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Knocking on Heavens Door Guitar Lesson

Knocking on heavens door - Bob Dylan / Guns 'n Roses - Guitar Lesson

Hi Folks,

Today I’m going to teach you how to play “Knocking on heavens door” by Bob Dylan, also covered by Guns ‘n Roses. This is a great song to learn on the guitar and a “must” to have on your repertoire :)

It’s an easy version for beginners using open chords and a basic strumming pattern to make the learning process as smooth as possible.

How to Play “Knocking on heavens door” on Guitar

Knocking on heavens door is played with 4 chords: G – D – Am – C

You can learn the chords on The 8 Most Important Guitar Chords for Beginners

Here are two basic strumming patterns you can use to play the song:

Basic strumming pattern #1:
/ G ↓↓ D ↓↓ / Am ↓↓↓↓ / G ↓↓ D ↓↓ / C ↓↓↓↓ /

Basic strumming pattern #2:
/ G ↓↓↑ D ↓↓↑ / Am ↓↓↓↑↓↓↓↑ / G ↓↓ D ↓↓ / C ↓↓↓↑↓↓↓↑ /

Watch the video guitar lesson below to learn the entire song step by step.

Reach Your Guitar Goals Effortlessly!

By Klaus Crow 3 Comments

Where do You Start?

Guitar playing is all about reaching a goal. You can be simply playing for fun or want to be an accomplished guitar player, there is always a goal to achieve. You want to learn something new.

Now, maybe you are reading this as a novice guitar player, an intermediate or advanced guitar player. Perhaps you’re looking for new answers as a long time player who is stuck and misses the fun, excitement and growth of the early days, it all good.

Follow the guidelines below and you will reach your guitar goals from any stage in your playing gracefully.

There are 21 keys to make this happen. Read and answer them thoroughly and you will walk the smooth and easy path, break out of the slump, regain the spark and magic of practice and accomplish all your guitar goals effortlessly.

Yes effortlessly, as long as you follow the rules :)

Have fun!

Re-visiting The 5 Minute Guitar Practice Workout

By Klaus Crow 7 Comments

For most guitar players the hardest thing about practicing is getting started. I mean getting started EVERY DAY!

I don’t mean getting started when you’re in the mood or getting started when you are inspired, but I mean getting started every day. Ready or not.

I hear you saying, ‘Yes but I don’t have that kind of luxury, I am self employed and work late hours, I have so much homework everyday, I have three kids and a pet.’ I don’t have any time left.

You know what? We all do, and I know many people who are really really busy and still make time to play guitar.

The Rules

First of all, you have to make it a priority. Write down “Practice guitar 5 min” on your calendar every single day. Every single day!

Second: You have to find and make time to practice and let nobody take that time away from you. Come on! Make time for things YOU love.

And third: It’s about applying The 5 Minute Guitar Practice. The biggest hurdle to make time for practice is not time itself. It’s the THOUGHT of having no time or the THOUGHT of having no energy. It’s a resistance auto response in the brain.

Resistance Mode

When something seems challenging or seems like a lot of work the mind immediately sets off in resistance mode. It tries to convince you, in anyway it can, that you are too busy, too tired or too whatever.

Excuses will arise in all shapes and sizes, “I first have to check my inbox”, “I will pick up my guitar later in the afternoon or first thing tomorrow, “It’s been such a long day I deserve some time to relax” or “I am just so tired right now, because of this or that”.

You also might think you don’t have time to practice for an hour, 30 minutes, 20 minutes or even 10. The thought of such an amount of practice time can be too overwhelming for the mind and it will drop the idea of practicing straight to the garbage can.

But you know what? These are all cunning excuses of the mind. Don’t listen to these lies. Don’t believe them. You are being deceived! It’s a defense mechanism that tries to prevent you from taking action.

Your brain wants to reserve energy in anyway it can. You don’t need a defense mechanism to stop you from playing guitar! On the contrary, guitar playing will generate energy. Lots of it.

Why and How to Write Songs on Guitar – Complete Guide!

By Klaus Crow 11 Comments

Why would you want to write a song?

Songwriting is both an art and a craft where you can express your musical creativity, your heart and soul into the ultimate form of a song.

It’s a great learning process for guitar players and all musicians. You’ll discover music on so many new levels and learn to think differently on how to approach your instrument. When you write your own songs you will also learn to transcribe songs faster, and understand and play music in a more proficient way.

I’ve got a lot of guitar students who started writing their own songs and many of them were surprised with how much they enjoyed it and found they could actually write a song. Try it and you might find yourself on a new path you never expected. There is only something to win here.

How to write a song

There are many ways to approach songwriting. You can write a personal story and sing about the struggles and challenges you go through in life. The side effect is highly therapeutic. Many artists do this.

You can also write in a narrative style and bring your own concepts and characters to life through your lyrics. Think about the message you want to get across.

To learn a certain style of songwriting study the professionals. Listen and read the lyrics of your favorite artists, learn how they approach their song writing and convey their stories. Watch interviews on Youtube on their songwriting process. The same goes for the use of chords, chord progressions, melody, rhythm playing, and other musical arrangements. Study, analyze, hear and feel them.

Song Structure

For writing a song you can use different components like an intro, verse, chorus, bridge, instrumental solo and outro. These components or sections are then repeated in some way. The most common forms are:

ABAB : Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus
AABA: Verse – Verse – Chorus – Verse
ABABCB: Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus

Around these sections you can create an intro, a guitar solo or an outro.

Tip: Listen to your favorite song writers and figure out what song structure they use and which ones you prefer.

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