Skip to song content
Chordier homepage
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.

IClearnedthetruthatseventeen
ThatDmlovewasmeantforbeautyqueens
andG7highschoolgirlswithclearskinnedsmiles
whoCmarriedyoungandthenretired
TheCvalentinesIneverknew,
theDmfridaynights,charadesofyouth
wereG7spentononemorebeautiful
AtCseventeenIlearnedthetruth
AndD#thoseofuswithravagedfaces,
DmlackingintheG7socialgraces
Cm7Desp’ratly Fm7remainedathome
Cm7inventingloversFm7onthephone
WhoG#calledandsay“comeG7dancewithme”
andCm7murmuredvague Fm7obscenities
Dm7Itisn’tallitseemsatG7seventeen
ACbrowneyedgirlinhandmedowns,
whoseDmnameInevercouldpronouncesaid
G7“Pity,please,theoneswhoserve,
theyConlygetwhattheydeserve.
TheCrichrelationedhometownqueenDmmarriesintowhatsheneeds
AG7guaranteeofcompanyandChavenfortheelderly”
D#Rememberthosewhowinthegame,Dm7losethelovetheyG7soughttogain
InCm7debenturesofFm7qualityandCm7dubious Fm7integrity
TheirG#smalltowneyeswillG7gapeatyouinCm7dullsurprisewhenF7paymentdue
Dm7exceedsaccountsreceivedatG7seventeen
ToCthoseofuswhoknowthepainofDmvalentinesthatnevercame,
andG7thosewhosenamewerenevercalledwhenCchoosingsideatbasketball
ItCwaslongagoandfarawayTheDmworldwasyoungerthantoday
andG7dreamswerealltheygaveforfreetoCuglyducklinggirlslikeme
WeallD#playthegameandwhenwedaretoDm7cheatourselvesatG7solitaire
Cm7InventingloversFm7onthephone, Cm7repentingotherFm7livesunknown
thatG#callandsay“ComeG7dancewithme”,andCm7murmurvague Fm7obscenities
Dm7atuglygirlslikeme,atG7seventeenCCmaj7
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
DifficultyAdvanced

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

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

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

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

C to D#

5. D# → Dm chord transition

Switching 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.

This transition appears in the verse.

6. G7 → Cm7 chord transition

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

7. Cm7 → Fm7 chord transition

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 8 times.

8. Fm7 → G# chord transition

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

9. G# → G7 chord transition

Switching 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

10. Fm7 → Dm7 chord transition

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

12. D# → Dm7 chord transition

Switching 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

13. Cm7 → F7 chord transition

Switching 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.

This transition appears in the verse.

14. F7 → Dm7 chord transition

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse.

15. C → Cmaj7 chord transition

Here's how 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.

This transition appears in the verse.

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.