Amazing Grace

About This Song

Amazing Grace guitar sheet music: “Amazing Grace” is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by the English poet John Newton (1725–1807). “Amazing Grace” is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Author Gilbert Chase writes that it is “without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns,” and it is estimated that the song is performed about 10 million times annually. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into both secular and popular music.

“Amazing Grace” became newly popular during a revival of folk music in America during the 1960s, and it has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century. Amazing Grace guitar sheet music: Mr. Pasero arranged the work for solo guitar in the key of D major (with the E string tuned to D). It starts in 2/4 time and progresses to 3/4 time. Note: Other guitar arrangements by Stevan Pasero of standard repertoire are here.

About the composer:

John Newton (24 July 1725 – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. In 1748, during his return voyage to England aboard the ship Greyhound, Newton had a spiritual conversion. He awoke to find the ship caught in a severe storm off the coast of Donegal, Ireland and about to sink. In response, Newton began praying for God’s mercy and soon the storm subsided. This experience marked the beginning of Newton’s conversion to Christianity. He is noted for being author of the hymns Amazing Grace and Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.