This song is an ideal introductory guitar song and will have you sounding like a rockstar quickly. Using simple chords and an unforgettable melody, you will quickly learn this tune!
Bernie Taupin wrote the song that would become one of Elton John’s signature hits – one of several written for Elton by Bernie and Elton together.
Basic Chords
As a beginner in chord learning, the major chords will likely be your focus first. These are used in many popular songs and most common are C, F and G but A, D and E can also be learned.
Once you’ve learned your basic chords, the next step will be learning how to switch between them. At first this may prove challenging but over time will become easier with practice. An important rule to keep in mind when switching is moving weaker fingers before stronger ones – it may feel odd at first but this will result in smoother changes over time.
Keep in mind that slash chords (composed of multiple shapes) are slightly trickier to play than regular chords; for example, G to C can be challenging at first but with practice it becomes easy!
Intermediate Chords
Elton John employs cluster chords, added 9ths and suspensions to add lots of harmonic interest to Rocket Man. It is also an effective way of practicing differentiating major and minor chords; just be sure to stretch out your 3rd finger as to not hit too hard on any frets and dampen sound quality.
“Rocket Man”, written by Elton’s longtime songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin and featured as a hit single off John’s Honky Chateau album in 1972, was inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short story from 1951’s collection The Illustrated Man for this hit about an astronaut drifting through space and daydreaming of his wife back on Earth.
Produced by Gus Dudgeon – who also worked on David Bowie’s 1969 intergalactic hit Space Oddity – this song became an instant classic and even featured prominently in Taron Egerton’s 2019 biopic Rocketman as an Elton John biopic soundtrack track.
Advanced Chords
As any guitarist knows, G major and C major chords are core to playing guitar, often used in hundreds of songs with relative ease. Learning an F major chord may prove more challenging but should still be achievable with time and practice.
“Rocket Man,” Elton John’s iconic piano ballad from his 1972 album Honky Chateau and one of his most well-known songs, peaked at #10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and even inspired a biopic featuring Taron Egerton as Sir John in 2019.
Rocket Man lyrics have often been taken as an allegory for rock stars’ separation from family and friends once they achieve great fame, as well as drug use as depicted in its film adaptation – theories which Bernie Taupin discussed during an interview for The Cut in 2016.
Rhythm
One of the key aspects of chord progressions to keep in mind when looking at them is that they are written in rhythm rather than as functional harmony. Each note of a chord should be heard within its environment within each bar – let’s use an example blues progression from C as an illustration (Ex. 2).
This chord progression uses slash chords, created by pairing one chord in the right hand with another chord in the left. This technique enables guitarists to create many new moods and textures using only those chords they know well.
This song was released during a peak period for US space exploration, with Bernie Taupin drawing inspiration from Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Rocket Man.” Like other Elton John songs such as Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, such as this one it offers insight into loneliness and alienation; its lyrics also contain double meanings regarding drugs, rock star success and the rocket penis metaphor.