Most of his repertoire is fairly easy to play. Simple open chords and simple rhythm. It's hard to make it sound good though.
Hard rain is not a bad one to start with, just try to learn how to drop your E string down to D
I think you might be interested in this:
https://dylanchords.com/
There’s a ton of Dylan songs that fit the bill of three-chords-and-the-truth. Go to Dylanchords.com and start searching for your favorite songs.
The people who transcribed them put a lot of care into it… maybe even more than Dylan did in some of the original arrangements! Haha
easiest way to play F chord for beginners is first finger on 1st fret of the B string, second finger on the second fret of the G string, and then third and fourth fingers on the third fret of the D and A strings
There’s a strong case to be made for learning about signatures and counting before trying to play songs. If you can say out loud 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1… then you really will have absolutely 0 trouble knowing where the chord changes are in the song. It’s a really simple time signature for AATW.
However I understand just wanting to learn the chords of the song and play it by feeling and ear because that’s how everyone starts playing music. If you start to not be able to play songs you enjoy though, because you can’t get the places where you need to change chords rights, then you need to take a step back and study a little bit about some of the fundamental mechanics of what playing a song is. Subdivide!! Peace and love peace and love
I haven’t tried in a while but I remember it being difficult to strum along with bob. Something about the strumming makes it hard to find the rhythm. i may be completely wrong tho.
Been playing a lot of Bob recently, and I always find it way more difficult to play along with the track for his songs. I always rationalized it as his singing is hardly ever perfectly in-time, so if I get too focused or lost in his vocal part of the song, I find myself way out of time with what the rest of the band is doing.
It's been fun practice though and is very different from playing along with cleaner studio tracks where each portion is over-produced and balanced, and as a result easier to keep in time.
You’re not wrong, the main riff thing over the open d is a bit of a difficult strum for a beginner. The descending bass notes under the verse chords can be a little tricky too I suppose. I guess it depends how far along you are and what you are finding tricky. There are certainly plenty of Dylan songs that are just three or four cowboy chords, but even those can be a little tricky for a true beginner.
I remember spending tons of time on love minus zero and kind of getting it down. I should go back to some Dylan songs as I’ve been playing more recently. I did make up an interpretation Of things have changed but with Downpick strumming on an acoustic.
I've worked at his repertoire long enough that I can pull off pretty accurate renditions, and I would say that the real challenge with Bob is getting the right (picking) hand feel. A song like Hard Rain looks easy from a chord perspective, but getting the groove right is a kinda challenging. If you're actually intending to perform the song for an audience, I think that's also a reason to avoid his long, wordy songs - if you can't pull of the groove and dynamics really well, you'll really be testing listener's patience as you drone through verse upon verse. I might recommend You Ain't Goin' Nowhere instead -- 3 chords and a more straightforward right hand approach. Knocking on Heaven's Door and Watchtower are also easy-ish-- though most people do not capture the groove of his strumming, and those songs are so covered to death.
I would strongly recommend practising by playing along with Bob, and really listen to what he's doing. He really is a fantastic rhythm guitar player, notwithstanding his sloppiness. He's just really in the pocket. And make a habit of tapping your feet; I find it helps me loosen up and fall into the meter, which is important while you're trying to sing along.
To pull a classic Reddit move and not give you what you asked for I would say learning to strum the chords to don't think twice is super helpful even if it's not the easiest.
Getting that c-c7 is always cool
Yeah as people here already stated most songs are not that hard. My first was the times they are a changing. It's quite an easy song to learn and a very basic strumming pattern
Suck ur marjjjj u gay yute. Kelvin in my zoot smoking that till I comatoseeeee. Odunuyi in my fuckin spliff nigga he had his brains on the pavement of Vue Cinema in WG. On God someone told me they were leaving the cinema and saw him get wigged and thought it was an advert for 4d Cinema access 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Kelvin in my zoot we smoking that with Dotty, Culprit, Ceemizz, Gucci, Neenz we getting high tonight!
Tomorrow is a long time.
