Song chords
This Is Amazing Grace chords
Phil Wickham
The fastest song in this collection and one of the simplest — four chords, most of them held for a whole line, at just under 100 bpm. Recorded in Bb, so the standard chart is capo 3 with G shapes.
Before you start
The chords you need.
4 shapes covers the whole song, fretted with the capo at fret 3. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Capo 3 with G shapes: G sounds as Bb, C as Eb, Em as Gm and D as F. Each line of the verse sits on a single chord, so the changes are slow even though the tempo is not. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 98 bpm.
Verse
5 barsOne chord per line until the last, which packs three into a bar.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Chorus
8 barsShapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Bridge
4 barsDrops the V — the one section that never leans forward.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
The tempo is the whole difficulty. Practise Em→D→C as one movement — it closes every verse line and it is the only place three changes happen back to back.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — This Is Amazing Grace was written and recorded by Phil Wickham, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is This Is Amazing Grace in?
This Is Amazing Grace sounds in Bb Major. The common arrangement gets there with a capo at fret 3 and G Major shapes, which is why the chords written here are G Major chords rather than Bb Major ones.
Do I need a capo for This Is Amazing Grace?
Yes for the standard arrangement: capo 3. Without it you would be playing Bb Major shapes, which needs barre chords. With the capo on, the shapes are G Major — much friendlier under the hand.
What chords are in This Is Amazing Grace?
G, C, Em and D — 4 chords across 3 sections. Capo 3 with G shapes: G sounds as Bb, C as Eb, Em as Gm and D as F. Each line of the verse sits on a single chord, so the changes are slow even though the tempo is not.
What is the easiest way to play This Is Amazing Grace?
Beginner overall. The tempo is the whole difficulty. Practise Em→D→C as one movement — it closes every verse line and it is the only place three changes happen back to back.
How fast is This Is Amazing Grace?
About 98 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play This Is Amazing Grace in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.