Sufjan Stevens

Songs learned by chords:

  • Chicago [D, Am, C, G] capo IV (key: G)

  • Casimir Pulaski Day [D, C, Am, G] capo I (strum: n- nv -v nv) (key: G#/Ab)

  • Lord God Bird [Am, Em, Dm, C, G, F] capo IV

  • John Wayne Gacy Jr [Dm, C, Am, F] capo III (key: C)

  • Vito’s Ordination Song [] (key: A)

  • To Be Alone With You [Fmaj7, Am, Gsus4, Dsus2/F#, F, C, G, Em] capo III (key: C)

    Fmaj7 (XX3210). Gsus4 (3X0013). Dsus2/F# (200320)

  • Impossible Soul [] (key:B)

  • Predatory Wasp [] (key: E)

  • Come On, Feel the Illinoise [] (key: E)

  • Carrie & Lowell [] (key: A)

  • Eugene [] (key: B)

  • Fourth of July [] (key F#/Gb)

  • All of Me Wants All of You [] (key: B)

  • All Delighted People [F#m, C#m, A, Bm, Bm7, C, D, Cm, F#, C#, B, F, G]

  • Transfiguration [] (key: A)

  • Drawn to the Blood [] (key A#/Bb)

  • Should Have Known Better [] (key: G)

  • With My Whole Heart [] (key F#/Gb)

  • Mystery of Love [] (key: G)

  • Mystery of Love [] (key: E)

  • Futile Devices capo 9 [] (key: E)

  • You Are The Blood [] (key: )

  • Visions of Gideon capo1 [Cmaj7, Bm, Em, G, D, A] (key: F)

  • A Little Lost [C, G, Am, F] (key: C)

Many of his folkier songs follow V II IV I, V IV II I, or V II IV VI. For example I play the following progressions on guitar (all in G for simplicity here but you can play around transposing to get a sound closer to the album versions):

  • Chicago: D Am C G or D Am C Em

  • Casimir Pulaski Day: D C Am G

  • That was the worst Christmas ever: D Am C Em

  • Everything That Rises: D Am C G

  • Hidden River of My Life: Am C G D

  • The Transfiguration (chorus): D Am C G

For guitar Sufjan also has some favorite chords, for example lots of D/F# like in Romulus, A Good Man Is Hard To Find, To Be Alone With You.

There's also some typical hammer-ons and pull-offs he uses all over that will get you closer to his sound as well as some fingerpicking patterns he uses a lot like the one on No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross.

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Michael Wei