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)

Licensed Song Sheet 3 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 November 2024 code at Musicnotes checkout: C9XTNRRV2R (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.

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!

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 244 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?

Featured Courses

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

  • November 8, 2024

    Rhythm Deep Dive: "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle

    Watch the process of me transcribing the rhtyhm of an incredibly tricky song! All shown in real time, in writing. Featuring "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle.

  • Nov 1, 2024

    Website Tour – November 2024

    A look at the state of the Song Notes website, as of November 2024. I've been working on more than just new lessons... check out the latest updates here!

  • Oct 24, 2024

    "Fast Car" - Strumming & Rhythm Guide!

    I've gotten a ton of emails asking how to strum Fast Car — here's a lesson showing 3 possible approaches! You can strum the whole song using what I teach, or combine this with the fingerstyle riff from lesson #494.

  • October 18, 2024

    CAGED - It's More Than Just Chords!

    Learn how each CAGED shape contains not only a chord, but also an arpeggio, pentatonic, and full diatonic scale! This is a must-know realization that'll level up any practice you do with these shapes.

  • October 3, 2024

    Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee"

    In honor of Kris Kristofferson's passing, here's a brand new play-along cover of his 1971 classic Me and Bobby McGee – with some updated strumming tips included.

  • September 27, 2024

    Paul Simon Fingerstyle with "59th Street Bridge Song"

    Let's dive into Simon & Garfunkfel's 1966 hit, where I'll walk you through several ways to tackle Paul Simon's Travis-style fingerpicking.

  • September 20, 2024

    Fingerstyle & Travis Picking Lesson Roundup!

    I've been busy organizing all my lessons teaching fingerstyle & Travis picking, and have them in a new easy-to-browse layout. Check 'em out here!

  • September 13, 2024

    "Rebel Rouser" - 1950s Lead Guitar Lesson

    Let's learn how to play Duane Eddy's 1958 classic! This song's memorable riff is easy to approach, but poses a fun challenge as the song changes key over and over. I'll walk you through it all, jam tracks included!

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage