Song 10 min·beginner
Play "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door" (Bob Dylan)
Four chords on a loop — G, D, Am, C — the most beginner-friendly classic-rock anthem in the canon.
The whole song is G – D – Am / G – D – C repeating. If you can switch between those four chords, you can play it.
Use the basic D · D U · U D U strum pattern you learned earlier — one bar per chord.
Routine
- 4 bars: G | D | Am | Am — slow, just changes, no strum pattern yet.
- 4 bars: G | D | C | C — same.
- Loop the full 8-bar progression at 60 BPM with the strum pattern.
- Once smooth, sing along — start with humming the melody, then the words.
Open this in the chord book
When you’re ready to read the full chord-over-lyric sheet, search "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door" in the chord book and use the auto-scroll player to keep your hands free.
Self-check
Did you complete the drill above and feel confident with this lesson?
Sources & attribution
- Wikipedia · Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lesson copy © Free Chord Book. Content adapted from sources marked CC BY-SA 4.0 is itself shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.