Learning To Fly chords by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

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Learning To Fly | Chords + Lyrics

Intro

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :|| x4

Verse 1

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
Well, I started out, down a dirty road.
Started out, all alone.
And the sun went down, as I crossed the hill.
And the town lit up, the world got still.

Chorus 1

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings.
Coming down, is the hardest thing.

Verse 2

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
Well the good ol’ days, may not return.
And the rocks might melt, and the sea may burn.

Chorus 2

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
I’m learning to fly (I’m learning to fly). But I ain’t got wings (I’m learning to fly).
Coming down (I’m learning to fly). Is the hardest thing (I’m learning to fly).

Instrumental 1

| G | G |
||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :|| x4

Verse 3 (breakdown)

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
Now some say life, will beat you down.
Yeah, break your heart, steal your crown.

Verse 4 (full band)

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
So it started out, for God knows where.
I guess I’ll know, when I get there.

Chorus 3

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
I’m learning to fly, around the clouds.
But what goes up (I’m learning to fly), must come down.

Instrumental 2

| G | G |
||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||

Chorus 4 (outro)

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||
I’m learning to fly (I’m learning to fly), but I ain’t got wings.
Coming down, is the hardest thing.
I’m learning to fly (I’m learning to fly), around the clouds.
But what goes up (I’m learning to fly), must come down.
I’m learning to fly (I’m learning to fly, I’m learning to fly).
I’m learning to fly (I’m learning to fly, I’m learning to fly).
(I’m learning to fly, I’m learning to fly).

Learning To Fly chords and progressions

Just like another Tom Petty hit, Free Fallin’, Learning To Fly is best played using two guitars (or more!). Guitar 1 should be played without a capo using these chords on a never-ending loop:

||: Fadd9 C | Am7 G (Gsus4) :||

Using the extensions Fadd9 and Am7, we get that open G string ringing all the way through the progression, kind of like Blackbird does.

The second guitar could play these chords using a capo on fret 5:

||: C G | Em D (Dadd4) :||

Avoiding the extensions is actually a good idea, makes the parts blend better, just like he did with Free Fallin’.

You could also try playing the 2nd guitar using a capo on fret 3, using these chords:

||: D5 A | F#m7 E (Esus4) :||

In my beginner course, we experiment with placing a capo like this all the time, it’s a great first step towards learning how to play all over the fretboard, Learning To Fly would be another perfect example, experiment in your own time.

Here’s some TAB to get you going when playing Learning To Fly’s chords.

Should you want to play just like Mike does, here’s the intro riff, notice how he outlines the extensions.

This may seem really easy but few guitar players can write simple, perfectly formed parts like this. My guess is that this is why Tom stuck with him all those years.

Learning To Fly chords | Related pages

Five similar tunes

When you can play Summertime's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.

Tom Petty

Tom Petty released most of his albums with his band The Heartbreakers although some solo material appeared as well.

His best-known tunes include American Girl, Free Fallin’, Learning To Fly, Into The Great Wide Open, Don’t Come Around Here No More, and I Won’t Back Down.

Tom Petty tunes.

Tom Petty on the web