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14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?The 100 most repeated chord transitions extracted from thousands of songs. Even the first 10 will transform your guitar practice routine.

Janis Ian - At Seventeen Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsC, Dm, G7, D#, Cm7, Fm7, G#, Dm7, F7, Cmaj7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.

  • Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
  • Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram
  • Guitar D# | E♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-x-1-3-4-3Guitar D# | E♭ chord diagram
  • Guitar Cm7 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-1-3-4-xGuitar Cm7 chord diagram
  • Guitar Fm7 chord diagram Fingering: 1-x-1-1-1-x Barre at fret 1.Guitar Fm7 chord diagram
  • Guitar G# | A♭ chord diagram Fingering: 4-3-1-1-1-x Barre at fret 1.Guitar G# | A♭ chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar Dm7 chord diagram
  • Guitar F7 chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-1-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F7 chord diagram
  • Guitar Cmaj7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-3-2-0-0-0Guitar Cmaj7 chord diagram

[Opening]
I [C]learned the truth at seventeen
That [Dm]love was meant for beauty queens
and [G7]high school girls with clear skinned smiles
who [C]married young and then retired
The [C]valentines I never knew,
the [Dm]friday nights, charades of youth
were [G7]spent on one more beautiful
At [C]seventeen I learned the truth

[verse 2]
And [D#]those of us with ravaged faces,
[Dm]lacking in the [G7]social graces
[Cm7]Desp’ratly re[Fm7]mained at home
[Cm7]inventing lovers [Fm7]on the phone
Who [G#]called and say “come [G7]dance with me”
and [Cm7]murmured vague ob[Fm7]scenities
[Dm7]It isn’t all it seems at [G7]seventeen

[verse 3]
A [C]brown eyed girl in hand me downs,
whose [Dm]name I never could pronounce said
“[G7]Pity, please, the ones who serve,
they [C]only get what they deserve.
The [C]rich relationed home town queen [Dm]marries into what she needs
A [G7]guarantee of company and [C]haven for the elderly”

[verse 4]
Re[D#]member those who win the game, [Dm7]lose the love they [G7]sought to gain
In [Cm7]debentures of [Fm7]quality and [Cm7]dubious in[Fm7]tegrity
Their [G#]small town eyes will [G7]gape at you in [Cm7]dull surprise when [F7]payment due
[Dm7]exceeds accounts received at [G7]seventeen

[verse 5]
To [C]those of us who know the pain of [Dm]valentines that never came,
and [G7]those whose name were never called when [C]choosing side at basketball
It [C]was long ago and far away The [Dm]world was younger than today
and [G7]dreams were all they gave for free to [C]ugly duckling girls like me

[Closing]
We all [D#]play the game and when we dare to [Dm7]cheat ourselves at [G7]solitaire
In[Cm7]venting lovers [Fm7]on the phone, re[Cm7]penting other [Fm7]lives unknown
that [G#]call and say “Come [G7]dance with me”, and [Cm7]murmur vague ob[Fm7]scenities
[Dm7]at ugly girls like me, at [G7]seventeen [C] [Cmaj7]

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SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistJanis Ian
AlbumBetween the Lines
GenresPop
Year1975
KeyC

How to play At Seventeen on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Janis Ian - At Seventeen on guitar requires 10 chords and 15 core chord transitions. You can find the full step-by-step guide below. Before you start, tune your instrument. The song uses the ↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑ pattern; practice it muted first, or simplify to downstrokes while you learn the changes.

At Seventeen uses these transitions most often: G7 → C (9), Cm7 → Fm7 (8), and Dm → G7 (7). These transitions may feel a little challenging at first, but with steady practice you can play this song quickly.When you are ready, begin with C - Dm chord transition.

1. C → Dm chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram

To move from C to Dm;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 3.
C to Dm

2. Dm → G7 chord transition

Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram

To move from Dm to G7;

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 1.
Dm to G7

3. G7 → C chord transition

Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram
Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram

To move from G7 to C;

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to D string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 3.
G7 to C

4. C → D# chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar D# | E♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-x-1-3-4-3Guitar D# | E♭ chord diagram

To move from C to D#;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on G string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on B string fret 4.
C to D#

5. D# → Dm chord transition

To move from D# to Dm;

  1. While playing D#, lift your pinky from B string fret 4.
  2. Lift your index finger from D string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 3 and place it on B string fret 3.

6. G7 → Cm7 chord transition

To move from G7 to Cm7;

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to A string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on B string fret 4.

7. Cm7 → Fm7 chord transition

To move from Cm7 to Fm7;

  1. While playing Cm7, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 1.
  3. Slide your ring finger from G string fret 3 to D string fret 1.

8. Fm7 → G# chord transition

To move from Fm7 to G#;

  1. Lift your middle finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 3.
  2. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 1 to E string fret 4.
  3. Place index finger on D string fret 1.

9. G# → G7 chord transition

To move from G# to G7;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 3 to E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from E string fret 4 and place it on E string fret 1.

10. Fm7 → Dm7 chord transition

To move from Fm7 to Dm7;

  1. While playing Fm7, lift your ring finger from D string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from E string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 2.
  3. Place index finger on B string fret 1.

11. Dm7 → G7 chord transition

To move from Dm7 to G7;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Place ring finger on E string fret 1.

12. D# → Dm7 chord transition

To move from D# to Dm7;

  1. While playing D#, first lift your ring finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your index finger from D string fret 1 and place it on B string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to G string fret 2.

13. Cm7 → F7 chord transition

To move from Cm7 to F7;

  1. While playing Cm7, lift your pinky from B string fret 4.
  2. Lift your index finger from D string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 3.

14. F7 → Dm7 chord transition

To move from F7 to Dm7;

  1. While playing F7, lift your ring finger from A string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on B string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on G string fret 2.

15. C → Cmaj7 chord transition

To move from C to Cmaj7;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.

At Seventeen chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in At Seventeen.

  • At Seventeen includes 61 chord transitions, 15 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • At Seventeen contains 2 of the top 25 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how At Seventeen connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After G7, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (69%), C7 (5%), and F (5%).
    • G7 → C: 69%
    • G7 → Cm7: 0%
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → Dm: 5%
    • C → Cmaj7: 0%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.