Learn to Play Knocking On Heavens Door by Guns and Roses on Guitar

Hey guys, what’s up, this is Aaron. This lesson I am going to do is called “Knocking on Heaven’s door” by Guns ‘N Roses. I have a tab that I made for it. It is a little different. I looked up some of the tabs and played along with the tab that I found. I think that is, you know, it is all right and everything but it is kind of one of those where you are playing by yourself it is kind of weird, just because you do not have all the fills and the drums and stuff, so I am going to teach you the way that I think it sounds pretty good, just played if you are playing by yourself. So, there is really not a whole lot of chords, there is a G, D. [Demonstration] So, that is basically the whole kind of pattern for the intro and the verse, and the chorus is a little different. But the one thing I will show you is in the intro. I’m going to teach you a little picking pattern you can play as the intro and you can play it during the verse if you like but the little pattern I am going to teach you is something I made up. I will have the tab for it over here, so you guys should be able to see that and the three chord formations I am going to try and get at, the three chord formations you are going to use is a G, a D and a C. So, you want to get used to changing between those G, C, or D and C. Because the intro I am going to teach you right now is really just picking and it just in those three chord formations. So, you can move quickly to D to G to C, there should be no problem; you just have to go with the picking. So, what I am going to teach you, I am going to pull up this tab and make sure I am not making stuff up. Alright, you want to start out there, the first chord formation you are going to see is this G. Alright, you will notice the G; you are in the G if you have any threes on the top strings or threes on the bottom two strings. So, when you see three in the top string and the bottom string that means you are in G. And the picking pattern you are going to do will sound something like this. [Demonstration] That is what is in the G. I am going to play it all together with you, so you will know what it sounds like at the end. [Demonstration] Like that. So, the first part is a G and you are going to put your middle finger on the 3rd fret of your E string, and then your two, ring and pinky on the 3rd fret of your B, high E. And then the guitar is tuned up half step. Tuning of the guitar is in half step. Alright, so you are going to play the top string and then you are going to play the middle two, your D and G, so low E, D, G and then you are going to play high E, B, G and back to B. So, the numbering, I always number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. You are going to go 1, 3, 4, 6, 5, 4, 6, then you are going to switch to a D, and you are going to play the D string which is going to be number 3, 4, 5. When you play your high E, there is a 2 pull 0, that means when you play the note, the middle finger is on the 2nd fret of your high E and you pull off. So, that makes it open. This is what a pull off looks like, hope you can see that right. You can just take your finger off, at kind of a sideways angle, and you can do it up or down. But you cannot just lift it up or you will not get volume. Alright, so start on that G to the D and after you play that we will pull off. You just play the B, G, D so 5, 4, 3. You switch into a C and you play your A string, D, G, B and back to your G, D one more time. Then you are going to play your B your G and now your D. You are going to play it once with your middle finger still on the 2nd fret there on that C formation and then now we are going to take that middle finger off you can leave these other two there, take your middle finger off play that D string and hammer on. [Demonstration] So, it is going to go-- [Demonstration] And then you are going to go back down here to the B string to play B, G and while the middle finger is still off, play a D, play it again, open and hammer on. So, all of that altogether sounds like this, I will play it slow. [Demonstration] That is your D. [Demonstration] Switch t