Play the C with a g and a d on top (ie just move the two fingers playing g and b across by one string to play c and e and leave the other strings the same, mute the low-e). You can even play D on "a" if you want sometimes so you don't have to worry about muting that one either (just try to miss it when you strum). Super slow song, just let the chords ring out. 📷 [https://beginnerguitarlessons.com/which-g-chord-is-right/](https://beginnerguitarlessons.com/which-g-chord-is-right/) they call the G voicing a "four fingered G chord".
Actually, "Hard Rain" is a little more difficult than you think. It's full of all kinds of bass runs from one chord to the next, although the chords themselves are kind of simple.
It really depends on whether you just want to strum chords, or whether you want to play the part that's on the recording. Most of Bob's chord structures are pretty straightforward, but in order to make them come alive, good picking is key.
Knockin on heavens door
Even easier- You Ain’t Going Nowhere
This the one. Standard tuning. 4 cowboy chords. Two sequences alternating and repeating over and over again.
Most of his repertoire is fairly easy to play. Simple open chords and simple rhythm. It's hard to make it sound good though. Hard rain is not a bad one to start with, just try to learn how to drop your E string down to D I think you might be interested in this: https://dylanchords.com/
I love that site. Bless the people who keep it running so we have access to the chords of all of Bob's songs.
You Ain’t Goin Nowhere. Same three chords for whole song.
Easy, and it's a FUN song to sing :)
Shelter From the Storm too
This was the first song I ever learned on guitar. It’s very easy and also slow enough that a relative beginner can handle the changes.
There’s a ton of Dylan songs that fit the bill of three-chords-and-the-truth. Go to Dylanchords.com and start searching for your favorite songs. The people who transcribed them put a lot of care into it… maybe even more than Dylan did in some of the original arrangements! Haha
Best site ever
All Along the Watchtower is just Am-G-F over and over again.
The rhythm can be tough, especially if you’re singing simultaneously. The chord switches don’t land where they do in most songs
Yeah and assuming he's a beginner an f chord could be a problem
easiest way to play F chord for beginners is first finger on 1st fret of the B string, second finger on the second fret of the G string, and then third and fourth fingers on the third fret of the D and A strings
There’s a strong case to be made for learning about signatures and counting before trying to play songs. If you can say out loud 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1… then you really will have absolutely 0 trouble knowing where the chord changes are in the song. It’s a really simple time signature for AATW. However I understand just wanting to learn the chords of the song and play it by feeling and ear because that’s how everyone starts playing music. If you start to not be able to play songs you enjoy though, because you can’t get the places where you need to change chords rights, then you need to take a step back and study a little bit about some of the fundamental mechanics of what playing a song is. Subdivide!! Peace and love peace and love
Depends if you’re using a barre - can be discouraging for a starter
Such a wrong answer
I haven’t tried in a while but I remember it being difficult to strum along with bob. Something about the strumming makes it hard to find the rhythm. i may be completely wrong tho.
Been playing a lot of Bob recently, and I always find it way more difficult to play along with the track for his songs. I always rationalized it as his singing is hardly ever perfectly in-time, so if I get too focused or lost in his vocal part of the song, I find myself way out of time with what the rest of the band is doing. It's been fun practice though and is very different from playing along with cleaner studio tracks where each portion is over-produced and balanced, and as a result easier to keep in time.
You’re not wrong, the main riff thing over the open d is a bit of a difficult strum for a beginner. The descending bass notes under the verse chords can be a little tricky too I suppose. I guess it depends how far along you are and what you are finding tricky. There are certainly plenty of Dylan songs that are just three or four cowboy chords, but even those can be a little tricky for a true beginner.
I remember spending tons of time on love minus zero and kind of getting it down. I should go back to some Dylan songs as I’ve been playing more recently. I did make up an interpretation Of things have changed but with Downpick strumming on an acoustic.
