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.

Christina Perri - Backwards Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsDm, Am, E, F, G, C
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

DmAmEAm
DmTakemebackwards,AmturnmearoundE
IcannotfindmyAmbalanceontheground
FThisworldistooheavy
ForaGfeatherfallingAmquickly
DmAndIwroteyouaAmstory
ButI’mEafraidofhowitAmends
AndallmyFfriendsaredoingGwell
AndI’mstillontheAmmend
CI’mgoingtolaybackGdown
HopethewindtakesmeFaround
IgottafindsomeEcourageinthistown
C’Causenobody’sgoingtoGsave
Somebodywhowon’tFchange,ItriedtobeEbrave
DmAndnothing’scomingAmeasy
AndallatEonceIfeelalittleAmqueasy
OhbutifyourFlove’smyremedy
Won’tyouGpleasecomeandbewithAmme
DmIt’snotlikethere’smuchAmbetter
Nobody’sEgrassisasgreenasAmmine
Ican’tsaythatI’mFsatisfied
ThreethousandGmilesfromyourkissAmgoodbye
CI’mgoingtolaybackGdown
HopethewindtakesmeFaround
IgottafindsomeEcourageinthistown
DmAndeverybody’sCafraid
‘CauseAmchancescomefromFchange
Andeverybody’sCafraid
‘CauseAmchancescomefromFbreaking
AndAmchancesareyou’reFbreakingEopen
CI’mgoingtolaybackGdown
HopethewindtakesmeFaround
IgottafindsomeEcourageinthistown
C’Causenobody’sgoingtoGsave
Somebodywhowon’tFchange
It’stimetobeEbrave
DmAmEAm
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.
ArtistChristina Perri
AlbumLovestrong
GenresPop
Year2011
KeyC
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play Backwards on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Christina Perri - Backwards on guitar requires 6 chords and 12 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.

Backwards uses these transitions most often: Am → F (7), Am → E (6), and Dm → Am (6). 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 Dm - Am chord transition.

1. Dm → Am chord transition

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

Switching from Dm to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

Dm to Am

2. Am → E chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar E chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-1-0-0Guitar E chord diagram

Here's how to move from Am to E:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

Am to E

3. Am → F chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

To move from Am to F:

  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 G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

Am to F

4. F → G chord transition

Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

Switching from F to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

F to G

5. G → Am chord transition

Switching from G to Am:

  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 3 and place it on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

6. Am → C chord transition

To move from Am to C:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 2 times.

7. C → G chord transition

Switching from C to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  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 E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 5 times.

8. F → E chord transition

Here's how to move from F to E:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 6 times.

9. E → C chord transition

Here's how to move from E to C:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 3 times.

10. E → Dm chord transition

Here's how to move from E to Dm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

11. Dm → C chord transition

To move from Dm to C:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

12. F → C chord transition

To move from F to C:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

Backwards chord transition analysis

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

  • Backwards includes 65 chord transitions, 12 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Backwards contains 5 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Backwards connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Am, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (26%), G (21%), and C (16%).
    • Am → F: 26%
    • Am → C: 16%
    After E, the most likely next chords across Chordier are A (25%), D (14%), and B (11%).
    • E → Am: 10%
    • E → C: 2%
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.