You have got Em, Am, D, and a strumming pattern. That is enough for hundreds of songs. Let us play one.
Play along
knockin on heavens door
How to use the play-along
- Hit play on the song card above. The chords scroll synced to the audio.
- Do not try to strum every beat the first time. Just change to the right chord at the right time. Mute the strings between changes if you have to.
- Once changes feel comfortable, add the down-down-up-up-down-up pattern from yesterday.
- After three or four passes, try playing along with the original at full speed.
Other songs at this level
- Three Little Birds (Bob Marley): A, D, E (or Am, D, Em as substitutes).
- Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd): Em, G, A, C, slightly harder, beautiful payoff.
- Wonderwall (Oasis): the internet's most-debated chord shapes. We have it laid out at /songs/wonderwall.
A note on the missing chords
Knockin' on Heaven's Door uses G and C, which you have not learned yet. Substitute Em for G and Am for C and the song still works in a more melancholy key. Or just learn G + C today as a stretch goal. Both are similar shape difficulty to D.Practice metronome
75BPM
Practice plan
Loop the play-along for 15 minutes. The goal is not perfect. The goal is to finish the song without stopping. That is a milestone worth celebrating.Next: scales. Time to start playing single notes, not just chords.