How to play 'Sunshine On My Shoulders' by John Denver

Here is a song everyone should know - let's go through the chords and fingerpicking patterns slowly so you can really nail it. An essential campfire classic for sure - have fun with it! Shane
Songsheets are always available at / guitaratwork
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Songsheets are always available at / guitaratwork

[@Grimmibo]

Almost 2 years ago I played this at my then girlfriend, now fiancé’s father’s funeral when they brought in the casket. He loved Denver like me, and was a brilliant guitar player. He sang along to this song a few days before his passing as it played on a vinyl I had bought him - brought him back to a vibrance I like to remember him at. I had never played guitar before, only banjo, and I learned this in a few days. Thank you for your lesson, which I have just rediscovered. RIP John. ❤

[@ezrvs]

Thank you. Your version of the song and your easy manner of instruction made this beautiful song easily learned. My handsome brother in law was a huge Denver fan. When courting my sister he serenaded her with Denver’s tunes, winning her heart. Recently he passed, two years after my sister passed. My niece is planning a memorial service for both her parents in late April. I plan to honor them by playing and singing this tune at their service. Again,thank you for making this possible.

[@GuitarAtWork]

That’s fabulous indeed. I appreciate you being here. Cheers, Shane

[@clarkkent6482]

Thank you. A great video. And I'm so thankful to see someone teaching, not screaming, jumping around, acting the fool to get more clicks.

[@GuitarAtWork]

Ha! Thanks for that. Glad you enjoyed. Shane

[@robertcutrupi9426]

Great lesson. You are a very good teacher

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks Robert - glad you enjoyed! Shane.

[@bonzo1928]

Best rendition and tutorial that I have seen so far - my dear old Mum's favourite song which I am trying to learn to send her a video on her 82nd birthday next week. Now I just have to learn to sing LOL!

[@knowun]

John Denver made some beautiful music

[@joewilliams2462]

Shane: You have found your gift. Making a simple song .easy enough for beginners ...or pros to learn and relearn... the good old basics... which never go out of style. Bless you brother.PEACE

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Joe - I really appreciate that. Cheers! Shane

[@joewilliams2462]

Shane : I had the good fortune to meet John ( boy) Denver in person. Rocky Mtn. High was climbing the charts to #1 . Sunshine on My Shoulders had been released several months earlier and did not even chart ! After RMHigh ..Sunshine on My Shoulders was re released and went to # 1. 5,000,000 sales. YOU did it JUSTICE In your tutorial. John was at a very low point when I met him. I told him " you are getting ready to break it wide open.. ONLY SAY. POSITIVE THINGS AND THE Rest will happen. John was a light in the dark 70's Ibknow, I lived them . Keep up the GOOD work Shane. CARLYLE WILLIAMS

[@jonrom100]

You sir are a great teacher! chapeau

[@GuitarAtWork]

Merci Jon - best to you! Shane

[@candie5150]

I've been waiting for a decent tutorial on this song! The icing on the cake is YOU did it for us! Thank you Shane!!!

[@daniloylagan4179]

Thanks Idol

[@dabbudholak]

Thanks for this gem of a song. It's my pick me up song and it gets me standing.

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks Devesh. Hope you enjoy! Shane

[@davidnielsen4235]

He is a good teacher !

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks David - my best to you! Shane

[@jekatierinakatyachaniewicz]

Great explanation! It helped me in learning this song for my hospice music therapy repertoire!

[@Brent233]

Thanks, great lesson!

[@Just-a-Seagull]

Wow, this is amazingly helpful! The pace at which you explained it is perfect. Thank you!

[@duaneulman9915]

Thank you for doing this lesson Love John Denver !

[@russhowe1092]

What a great song, I truely miss his voice..... Shane why not have a crack at Annies song,

[@tkenglander6226]

I love Annie's Song too!!

[@MikeKelsoJr]

Great lesson!!

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks Mike - glad you enjoyed - cheers, Shane

[@samuelmarlow926]

This is such a great tutorial! Thank you so much man, God bless! Greetings from Israel!!! 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Sam - best to you! Shane

[@thuiti9568]

Show! Parabéns! Obrigado

[@MrAdz94]

great lesson :) thank you so much ! great fun playing along with you

[@pedenmk]

Your a good instructor you have patience. Thank you great song.........

