Knockin' on Heaven's Door is a fantastic song by Bob Dylan. In this piano tutorial, you'll learn the chords, the chord inversions and learn THREE accompaniment strategies. Play like Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Guns N Roses. Perfect for any level!
Lyrics and Chords printable for Knockin' on Heaven's Door
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Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door is a Bob Dylan song that has been covered countless times. The song was original written by Dylan for the soundtrack of the 1973 movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. The son has since had notable covers by Eric Clapton, Warren Zevon and even Guns N Roses.
In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to play the chords, TWO different accompaniment strategies and I’ll top it off with a breakdown of Eric Clapton’s unique version.
In this Knockin' on Heaven's Door piano tutorial, we follow the usual four step protocol for learning to sing and play songs. (But will be adding one step!)
Step #1: Learn the chords
Step #2: Learn the “funky” accompaniment strategy
Step #3: Learn the guitar picking accompaniment strategy
Step #4: Learn the Eric Clapton version
Step #5: Put it all together
Step #1: Piano Chords to Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Lyrics and chords to Knockin' on Heaven's Door
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Step #1: Piano Chords to Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Here are the chord inversions I use in this video.
Step #2: Knockin' on Heaven's Door Funky Accompaniment
This is the piano-ized version of what guitar players often play as strumming patterns. I call this the Funky Piano Groove and it works for a TON of songs like Me and Bobby McGee.
Step #3: Finger picking accompaniment strategy
I love the sound of guitar finger picking on this song too. Check out the pattern on the video...
Step #4: The Eric Clapton Version
Eric Clapton has his own take on this song. First off, he uses his own set of chord changes. (Notice he plays the same two bar phrase over and over and never goes to the C chords)
Next, Clapton uses a reggae-inspired groove. Maybe he was channeling I Shot the Sheriff??
Step #5: Put it all together
Remember that you can (and should!) customize this to fit your skill level. If the chord inversions are too challenging for you, then play them all root position. If you want to level it up, try altering the groove or adding some solo fills.
Try to avoid getting stuck in the little details! The goal is for you to learn to sing and play more songs - not drown in a pool of perfectionism. Have fun - it’s only music!
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Funky Piano Accompaniment