I hope you enjoyed learning how to play Love Me Do on guitar! Now it’s time to learn another song.
In this article, we’re going to teach you how to play Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan.
This is a great first song to learn. That’s because it is:
- Well known
- Relatively slow
- Easy for beginners to learn
- Played using just four chords
About the song
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was written by Dylan for the soundtrack of the 1973 movie, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. It was a worldwide hit and is one of his most well-known songs.
It’s also been covered many times. Most notably, Guns N’ Roses released several versions of the song.
The song has a simple structure. Its relatively simple strumming pattern makes it a good one to sing along to.
Keeping it simple
On the recording, Dylan plays variations on the chords and strumming pattern.
We’ll explain what they are and you can listen out for them. But we recommend learning our simplified version first.
You can then add in the more complex parts as you become confident.
How to play Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door: lyrics and chords
Knockin on Heaven’s Door uses four chords: G major, D major, C major and Am7.
To begin with, we suggest use a basic Am and the cheat’s version of G. You can find the cheat’s version in our lesson on guitar chords. Check out our lessons on guitar chord charts if you need to refresh your memory on them.
You could also start by just strumming single chords. This will help you understand the song structure. It will also get you used to forming chords and switching them.
Here are the lyrics and chords together:
Verse one:
G D Am
Mama take this badge off of me
G D C
I can’t use it anymore
G D Am
It’s getting dark too dark for me to see
G D C
I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door
Chorus:
G D Am
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
G D C
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
G D Am
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
G D C
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
Verse two:
G D Am
Mama put my guns in the ground
G D C
I can’t use them anymore
G D Am
That long black cloud is coming down
G D C
I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door
Chorus:
G D Am
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
G D C
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
G D Am
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
G D C
Knock, knock knockin’ on heaven’s door
Rhythm and strumming
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door is played using a simple 4/4 rhythm. This means that when you play it you simply count four beats to every bar. See our article on time signatures if you want to find out more.
The strumming pattern for this song is good for beginners because it can be built up.
The full pattern is as follows:
This is repeated throughout the song.
You can make it super easy by just strumming a downstroke on the first beat of each bar.
You can then add another downstroke on the third beat.
Then on the fourth.
Finally, you can add the upstroke. Hit this between the fourth downstroke and the first as your hand moves back up.
Advanced chords
Once you’ve mastered the basics, there are a few more advanced chords and techniques that you can add to this song to make it more interesting and challenging to play. They are:
Am7
To begin with, we recommend playing a basic Am. Using an Am7 will give the song a richer sound. In some ways, this chord is easier to play as you only need two fingers instead of three. But you need to make sure that your middle finger doesn’t catch the open third string.
Added G on the first string
When playing the Am (or Am7) and the C, your fourth finger is free. You can use this finger to hammer on the G on the first string, third fret. This works best when played during the chorus.
In the recording, Dylan does this during the second measure of these notes before switching back to G. He emphasizes it by playing three quick upstrokes that just catch the highest three strings.
If you are a beginner then this might take some time to learn, as you’ll have to build up strength in your pinky. It’s worth learning though, as it helps break up the two measures for C and Am. It’s also a useful technique and sounds great!
Pull-offs
There are three nice pull-offs you can use in this song.
The first is on the D. Simply pull your second finger off the first string and hammer it back on. Keep the strumming pattern the same.
The next is on Am or Am7. Pull your first finger off of the second string during the second measure. This works best during verses. You can also hammer this note back on if you feel confident.
The final pull-off is during the C chord. Pull your second finger off of the fourth string in the second measure. Once again, this works best during the verses and you can hammer it back on if you feel confident.
Practice makes perfect
Remember, it could take you a while to get the hang of this song. If you are finding it too difficult then try to slow down your playing and simplify the chords and strumming pattern.
Practice every day and take a break if you are getting frustrated. You’ll find that something you struggle with one day will be much easier the next—that’s because your brain needs time to process the things it learns (it does this when you are asleep).
Keep practicing and let us know how you get on in the comments below.
That’s it for this beginner guitar course, we hope you’ve enjoyed it!
If you want more then check out Guitar Tricks. They provide an excellent beginner guitar lessons course. Best of all they offer a free trial!