The progression of Hallelujah chords remains the same, regardless of the version you’re playing.Ĭheck out the original studio recording below for reference:

We won’t get into all 80 verses here, but Cohen used several different versions of the song in the studio recording and live performances.

He wrote 80 draft verses for it, literally banging his head on the floor of the Royalton Hotel in New York.

This smash-hit didn’t just spill out of Cohen fully formed.

It appeared in the movie Shrek, countless episodes of the TV show American Idol, and recordings by John Cale, k.d. Miller, Pump Up the Volume, and Natural Born Killers.Įven his most well-known song, Hallelujah, has been pressed into service.

His music has been used in films like McCabe and Mrs.

Cohen’s mystery and magic comes from the fact that his genius was mainly recognized by other people who used his art in support of theirs.

His first success as a songwriter came from “Suzanne,” a poem set to music that Cohen apologetically sang to Judy Collins one night in the 1960s. He was no rock superstar in fact, before he was a songwriter, he was a poet. Leonard Cohen just passed away a few years ago. If it’s not already familiar to you, give it a listen here. The most famous version of this song wasn’t made by the songwriter himself, but by Jeff Buckley.

We’ll give you the chords you’ll need, and we’ll help you to strum or pick the Hallelujah chords.įirst, let’s get to know a few things about the songwriter and the song.

You may never even have heard Cohen’s version of his own song because it’s been so famously covered by other artists.

Hallelujah is a song for, by, and about the musical soul. Genius songs like this one allow for wide interpretation, and today we’re going to help you develop the skills you need to create your own. “Hallelujah” has been described as a secular hymn, a spiritual struggle, and a song about disappointing other people.

By the time we finish learning Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah chords today, you’ll want to explore the rest of his amazing song catalog.

The song is “Hallelujah,” and the songwriter is Leonard Cohen, one of Canada’s great worldwide exports.

For all the fame and enduring popularity the song has achieved, however, the songwriter is a bit of an open secret.

It’s been used in television shows and movies, and it’s performed all the time by musicians of almost every style. Prepare to open the floodgates, musicians!

Hallelujah Chords & The Genius Of Leonard Cohen

Tips for getting creative with your own arrangement.

How Leonard Cohen teaches you how to play the chords in the lyrics.

The beginner & intermediate ways to play this song.

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Hallelujah guitar picking tutorial