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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.

Jack Johnson - Breakdown Chords

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

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

CEmAmGCEmAmG
CIhopethisoldEmtrainbreaksdown,
AmSoIcouldtakeaGwalkaround
CAnd,seewhatthereEmistosee
AmAndtimeisjustaGmelody
WithalltheCpeopleinthestreet
WalkasEmfastastheirfeetcantakethem
AmIjustrollthroughGtown
AndthoughmyCwindow’sgotaview,well
TheEmframeI’mlookingthrough
SeemstoAmhavenoconcernforGnow,sofornow
CIneedthisAmoldtraintoGbreakdown,
CohpleasejustAmletmepleaseGbreakdown
CEmAmGCEmAmG
CThisengineEmscreamsoutloud.
AmcentipedegonnaGcrawlwestbound
CSoIdon’tevenEmmakeasound
AmIt’sgonnastingmewhenIGleavethistown
AlltheCpeopleinthestreet,thatI’llEmnevergettomeet
IftheseAmtracksdon’tbend Gsome-how
AndCIgotnotime,thatEmIgottogetto
AmWhereIdon’tneedtoGbe,soI
CIneedthisAmoldtraintoGbreakdown,
CohpleasejustAmletmepleaseGbreakdown
CIneedthisAmoldtraintoGbreakdown,
CohpleasejustAmletmepleaseGbreakdown
CIGwannaFbreakonCdownGbutIcantFstopCnow
GLetmeFbreakonCdownGFC
ButyouCcan’tstopnothing,ifyouEmgotnocontrol
OftheAmthoughtsinyourmindthatyouGkeptin,youknow
YouCdon’tknownothing,butyouEmdon’tneedtoknow
TheAmwisdomsinthetreesnottheGglasswindows
YouCcan’tstopwishingifyouEmdon’tletgo
ButAmthingsthatyoufindandyouGlose,andyouknow
YouCkeeponrolling.puttheEmmomentonhold
TheAmframestoobright,soputtheGblindsdownlow
CIneedthisAmoldtraintoGbreakdown,
COhpleasejustAmletmepleaseGbreakdown
CIneedthisAmoldtraintoGbreakdown,
COhpleasejustAmletmepleaseGbreakdown
CIEmwannaAmbreakGondown
CButEmIAmcantGstopnow
CEmAmGCEmAmGC
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.
ArtistJack Johnson
AlbumIn Between Dreams
GenresFolk, Folk Rock, Rock
Year2005
KeyC
DifficultyEasy

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

Jack Johnson - Breakdown 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.

Breakdown uses these transitions most often: Am → G (30), G → C (30), and C → Em (20). 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 - Em chord transition.

1. C → Em chord transition

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

To move from C to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 20 times.

C to Em

2. Em → Am chord transition

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

Here's how to move from Em to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 20 times.

Em to Am

3. Am → G chord transition

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

To move from Am 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 G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 30 times.

Am to G

4. G → C chord transition

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

Here's how to move from G 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 3 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 30 times.

G to C

5. C → Am chord transition

Here's how to move from C to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

6. G → F chord transition

Here's how to move from G to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

7. F → C chord transition

Switching 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, played 4 times.

Breakdown chord transition analysis

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

  • Breakdown includes 122 chord transitions, 7 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Breakdown contains 5 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Breakdown connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → G: 35%
    • C → Am: 10%
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → C: 25%
    • G → F: 9%
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.