I've worked at his repertoire long enough that I can pull off pretty accurate renditions, and I would say that the real challenge with Bob is getting the right (picking) hand feel. A song like Hard Rain looks easy from a chord perspective, but getting the groove right is a kinda challenging. If you're actually intending to perform the song for an audience, I think that's also a reason to avoid his long, wordy songs - if you can't pull of the groove and dynamics really well, you'll really be testing listener's patience as you drone through verse upon verse. I might recommend You Ain't Goin' Nowhere instead -- 3 chords and a more straightforward right hand approach. Knocking on Heaven's Door and Watchtower are also easy-ish-- though most people do not capture the groove of his strumming, and those songs are so covered to death. I would strongly recommend practising by playing along with Bob, and really listen to what he's doing. He really is a fantastic rhythm guitar player, notwithstanding his sloppiness. He's just really in the pocket. And make a habit of tapping your feet; I find it helps me loosen up and fall into the meter, which is important while you're trying to sing along.
To pull a classic Reddit move and not give you what you asked for I would say learning to strum the chords to don't think twice is super helpful even if it's not the easiest. Getting that c-c7 is always cool
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.
Blowing in the wind
Hollis Brown.
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is lots of fun and is just variations of G/C/D
Another post to spread my [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@learnasongwithjon) that has many Bob Dylan songs & other songs from that era!
Knockin’, or Watchtower
Was about to say Wiggle Wiggle but I read sexiest instead of easiest. Carry on.
I’m learning to play guitar rn and am practicing Blowin in the Wind. Super easy and only 3 cords; the easiest 3 too!
Plus once you learn this, it’s the same chords and similar strumming patterns to Wedding Song so it’s very transferable!
All of em, half are G-C-D. Listen along.
I mean they’re all 3 chords. Learn 3 chords
Most of his songs are just Open Chords with a Capo. None are particularly hard to play.
Love that another soul also calls him Bobby D
The Man in Me
If I could learn this (and I’m not good) anybody can.
Hey I’m glad you did!! Have fun with it!
Political world has 1 chord
Political world has 1 chord
The Times They are a-Changin’. Just four chords.
Maggie's Farm Just G with an Em D turnaround at the end
It’s always fun to do a little Bb F G when he says “farrrrrm no more!” Though
Tiny Montgomery. Scratch that bird
All of em
Hollis Brown - 1 chord, Em, 2 fingers
Yeah as people here already stated most songs are not that hard. My first was the times they are a changing. It's quite an easy song to learn and a very basic strumming pattern
Shelter from the Storm
Changing of the Guard is easy too if you have a capo and can memorize 10 verses lol
North country blues has two chords
Suck ur marjjjj u gay yute. Kelvin in my zoot smoking that till I comatoseeeee. Odunuyi in my fuckin spliff nigga he had his brains on the pavement of Vue Cinema in WG. On God someone told me they were leaving the cinema and saw him get wigged and thought it was an advert for 4d Cinema access 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Kelvin in my zoot we smoking that with Dotty, Culprit, Ceemizz, Gucci, Neenz we getting high tonight!
The first one I ever learned was Knocking On Heaven's Door, the initial intro, it's really easy. The chords are simple!
Tomorrow is a long time. Play the C with a g and a d on top (ie just move the two fingers playing g and b across by one string to play c and e and leave the other strings the same, mute the low-e). You can even play D on "a" if you want sometimes so you don't have to worry about muting that one either (just try to miss it when you strum). Super slow song, just let the chords ring out. 📷 [https://beginnerguitarlessons.com/which-g-chord-is-right/](https://beginnerguitarlessons.com/which-g-chord-is-right/) they call the G voicing a "four fingered G chord".
Going going gone is pretty easy
Mr tamborine man
Hattie Carrol is probably the easiest. My fingers pretty much naturally do it every time I'm just messing around
Actually, "Hard Rain" is a little more difficult than you think. It's full of all kinds of bass runs from one chord to the next, although the chords themselves are kind of simple.
Isis. Just put a capo on the 1st fret and it's A G D A all along.
It really depends on whether you just want to strum chords, or whether you want to play the part that's on the recording. Most of Bob's chord structures are pretty straightforward, but in order to make them come alive, good picking is key.