🎸 Learn to Play “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” – Chords, Strumming & Practice Guide
Want to confidently strum your way through Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan?
Looking for a song that’s slow, repetitive, and absolutely beginner-friendly?
You’re in the right place!
This page doesn’t give you the lyrics or a full chord sheet like you’d find on other sites—but it does give you something better:
A step-by-step plan to help you actually play the song from start to finish, the way I teach my students.
✅ What You’ll Learn Here
- The simple chords used in the song (only 3, with an optional 4th)
- The most common folk strumming pattern
- How to link chord changes smoothly with pivot fingers
- A step-by-step practice method to lock it all in
🎶 CHORDS USED IN “KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR”
You’ll only need these:
- G
- D
- C
- (Optional) Am – swaps in for variety in the progression
👉 If any of these chords are new, check out my free eBook to build confidence switching between them.
🪕 STRUMMING PATTERN
This song uses the classic folk strumming pattern:
Down – Root – Down – Down Up
(Think of it as alternating between a full strum and a lighter “bass-note” strum to give it groove.)
✨ Pro Tip: If that feels tricky, just start with simple downstrokes on each beat. The slow tempo makes it forgiving for beginners.
🔁 CHORD PROGRESSION OVERVIEW
The whole song is built on a repeating loop:
G → D → Am // G → D → C
It never really changes, which makes it an excellent beginner piece to develop smooth chord switching and steady rhythm.
📝 Practice Guide (No Lyrics Required)
Here’s how you can break it down:
| G | D | Am | Am |
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
| G | D | C | C |
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 🎯 Step 1: Play each chord with 4 downstrokes, counting out loud: 1-2-3-4.
🎯 Step 2: Add in the folk strumming pattern once you’re confident with the switches.
🎯 Step 3: Loop the progression until it feels automatic.
📌 A Note on Lyrics
This lesson focuses on playing the music by ear and memory. You won’t find lyrics or full chord/lyric sheets here. As you play along with the video, you’ll hear how the melody lines up—that’s how real musicians train their ears!
🚀 Next Steps
By following the video and using the practice structure above, you’ll be strumming through Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door with confidence in no time.
👉 If you want a complete roadmap for learning guitar—chords, strumming, songs, and even fingerpicking—check out my All-Access Pass. It includes every one of my step-by-step courses, play-alongs, and a supportive community to keep you on track.
Or, if you just want to stick with this song, you can also dive into my Beginner Song Collection and explore more tunes that use the same chords and strumming patterns.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This tutorial is for educational purposes and personal practice only. All rights to the original composition belong to their respective copyright holders. This page does not include or distribute lyrics or official sheet music.
