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Home ❯ Songs ❯ Bob Dylan ❯

Simple Twist of Fate

by Bob Dylan • Lesson #351 • Feb 12, 2021

In today’s lesson I’ll teach you how to play Simple Twist of Fate, the classic from Bob Dylan’s 1975 album Blood on the Tracks. I’m teaching things with a simplified approach: no capo, standard tuning, and using Key of E chord shapes. This is all slightly different than Dylan’s approach (open-D-tuning, capo 2, Key of D chords). Ultimately, my aim is to make this song accessible to those of us more comfortable in standard tuning.

  • 0:00 Preview & lesson summary
  • 1:49 Notes on tuning, capo, and key
  • 2:50 Chord shapes & basic progression
  • 9:31 Basic strumming
  • 11:50 Playthrough (basic strum, with tab)
  • 13:42 Advanced strumming
  • 17:10 Playthrough (adv strum, with lyrics)

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More Notes about Capo, Tuning, and Key

As I note above, Dylan does not play the song the way I am showing! He’s using capo 2nd fret, in open D tuning (D-A-D-F#-A-D). Maybe I’ll make a lesson for playing this song that way someday, but again – that’s not what I’m doing in my lesson.

If you’re interested in an Open D lesson, see this excellent tutorial from Joe’s Guitar Lessons on YouTube. Thanks to John W. for sending in this video!

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