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Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown Chords, Explained

Lesson #424 • Mar 21, 2022

Video lesson

Instructional PDF 2 pages

Follow along with the print-friendly PDF! It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

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Follow along with the print-friendly PDF!

It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

To download the PDF, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s Notes

Hey there, friends! This past week I fell hard for Gordon Lightfoot’s 1974 classic, Sundown. My full video lesson & sheet music are forthcoming, but in the meantime I wanted to make this companion lesson that dives into the unique chord shape Lightfoot uses throughout this song. Specifically I’m talking about the voicings of E, E7, and B that he’s using.

In my video lesson (above) and my Instructional PDF (attached at the bottom of this post), I’ll explain what exactly Lightfoot is playing, as well as how to go about learning & practicing these chords. And of course, I’ll give you some easier work-arounds if you want a much more beginner-friendly, no-finger-stretch arrangement that lets you pull this song off.

My full video lesson for Sundown

To learn the complete song, including various strumming option for the intro / verse / chorus sections, check out my full song tutorial. My 3-page sheet music is also available, should you want the lyrics/chords/strumming/etc all in a single print-friendly document.

Gordon Lightfoot’s Album Version

Gordon Lightfoot’s Live Version

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