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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.

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsCmaj7, G, Em, D, C
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

Cmaj7YougotafastGcar.
EmIwantatickettoDanywhere.
Cmaj7MaybewemakeaGdeal,
EmMaybetogetherwecanDgetsomewhere.
Cmaj7AnyplaceisGbetter.
EmStartingfromzero,gotDnothingtolose.
Cmaj7Maybewe'llmakeGsomething,
EmMemyself,IgotDnothingtoprove.
Cmaj7GEmDx2
Cmaj7YougotafastGcar.
EmIgotaplantoDgetusoutofhere:
Cmaj7IbeenworkingattheGconveniencestore,
EmManagedtosavejustaDlittlebitofmoney.
Cmaj7Won'thavetodrivetooGfar
EmJust'crosstheborderandDintothecity,
Cmaj7YouandIcanGbothgetjobs
AndEmfinallyseewhatitDmeanstobeliving.
Cmaj7GEmDx2
Yousee,Cmaj7myoldman'sgotaGproblem:
HeEmlivewiththebottle,that’stheDwayitis.
HeCmaj7sayshisbody'stoooldforGworking,
HisEmbody'stooyoungtoDlooklikehis.
MyCmaj7mamawentoffandGlefthim,sheEmwantedmorefromlifethanDhecouldgive,
Isaid, Cmaj7"Somebody'sgottotakeGcareofhim."
SoEmIquitschoolandthat'sDwhatIdid.
Cmaj7GEmDx2
Cmaj7YougotafastGcar.
ButisitEmfastenoughsowecanDflyaway?
Cmaj7Wegottamakea Gdecision:
EmLeavetonightorliveandDdiethisway.
Cmaj7GEmD
Cmaj7GEm
EmCEm*C
SoIrememberwhen:weweredriving,drivinginyourcar,
Em*C
ThespeedsofastIfeltlikeIwasdrunk,
EmCitylightslayCoutbeforeus
AndyourEmarmfeltnicewrapped C'roundmyshoulder.
AndCIEmhadaDfeelingthatIbelonged
AndCIEmhadaDfeelingIcould--Embesomeone,Cbesomeone,Embesomeone.
Cmaj7GEmDx2
Cmaj7YougotafastGcar.
AndEmwegocruisingto Dentertainourselves;
Cmaj7youstillain'tgotaGjob
AndIEmworkinamarketasaDcheckoutgirl.
Cmaj7IknowthingswillgetGbetter:
EmYou'llfindworkandDI'llgetpromoted,
Cmaj7We'llmoveoutoftheGshelter
EmBuyabiggerhouseandDliveinthesuburbs.
Cmaj7GEmD
Cmaj7GEm
EmSoI Crememberwhen:wewereEmdriving,drivingCinyourcar,
TheEmspeedsofastIfeltlikeCIwasdrunk,
EmCitylightslayCoutbeforeus
AndyourEmarmfeltnicewrapped C'roundmyshoulder.
AndCIEmhadaDfeelingthatIbelonged
AndCIEmhadaDfeelingIcould--Embesomeone,Cbesomeone,Embesomeone.
Cmaj7GEmDx2
Cmaj7YougotafastGcar.
AndEmIgotajobthatDpaysallourbills.
Cmaj7YoustayoutdrinkingGlateatthebar,
YouseeEmmoreyourfriendsthanyouDdoyourkids.
Cmaj7I'dalwayshopedforGbetter,
EmThoughtmaybetogetherDyouandmewouldfindit,
Cmaj7IgotnoplansIain'tGgoingnowhere,
soEmtakeyourfastcarandDkeepondriving.
Cmaj7GEmD
Cmaj7GEm
EmSoI Crememberwhen:wewereEmdriving,drivingCinyourcar,
TheEmspeedsofastIfeltlikeCIwasdrunk,
EmCitylightslayCoutbeforeus
AndyourEmarmfeltnicewrapped C'roundmyshoulder.
AndCIEmhadaDfeelingthatIbelonged
AndCIEmhadaDfeelingIcould--Embesomeone,Cbesomeone,Embesomeone.
Cmaj7GEmDx2
Cmaj7YougotafastGcar.
ButisitEmfastenoughsoyoucanDflyaway?
Cmaj7Yougottamakea Gdecision:
EmLeavetonightorliveandDdiethisway.
Cmaj7GEmDx3
Cmaj7G
Alternatechords:
or
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.
ArtistTracy Chapman
AlbumSingle
Year2004
KeyA
DifficultyEasy

How to play Fast Car on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car 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.

Fast Car uses these transitions most often: Em → D (33), Cmaj7 → G (31), and G → Em (30). 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 Cmaj7 - G chord transition.

1. Cmaj7 → G chord transition

Guitar Cmaj7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-3-2-0-0-0Guitar Cmaj7 chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

Switching from Cmaj7 to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 31 times.

Cmaj7 to G

2. G → Em chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

Here's how to move from G to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 30 times.

G to Em

3. Em → D chord transition

Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

Here's how to move from Em to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 33 times.

Em to D

4. D → Cmaj7 chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar Cmaj7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-3-2-0-0-0Guitar Cmaj7 chord diagram

To move from D to Cmaj7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 27 times.

D to Cmaj7

5. Em → C chord transition

Switching from Em to C:

  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 A string fret 3.
  3. Place index finger on B string fret 1.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 15 times.

6. D → C chord transition

To move from D to C:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E 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 chorus, played 3 times.

7. Em → Cmaj7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Em to Cmaj7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

Fast Car chord transition analysis

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

  • Fast Car includes 163 chord transitions, 7 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.04% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Fast Car contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Fast Car connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Em, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (26%), G (18%), and D (18%).
    • Em → C: 26%
    • Em → D: 18%
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → Em: 17%
    • D → C: 14%
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.