David Bowie - Changes - Guitar Lesson

About Changes

At 132 BPM in C major, "Changes" moves at a brisk, confident pace that keeps your fretting hand honest. The piano leads the original recording, but the guitar part sits in a supporting role built around clean chord work and steady rhythm playing in E Standard tuning. Getting those chord changes smooth and even at tempo is the real challenge here: the harmony moves around more than a straight rock song, so you need to know your C major diatonic shapes well and be ready to shift position quickly. The chromatic inner voice movement in some of the chord transitions rewards slow, deliberate practice before you try locking in at full speed. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop those trickier transitions slowed down until the muscle memory is solid. David Bowie wrote this as part of the early-70s Glam Rock wave, and the song's harmonic sophistication is a genuine workout for rhythm guitarists who want to move beyond basic chord bashing.

• The song sits in C major in E Standard tuning, so all your standard open and barre chord shapes apply directly with no retuning required.
• The chord progression moves through more diatonic and chromatic changes than a typical rock tune, making smooth left-hand transitions the primary technical challenge.
• Practising the chord shifts at a reduced tempo with the Practice Toolbar before pushing toward the full 132 BPM is the most efficient way to build accuracy.