Log In My Account Join Upgrade Premium VIP Beta Tester Free Trial
Menu Search Join VIP Beta Tester Premium
 

Home ❯ Songs ❯ Tom Petty ❯

Runnin' Down a Dream

by Tom Petty • Lesson #106 • Apr 21, 2023

Hey there, friends! In this lesson I’ll teach you how to play Tom Petty’s 1989 classic Runnin’ Down a Dream. This is an amazingly fun song to play, and is actually quite beginner-friendly! I’ll walk you through the intro riff, chord shapes, and strumming — including plenty of intermediate tips for those of you looking to add some extra spice to things. Let’s jump on into it… as always, I hope you enjoy!

  • 0:00 Lesson Overview
  • 1:01 Intro Riff
  • 5:13 Verse
  • 7:31 Chorus
  • 10:50 Refrain
  • 11:38 Adv. Chord Options

Licensed Song Sheet 2 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

Save 50% on this song sheet by applying the September 2025 code at Musicnotes checkout: EV9AMRKXQN (click to copy). Thanks for being a Premium supporter!

Song Notes Premium includes a 50% discount code you can use when buying any of my licensed song sheets. For the current month's code, upgrade to premium or log in.

Lesson Discussion

Jump in the conversation with other members of the Song Notes community! Post a comment about this lesson, ask a question, or even upload a video of your progress. All skill levels welcome!

View Comments

Jump in the conversation with other members of the Song Notes community! Post a comment about this lesson, ask a question, or even upload a video of your progress. All skill levels welcome!

To access the community forum, upgrade to premium or log in.

Extended Video Lessons

The following videos are available to members of Song Notes Premium. If you’re not a member, learn more about the many perks of Premium membership here on my Song Notes website. To those of you who are members — thanks for your support! It makes these lessons possible.

Play-Along Cover

Here’s a start-to-finish acoustic cover, showing how things sound when you put it all together.

Only available to Premium members

Upgrade to Premium

Acoustic + Electric, Combined

Here’s how you can use the advanced chord voicings (shown in my main tutorial) during the verse and refrain sections. In this video, I’ll play these chords using my electric guitar, while my acoustic plays the “normal” versions of those same chords.

Only available to Premium members

Upgrade to Premium

Backing Tracks

Here’s some drums-only backing tracks you can use to practice playing this song. Whether you’re working on the intro riff, any of the specific sections, or the entire song — these will be of great help! The drums match the general vibe of Petty’s recorded version. I’ve included three versions at different tempos. Enjoy!

Song Notes Premium membership required to play (or download) the jam tracks. Already a member? Log in »

Full Speed (170bpm) (download):


Medium Speed (140bpm) (download):


Slower Speed (115bpm) (download):

My Original Video Lesson

For the sake of posterity, here’s my original video lesson — which I published back in November 2017. My audio quality is a bit tinny, hence me re-recording this lesson in 2023 (above).

Chords needed

If you need help with the chords used in this song, check out these lessons from my Beginner Chord Guide course:

How to Play E Major

★ Instructional PDF

How to Play D Major

★ Instructional PDF

How to Play G Major

★ Instructional PDF

How to Play A Major

★ Instructional PDF

How to Play C Major

★ Instructional PDF

Tom Petty’s Album Version

Music Theory Breakdown

Huge fan of this video! Desi breaks down the song section by section, explaining the theory behind things. Super informative if you want a deeper understanding of how the song works, especially given the strange combination of chords it uses. His website post includes some additional information in text form, if you’re curious.

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 286 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Most of the lessons on my website are 100% free. If you have the means, please show your support with a tip jar contribution. I put many hours into every lesson — but it only takes you a minute to make a donation. You have my thanks!

Donate

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Recently Added
Most Popular
Beginner-Friendly
Browse by Artist
Browse by Song Title
Browse by Song Year
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s

Featured Courses

Guitar for Beginners

A guide to getting started with guitar! Everything you need to know to begin your journey. Choosing a guitar, other gear you'll need, fretting notes & chords, learning your first songs, and more.

14 lessons

View

Beginner Chord Guide

A guide to the must-know chords you'll need when getting started with guitar! The quickest way to learn major chords, minor chords, the chords in each key, and more.

22 lessons

View

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learn to read tabs, chord charts, fretboard diagrams, strumming patterns, and more! This course explains how to understand all of these must-know notation styles.

6 lessons

View

Blues Starter Kit

A guide to must-know elements of beginner blues guitar! I'll walk you through the essential topics, showing you fun things to play along the way.

18 lessons

View
Strumming & Rhythm
Learning Lead Guitar
Fingerstyle & Travis Picking
Practical Music Theory
Major Keys
Minor Keys
Double Stops
Using a Capo
Walk Ups & Walk Downs
Practice Tips
CAGED Shapes
Barre Chords

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Key Master

See and hear the notes, chords, scales used in each of the most common keys.

View

Blank Tabs

Free PDF templates to download, print, and write out your own guitar tabs!

View

Coming soon is Jambox – which shows all the video jam tracks I've made. It's note quite ready for the spotlight, but check it out if you like!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!

Recent Lessons

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage