Leonard Cohen - Bird on the Wire Chords
Before you play, tune your guitar and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.
How to play Bird on the Wire on Guitar (Step-by-step)
Leonard Cohen - Bird on the Wire on guitar requires 5 chords and 7 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.
Bird on the Wire uses these transitions most often: E7 → A (11), A → E7 (10), and D → A (10). 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 A - E7 chord transition.
1. A → E7 chord transition
Switching from A to E7:
- While playing A, lift your ring finger from B string fret 2.
- Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to A string fret 2.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 10 times.
2. A → A7 chord transition
To move from A to A7:
- While playing A, lift your ring finger from B string fret 2.
- Keep index finger on D string fret 2.
- Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 2.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 5 times.
3. A7 → D chord transition
To move from A7 to D:
- Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
- Slide your middle finger from B string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
- Place ring finger on B string fret 3.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 5 times.
4. D → A chord transition
Switching from D to A:
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
- Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 3 to fret 2.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 10 times.
5. A → Bm chord transition
Switching from A to Bm:
- Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
- Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
- Lift your ring finger from B string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 4.
- Place pinky on G string fret 4.
This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.
6. Bm → E7 chord transition
Here's how to move from Bm to E7:
- While playing Bm, first lift your ring finger and pinky.
- Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from B string fret 3 to A string fret 2.
This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.
7. E7 → D chord transition
Switching from E7 to D:
- Slide your index finger on G string from fret 1 to fret 2.
- Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
- Place ring finger on B string fret 3.
This transition appears in the chorus.
Bird on the Wire chord transition analysis
A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Bird on the Wire.
- Bird on the Wire includes 54 chord transitions, 7 of them unique.
- These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
- Bird on the Wire contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
- These transition patterns show how Bird on the Wire connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.After A, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (29%), G (13%), and E (12%).
- A → D: 29%
- A → Bm: 8%
After E7, the most likely next chords across Chordier are A (31%), Am (28%), and A7 (7%).- E7 → A: 31%
- E7 → D: 6%