hands get to maintain it’s chord shape for arpeggios most of the time, and then some added embellishments by moving or adding a finger. It’s a great beginner song for someone who is just getting into the rhythm of fingerstyle playin.

Kadaware Doki

Your Name

Here’s another slow song that is very pretty. This song focuses on chords and makes use of a lot of open strings so you don’t have to leave first position much. It also only really consists of 2 different sections. If you’re a real guitar beginner and don’t really have barre chords or anything complex down, I think this is a wonderful song to start with.

Secret Base

Ano Hana

This song is similar to the above in that you don’t really have to leave the first position and it makes use of a lot of open strings as well. This one definitely has more double notes, so it’s a great way to practice syncing your fingers and playing lead riffs while your thumb keeps the bass rhythm going.

Uchiage Hanabi

DAOKO*

This is a great song if you at least have your fingerstyle foundation down, but aren’t ready to take on a song that is too fast or requires too much movement just yet. This one generally stays in the first position and has a simpler bass riff but a more complex lead riff. You’ll also get to practice adding some percussion hits and pull offs with this track.

Kamado Tanjiro no Uta

Demon Slayer

This song is quite slow and incorporates more full chords into it, but you still get to stay in first position most of the time. It also has a few pull offs and hammer ones. If you can handle this song, you’ll definitely feel more confident moving onto faster songs that incorporate chords and licks.

Blue Bird

Naruto

Here’s a classic you can learn anytime, anywhere as it doesn’t require a capo. This songs a little more upbeat than the ones above, but like them, the chords are kept pretty simple and you get to stay in first position. The chorus in this one is a little more funky, incorporating more percussion into it.

Kirameki

Your Lie in April

Here’s another standard, no-capo song that is also more upbeat. This one doesn’t utilize as much noticeable chords, but still utilizes a lot of open strings, so it’s a great song to practice moving your fingers more independently while still having some spaces to prepare for your next note. You’ll also get to practice some 7ths at a point and work on those percussion hits. Maybe you can try the harmonics as well!

Akuma no Ko

Attack on Titan

This song may be a little easier or harder depending on your current level. It does have a slower tempo, and at points it can be repetitive like the verse. The chorus is also more chord heavy so it doesn’t have as much independent picking. But if you’ve been stuck in first position, or haven’t been working on non-open chords, I think this is a great song to start moving around the fretboard without taking on too much at once in regards to picking.

Ao no Waltz

Josee, The Tiger and the Fish

This song is pretty heavy lead wise and keeps the bass pretty simple. It does utilize more arpeggios, so it’s a great song if you’re working on getting your fingers moving quicker, and moving up and down the fretboard with ease. Also great when working on incorporating those percussion hits with ease. There’s a few slides in this song as well if that’s something you need to work on.

Baton Road

Boruto

Here’s another pretty easy song in that you get to keep your hands in chord shapes most of the time and can focus more on your right hand picking, percussion, and hammer-ons. It is a little faster, but once you get the general pattern down, it will be pretty easy to get into it.

Conclusion

Hope this list has been helpful! When I was considering fingerstyle and learned the basics a couple years back, I remember looking through so many tabs and videos for an easy anime song and all of them appearing to be advanced.

While you can certainly take your time with those, it’s nice starting with something easier and just getting a couple songs under your belt asap. I wrote an article explaining why I don’t think beginners should take on advanced songs too soon here.

If you’d like to learn more guitar beginner tips, you can find lots of useful articles on my blog. If love Japanese music and would like to learn and understand it more, please check out My Japanese Music Resources Page.

And if you’d like to learn more about Japanese music theory so you can understand and create your own Japanese inspired music, check out The Complete Japanese Music Theory Course!

Ciao~