Learn to Play "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan

This easy lesson will teach you how to play Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan on the acoustic guitar. He wrote the original song, so we'll look at the chords he uses, along with some cheats for beginners. :)

If you're looking for the Guns N Roses version, check it out here. My lesson covers all of the guitar parts, including Slash's superb solos, and it's a bit different from the Dylan version.

🎵 Party Bag – Knockin' On Heaven's Door is a great one for parties. You should remember the chord progression even after a few beers! What's more, your friends will definitely sing along, and guitarists of all levels can grab a guitar and join in.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door – Chord Progression

The basic chord progression is half a bar of G (3X0003), half a bar of D (XX0232), then one bar of Am (X02210). Then it's back to half a bar of G, half a bar of D, followed by a full bar of C (X32010). It stays the same the whole way through!

We use folk G for this song. To play this chord, put finger 3 on 6:3 (string 6, fret 3) and finger 4 on 1:3 (string 1, fret 3). Mute string 5 with finger 3 too. You'll find it much easier to switch from C to folk G than to the other versions of G.

🎸 Open Chords – I don't explain the basic open chords like D, C, and Am in this lesson. Head to my Beginner's Course for free lessons on the essential open chords. :)

To vary this, you can play the G chord that Guns N Roses use in their version: 320033. Put finger 1 on 5:2, finger 2 on 6:3, finger 3 on 2:3, and finger 4 on 1:3. This makes the transition to D easier because finger 3 stays in the same place.

However, it's trickier to switch to this G than to the folk G. Try both and see which sounds good. If you prefer a tricky change to D and easy changes from Am and C, use folk G. If you'd prefer the opposite, use the Guns N Roses chord.

Bob Dylan often adds an embellishment on the Am chord, making it Am7: he adds finger 4 to 1:3. He does the same over the C chord, which sounds awesome. We'll look at more embellishments in a moment; for now, let's check out the strumming. :)

Knockin' On Heaven's Door – Rhythm

The vibe here is 16th notes. Try the rhythm 1 + a 2 + a 3 + a 4 + a. That's D D U, D D U, D D U, D D U. Keep your strumming hand moving consistently – don't pause your action to fit in two down strums. Instead, miss the strings on the way up. I also accent the main beats (1, 2, 3, and 4).

🧐 16th-note Strumming – Play sizzling 16th-note strumming with my premium Strumming Techniques 1&2 module.

Once you're hip with that strumming, add some extra up strums when it feels right. On the record, Dylan plays several up strums in a row in the final bar of the sequence. The rhythm for this is 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a. He adds his little finger to 1:3 on the "a" after 2.

When using 16th notes, the open strings often ring out on the final strum as you change chords. That's fine, and you hear it all the time on songs. Don't try to eliminate this – doing so will make your playing sound worse!

Knockin' On Heaven's Door – Picked Fingerstyle

You can hear an electric guitar picking out individual notes on the left speaker. This makes a great second guitar part during the jamming session. You can also add embellishments to each chord to make your picking more melodic. Slash does this beautifully in the Guns N Roses version.

🎸 Picking Out Notes From Chords – Learning to pick out individual notes while playing rhythm guitar is a core skill for the guitar journey. This is called picked fingerstyle. It sounds wicked and is loads of fun!

Knockin' On Heaven's Door – Embellishments

It's also great to add embellishments to your chords when strumming. Since the chord progression is the same throughout the whole song, it can get a little stale and repetitive. But be careful: embellishments are like adding spice to your food. Too much, and your food doesn't taste nice. Use too many embellishments, and your sound will suffer.

For the G chord, add finger 2 to 3:2 or 4:2 or finger 1 to 2:1. Sus chords are ultra-common embellishments. On the D chord, you can play Dsus2 by lifting off finger 2 and Dsus4 by adding finger 4 to 1:3. There is singing over the G and D chords, so don't go too crazy with embellishing.

In the Am, you can add finger 4 to 1:3 or 2:3. You can lift off finger 1 to get an Asus2. And on the C chord, you can add finger 4 to 1:3 or 2:3 or lift off finger 2 to get Csus2. Play around and see what you can find!

🧐 Chord Shape Explorer – A huge advantage of playing open chords is the embellishments you can add. Check out my Chord Explorer Series to master them for the common open chords. :)

That's all there is to it! Leave a comment on the Request Board or the YouTube video for this lesson telling me which other Bob Dylan songs you'd like to learn! Have a great day, and I'll see you for more song lessons soon! Laters. :)

Up for more? Learn other Bob Dylan songs on the guitar!