Knockin' on Heaven's Door Chords: Bob Dylan's Easiest Classic

Why This Song Is Perfect for Beginners

Bob Dylan wrote "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in 1973 for the Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid soundtrack, and it became one of the most covered songs in rock history. Guns N' Roses, Eric Clapton, and countless others have recorded their own versions. What makes it so universally beloved — and so ideal for beginner guitarists — is its radical simplicity.

The entire song uses only four chords: G, D, Am, and C. The tempo is slow (around 68-72 BPM). The chord changes are infrequent and predictable. The strumming pattern is gentle and forgiving. If you've been playing for a few weeks and you know your basic open chords, you can learn this song in a single practice session.

It's also deeply satisfying to play. The chord progression has an elegiac, melancholic quality that sounds moving even when played simply — which means you'll actually want to play it, which is the most important factor in practicing consistently.

The Two Chord Progressions

The song alternates between two four-bar progressions throughout. They're almost the same — just one chord changes between them.

Progression 1 (Verses with "Am"):

G — D — Am — Am

This progression gives the song its melancholic, searching quality. The Am (A minor) chord creates a sense of longing that suits the lyrics perfectly. You'll spend two bars on G, two on D, then two on Am.

Progression 2 (Verses with "C"):

G — D — C — C

The second progression is nearly identical but replaces Am with C major. This creates a slightly brighter, more resolved feel before cycling back to the Am version. The alternation between these two progressions is what gives the song its gentle, cyclical movement.

The full structure:

Dylan alternates between the two progressions throughout the song. The pattern is roughly:

• G — D — Am (two bars each, loose) — repeat several times
• G — D — C (same feel) — repeat several times
• Return to G — D — Am for the chorus: "Knock, knock, knockin'..."

Don't overthink the structure. Once you have the two progressions under your fingers, follow the chord changes by ear and you'll instinctively know when to switch.

Chord Shapes You Need

All four chords in this song are standard open chord shapes that every beginner should learn regardless:

• G major: Fingers 2-3-4 on 5th string 2nd fret, 6th string 3rd fret, 1st string 3rd fret. Or the simpler 3-finger version with fingers on 5th and 6th strings.
• D major: Fingers 1-2-3 in a triangle shape on strings 1-3. 1st string 2nd fret, 3rd string 2nd fret, 2nd string 3rd fret.
• Am (A minor): Fingers 1-2-3 across strings 2-3-4. One of the most comfortable beginner chords.
• C major: Fingers 1-2-3 with the index finger on 2nd string 1st fret, middle on 4th string 2nd fret, ring on 5th string 3rd fret.

The trickiest transition for most beginners is D to Am or D to C. Practice these two specific changes with a metronome before trying to play the song all the way through. Five minutes of focused transition drilling will get you further than twenty minutes of struggling through the whole song.

Strumming Pattern

The strumming pattern for Knockin' on Heaven's Door is intentionally simple — Dylan's original recording has a laid-back, almost lazy feel that works perfectly with a basic pattern.

A beginner-friendly version: Down — Down — Down-Up — Down-Up

Or even simpler: just strum down on every beat. At this tempo, four straight downstrokes per bar sounds perfectly appropriate and lets you focus on the chord changes without dividing your attention.

As you get comfortable with the changes, try adding the upstrokes: Down-Up Down-Up Down-Up Down-Up. This creates a gentle, rolling feel that suits the mood of the song.

Avoid the temptation to add complexity too early. Simple strumming with clean chord changes sounds vastly better than fancy strumming with buzzing or muted notes.

Intro Technique

The intro of the original recording is just the chord progression played twice with a simple strumming pattern. Start with the G chord, and let it ring for two full measures before moving to D. Take your time — the slow tempo and spacious feel are part of what makes the song beautiful.

Some guitarists add a simple melodic pickup on the G string before the first chord hits. If you want to try it: on the G string (3rd string, open), pluck it twice just before strumming the first G chord. It creates a nice introduction without requiring any additional technique.

Dylan vs. Guns N' Roses: Which Version to Learn?

Both versions use essentially the same chord progression, but they feel completely different. Here's how to navigate them:

Bob Dylan's original (1973): Acoustic, loose, slow. Perfect for the version described in this guide. Dylan strums casually with a fingerpick or flatpick, and the feel is deliberately unpolished. This is the ideal version to learn first — the simplicity is a feature, not a limitation.

Guns N' Roses version (1990): Electric, more produced, slightly faster. Slash's guitar part is more complex, with additional lead lines and a more driving rhythm. The chord progression is the same, but the texture and energy are completely different. Once you're comfortable with the Dylan version, learning the GN'R arrangement is a natural progression — the same harmonic foundation with more technical demands.

There are also beautiful acoustic arrangements by Eric Clapton that split the difference — still relatively simple, but with more refined fingerpicking patterns. Worth exploring once you've built the foundation.

Songs to Learn Next

Once you've mastered Knockin' on Heaven's Door, you're ready for songs with similar simplicity but slightly more chord variety. "Let It Be" by The Beatles uses a closely related progression (C-G-Am-F) that adds the F chord — the next technical challenge for most beginners. "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison uses G-C-G-D and introduces some faster changes. "Horse With No Name" by America uses only two chords, making it technically simpler but rhythmically interesting.

The pattern with beginner songs is that they all use variations of the same small set of chords — G, C, D, Am, Em, F — in different orders and at different tempos. Every song you learn adds to your vocabulary and makes the next one easier to pick up. Knockin' on Heaven's Door is an excellent place to add to that foundation.