Sufjan Stevens Pattern
…from learning many of his songs on guitar, banjo, etc. there are some chord progressions Sufjan uses a lot.
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
Tabs:
D: 0 0 0 2 3 2
Dalt: 0 0 0 2 3 3
Dalt: 0 0 0 2 3 0
Am: X 0 2 2 1 0
Amalt: 5 7 7 7 5 5
Amalt: X X 7 5 5 5
C: X 3 2 0 1 0
Calt: X 3 5 5 5 3
G: 0 2 0 0 0 3
Galt: 5 X 0 0 0 3
Galt: 5 5 0 0 0 3
Em: 2 2 2 0 0 0
Em alt: X X 1 0 0 0
Em7: 2 2 0 0 0 0
Em9: 2 2 0 0 0 2
Emadd4: 2 0 2 0 0 0
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.
D/F#: ?
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.