Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan) on guitar: easy chords and strumming for beginners

Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan, 1973) is one of the songs beginners play the most: 4 easy chords (G, D, Am, C), a single progression for the whole song and a slow tempo. Here are the chords, the progression, the strumming pattern and a plan to play it in one week.

Why it is the perfect beginner song

• 4 open chords, no barre: G, D, Am (A minor) and C.
• A single 4-bar progression that loops from start to finish: once you have learned it, you know the whole song.
• A slow tempo (about 69 bpm): you have time to change chords.
• It has been covered by Eric Clapton, Guns N' Roses and hundreds of others: everybody knows it, perfect for playing with friends.

The chords

The chord charts are below. If you do not know these chords yet, start with The 8 essential open chords. In the original version, Dylan plays Am7 instead of Am: it is even easier (you lift one finger), and both sound good.

The chord progression

The whole song (verses and chorus) loops on this progression:

| G   .   D   .  | Am  .   .   .  | G   .   D   .  | C   .   .   .  |
  1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4    1   2   3   4

G and D: 2 beats each. Am and C: a whole bar (4 beats).

The song is in G, no capo. Loop the progression: 4 times for a verse, 4 times for the chorus.

Strumming

Level 1 (first weeks) - one downstroke per beat:
| G   G   D   D  | Am  Am  Am  Am | G   G   D   D  | C   C   C   C  |
  D   D   D   D    D   D   D   D    D   D   D   D    D   D   D   D

Level 2 - the song's strumming pattern, over 2 beats:
  1  and  2  and
  D       D   U        ("boom, boom-ta")

G (2 beats) = D . D U     D (2 beats) = D . D U
Am / C (4 beats) = D . D U  D . D U

D = downstroke, U = upstroke. In level 2, your strumming hand keeps a steady down-up pendulum and only brushes the strings on the strokes shown. Slightly accent the first stroke of each chord.

The tricky changes (and how to nail them)

• G → D: the fastest one (2 beats). Keep your ring finger light and picture the triangle shape of D before leaving G.
• D → Am: your fingers stay on the high strings and move down one fret. On Am, strum from the A string.
• Am → G: the biggest move. Lift all your fingers together and drop the G in one go; if you are late, strum the open strings on the last beat of Am.
• D → C: think "stamp": all three fingers land together in the C shape.

One-week practice plan

1. Days 1-2: each chord on its own, string by string, until every note rings.
2. Days 3-4: the changes G-D, D-Am, Am-G and D-C, one minute each, counting your changes.
3. Day 5: the whole progression at level 1, metronome at 55 bpm.
4. Days 6-7: the level 2 strumming, then gradually go up to 69 bpm and play along with the original recording.

Want to go further? G, D, Am and C all belong to the G major scale: try small melodies over the progression with the exercise G major chart and exercises.