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Mark - much appreciated and very glad to have you here with us. Cheers, Shane

[@Elvis-dw7ux]

Zabardast....cheers from Toronto ......

[@marcelflo2765]

Love this song, great teaching Shane 👍🎸

[@paulwilson1110]

Thanks Shane. Beautiful song. Very patient explanation, thank you

[@elizabethstephens8801]

Thank you so much for this!!! So easy to learn, you are a great teacher. Great tutorial!

[@nickroper1917]

Love this Shane! Echoes of the hammer-on in the Boots of Spanish Leather version that we worked on a while back. Should keep me busy over the weekend - nice one 🙏🏼 🎸

[@miketroutt1371]

Thanks Shane! I’ve been wanting this one a long time. I’ll mix it in with the two other fingerpicking songs. My right hand is getting smarter everyday.

[@kylasimpson5558]

Best teacher ever love your videos❤️❤️

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Kyla - always great to hear from you and I greatly appreciate your encouragement. Hope you are having fun with your guitar! Shane

[@kevinb3388]

Concise and methodical lesson, thank you

[@sapelesteve]

As always, terrific lesson Shane! That song is timeless & definitely one of JD's greatest. Thanks.........👍👍😉😉🎸🎸

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Steve - always appreciated. Hope you are safe and well. Shane

[@clenebrum1309]

Obrigado por esta aula. Excelente qualidade. Parabéns.

[@richardmcgrath558]

Another great job ,Shane

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Richard - much appreciated and glad to have you here with us. Cheers! Shane

[@thuiti9568]

Fantástico! Obrigado pela aula.

[@dbrew2u]

Excellent song by John & great lesson as always . Thank You very much .

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Dave - greatly appreciated. Hope you have fun with this one. Cheers! Shane

[@dbrew2u]

@@GuitarAtWork Working on it now Shane . It's hard to miss with your easy to understand and follow along Lessons . Thanks again and stay safe .

[@franciscocardoso6193]

Very good this guitar Lesson

[@user-ig7dt9pr7p]

Hi, you were so smart. I hope you can teach us also the rest of the song. Tank you

[@henryssurfshowcase]

Great job you got it down! I thought on the Am to Bm climb that was an Am7 to Bm? Super good finger pickin you got there..

[@elvisleeboy]

Bizarre. Just been listening to and talking about John Denver and almost immediately this pops up. Fantastic.

[@GuitarAtWork]

Glad to hear it elvisleeboy - such a great song. Hope you have a ton of fun with it. Cheers! Shane

[@elvisleeboy]

@@GuitarAtWork Absolutely! Keep posting and I'll keep supporting.

[@Sweepdog700]

Great song, Would love Annie’s song too

[@daniloylagan4179]

I am from the Philippines. Your new subsciber.

[@sammistrade]

joined your patreon to get the sheet music and am SO GLAD I DID!!!!! made it super easy to follow along. thanks so much for such a great video on such an amazing song 😍❤️ can’t wait to practice it more and learn more songs from you!

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Sammi - that’s SO great! My best to you and let me know how you’re doing with it all. Cheers! Shane

[@sammistrade]

@@GuitarAtWork Since i have your attention… 😝 i have a song request for you to consider! “Danny’s Song” PLEASE!!!!!!!

[@GuitarAtWork]

@@sammistrade That’s a great suggestion Sammi - thank you! I’m putting it on the list. Best to you, Shane

[@sammistrade]

@@GuitarAtWork i look forward to it!! 😇 thanks again for all your hard work making these videos for us :)

[@GuitarAtWork]

@@sammistrade Thank you Sammi - I have so much fun doing it and it’s really great to hear from people who enjoy. Cheers and talk to you in Patreon! Shane

[@kylasimpson5558]

It’s never been so easy🌍

[@GuitarAtWork]

Glad it helps you Kyla - my best to you! Shane

[@dmyerstc55]

Great song Shane! I love the fingerpicking songs

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks Don - they are my favourites too. Cheers! Shane

[@wadedeeds1738]

Great teacher.

