Bob Marley
Redemption Song chords
Redemption Song by Bob Marley is an intermediate song in G, played with no capo. The whole sheet is 6 chords (G, Em, Em7, C, Am, D) across 4 sections: Verse ×2 → Chorus → Instrumental → Outro. Every shape is an open chord, so nothing here needs barre strength. It sits at roughly 74 BPM.
By Chiye · Updated
Hardest change in the sheet: C → D, 6 times.
- Difficulty
- Intermediateno barre needed
- Key
- Gwith no capo
- Tempo
- 74BPM
- Tuning
- Standard (E A D G B E)low to high
- Chords
- 6all open shapes
- Sections
- 4each with its own progression
Chords in Redemption Song
Frets read low E to high E, x means leave that string out.
Chord sheet
One chord per bar in this practice sheet. Follow the time signature shown beside each section; dots mark the remaining counts in the bar. Tap a bar to hear its chord, or loop the section to practise the changes.
Chord accompaniment only. Follow the section notes for this arrangement’s timing. Songs whose words are public domain →
Verse× 2 · 4/4 · ♩=74
Chorus4/4 · ♩=74
Instrumental4/4 · ♩=74
Outro4/4 · ♩=74
Printable one-page chord chart
How to play Redemption Song
Use the plain G, Em and C diagrams for the verse. Their B strings are open, open and fret 1, so a fret-3 anchor would change the chord voicings. Em7 is the one-finger shape 0-2-0-0-0-0, made by releasing the D string of Em. Practise G to Em and then Em to C, keeping the new open strings clear before adding the seventh colour.
For the chorus, practise C to D separately. C frets the D string at 2, while D uses it open, so that finger must release. The B string changes from fret 1 to 3 and the G string from open to fret 2. Prepare the D triangle before its downbeat, then reconnect G, C and D at the same steady tempo.
Begin with one downstroke per beat and follow the printed one-chord bars. Keep the bass note clear and vary the strum width to match each diagram, rather than striking all six strings on every chord. Loop Em, Em7, C and D separately at a comfortable tempo, then reconnect the sections without shortening the final bar.
How to practise Redemption Song
Four steps computed from this sheet: the order the shapes are easiest to learn in, the changes that really occur in the progressions above, where each chord turns up, and the tempo ladder up to the speed marked here.
Learn the shapes easiest first
G (3-2-0-0-0-3, beginner) → Em (0-2-2-0-0-0, beginner) → Em7 (0-2-0-0-0-0, beginner) → C (x-3-2-0-1-0, beginner) → Am (x-0-2-2-1-0, beginner) → D (x-x-0-2-3-2, beginner)
6 of the 6 shapes are open chords, so nothing here needs barre strength yet.
Drill the changes this sheet actually uses
C → D6×C → Am4×Em7 → C4×Em → Em73×
These counts come from the progressions on this page, so they are the changes you will actually play, not a generic list of pairs to practise.
Know where each chord turns up
- GVerse, Chorus, Outro
- EmVerse, Chorus, Instrumental
- Em7Verse, Chorus, Instrumental
- Cevery section
- AmVerse, Outro
- Devery section
Climb the tempo ladder
Start at 44 BPM and move up only when a full pass is clean: 44 → 56 → 67 → 74 BPM. The tempo marked on this sheet is 74 BPM, and the last step is the one that always feels like a jump. Stay at 67 for longer than feels necessary.
Practise each section's chord changes slowly, then play the sheet through at a steady tempo without pausing between sections.
Playing Redemption Song with a capo
This sheet needs no capo. Each card shows what you would finger at that capo position so the song still sounds exactly as written. Useful when the shapes above are awkward, or when you want to sing it higher without learning new chords.
No capoas written
G Em Em7 C Am D
6 of 6 stay open
Fret 1
F# Ebm Ebm7 B Abm C#
no open shapes left, all barre
Fret 2
F Dm Dm7 Bb Gm C
2 of 6 stay open
Fret 3
E C#m C#m7 A F#m B
2 of 6 stay open
Fret 4
Eb Cm Cm7 Ab Fm Bb
no open shapes left, all barre
Fret 5
D Bm Bm7 G Em A
5 of 6 stay open
Fret 6
C# Bbm Bbm7 F# Ebm Ab
no open shapes left, all barre
Fret 7
C Am Am7 F Dm G
5 of 6 stay open
Working out a different key? The capo calculatordoes the same arithmetic for any chord set.
More songs built on the same chords
If Redemption Song clicks, these use the closest set of shapes, so the chords you just learned keep working.
More intermediate songs to learn after this one: Father and Son, 500 Miles, The One That Got Away, Treat You Better.
These chords across the songbookHow often each chord in Redemption Song turns up across all 104 songs on this site, and what it most often moves to next. The counts come from the sheet library itself, not from theory.
509bars of this chord across the songbook
77songs use this shape
Most often followed by D, 89×.
155bars of this chord across the songbook
43songs use this shape
Most often followed by C, 27×.
31bars of this chord across the songbook
6songs use this shape
Most often followed by G, 13×.
420bars of this chord across the songbook
70songs use this shape
Most often followed by G, 115×.
125bars of this chord across the songbook
35songs use this shape
Most often followed by F, 23×.
323bars of this chord across the songbook
58songs use this shape
Most often followed by G, 52×.