21 Guns

How to play 21 Guns by Green Day on guitar

“21 Guns” is a great beginner song because it moves at a steady, relaxed pace and has a strong, emotional feel. You can focus on clean changes and a smooth pulse instead of speed, which makes it satisfying to play along with right away.

Most of the chart uses easy open shapes like C, Dm, G, F, and A, but the harder barre shapes are A#, Gm, D#, and Cm. The main thing to watch is the shift into A# and the other barre chords, since those changes can slow you down more than the open shapes.

Start by looping the opening progression C - Dm - A# - G until the movement feels natural. Then practice the barre shapes one at a time, and finally connect the full sequence slowly before bringing it up to tempo.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.