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Wade - much appreciated. Cheers! Shane

[@johnvancedar5354]

I am ready to learn this one for sure. Lucky for me I’m retired because I could never keep up learning all the great songs on your KZbin channel.

[@GuitarAtWork]

You are fabulous Johnnyboy - one of these days I'll make it to the farm. Best, Shane

[@brucem7726]

Thanks Shane. Great lesson on a great song. When walking up from G - Am - Bm - C why not finger the Am using the 2,3,4 fingering which sets up the Bm? Just move the shape up and put the 1st finger on the B or lay it across.

[@wallymurray620]

Great song choice, great lesson, can’t wait to get working on it. Thanks again and stay safe my friend!

[@GuitarAtWork]

A big thank you Wally - right back atcha and hope you are safe and well Best, Shane

[@rayvoorhies7180]

Wonderful song and a great lesson. Shane have you got time to do a lesson for a Christmas Song? O Holy Night is one that I'd love to learn. I've seen Ez Piano arrangements in key C with 6 open chords. It would sound great Fingerpicked. Could it be done with a basic pattern?

[@funnyharleyman]

Nice job Shane! How about a lesson for a song called, Another Road by Loggins and Messina? It's off of their On Stage live album. It's a nice finger picking song. Thanks for the lessons! Garry

[@irishsquire1]

Hi shane, i know the name of your guitar. But could tell me the full make of it. I'm going to buy one, Thanks, im a big fan. Your a great teacher.

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks for that - it’s a Taylor 814CE. Cheers! Shane

[@lowellirish]

Thanks again Shane! This is at 1/2 speed??

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks James - hope you are doing well with it. Did you ask if the whole video is at half speed? Cheers, Shane

[@francismaloney8775]

👍💯🇮🇪

[@henzs.4241]

What is the brand and model number of your guitar? Nice sounds.

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Henz. It’s a Taylor 814CE. I love it! Shane

[@housearr3st947]

How do I play it without a capo

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thanks Asa - you can play it without the capo but you won't match the recording...and that is OK if you just want to play it by yourself. Cheers, Shane

[@housearr3st947]

@@GuitarAtWork thanks buddy. stay safe

[@joetreleaven5462]

Yeah it's kinda advanced guitar playing.. I actually had to pick myself up a Capo first.. you will need that.. 😊 make sure it's a good quality Capo.. they make crappy ones.. that suck..

[@davidnielsen4235]

Are you Canadian?

[@GuitarAtWork]

Hi David - yessir! 🇨🇦

[@TheBryanunderhill]

You look like Nicholas Cage

[@anilshiv45]

Kitna Boltha hein yeh Aadmi

[@trustinjesuschrist6933]

thank you for all the lessons but i wanted to tell you that Jesus Christ loves you and He will save us from our sin if we put our faith and trust in Him! we all sinned and fell short of Gods perfect glory (romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is eternal death! (romans 6:23) but the gift of God is this john 3:16-21: “for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” and romans 10:9-13: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” so God is coming at a time we least expect, and if we put our faith and trust in Him He will gift us His grace and clothe us with the righteousness of His blood (but of course death could not hold Him, He is risen!) and we will have eternal life in His kingdom where there will be there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying. there will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. because He loves you so much! (romans 5:6-8) but if we deny and reject Him and don’t repent from our sins to follow God, then we will have our part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. so hear these words, repent and believe the gospel! accept Jesus Christ and confess your sins to Him so that He will forgive you and give you a life with truth, love, joy, and peace. which will never fade away or perish. this is all if you haven’t done this yet and Jesus Christ hasn’t saved you yet, also when you have time please you should watch this channel here on youtube called “Christ forgiveness ministries” and hear what they have to say, glory to God. God bless you! ✝️👑💟

[@davidschneider8610]

Thanks so much for this lesson!I really like how you break it down into small bits that I can easily follow!!

[@jacksongeddes7042]

Great lesson!!

[@GuitarAtWork]

Thank you Jackson - much appreciated and very glad to have you here with us. Have fun with it. Shane