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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.

Cat Stevens - Father and Son Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsA, Asus4, Em, D, Bm, F#m, E7, Bm7, Dmaj7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

AAsus4
AAsus4
It’snotAtimetomakeaEmchangejust DrelaxtakeitBmeasy
You’restillAyoungthat’syourF#mfault
There’ssoBmmuchyouhavetoE7know
FindaAgirlsettleEmdownifyouDwantyoucanBmmarry
LookatAmeIamF#moldbutI’mBmhappyE7
IwasAoncelikeyouareEmnow
AndIDknowthatit’snotBm7easy
TobeAcalmwhenyou’veF#mfoundsomethinggoingBmonE7
ButtakeyourAtimethinkaEmlot
WhythinkofDeverythingyou’veBm7got
ForyouwillAstillbehere F#mtomorrow
ButyourDdreamsmayAnotAsus4AAsus4
HowcanAItryto Emexplain
WhenIDdoheturns Bm7awayagain
It’sAalwaysbeentheF#msamesameoldBmstoryE7
FromtheAmomentIcouldEmtalk
IwasDorderedtoBm7listennow
There’saAwayandIF#mknowthatIDhavetogo Aaway
IE7knowIDhavetoAgoAsus4AAsus4
It’snotAtimetomakeaEmchange
JustsitDmaj7downtakeitBm7slowly
You’restillAyoungthat’syourF#mfault
There’ssoBmmuchyouhavetogoE7through
FindaAgirlsettleEmdownifyouDwantyoucanBm7marry
LookatAmeIamF#moldbutI’mBmhappyE7
AlltheAtimesthatIEmcried
KeepingDallthethingsIBm7knewinside
It’sAhardbutit’sF#mharderto BmignoreitE7
IftheywereArightI’d Emagree
Butit’sDthemtheyknownotBm7menow
There’saAwayandIF#mknow
ThatIDhavetogo AawayIE7knowIDhavetoAgo
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.
ArtistCat Stevens
AlbumMona Bone Jakon
GenresFolk, Pop
Year1970
KeyA
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Father and Son on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Cat Stevens - Father and Son on guitar requires 9 chords and 16 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.

Father and Son uses these transitions most often: A → Em (10), A → F#m (10), and Em → D (9). 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 - Asus4 chord transition.

1. A → Asus4 chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar Asus4 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-0-x-3-0Guitar Asus4 chord diagram

To move from A to Asus4:

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

This transition appears in the intro, played 6 times.

A to Asus4

2. A → Em chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

To move from A to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

A 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

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 9 times.

Em to D

4. D → Bm chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram

To move from D to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

D to Bm

5. Bm → A chord transition

To move from Bm to A:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

6. A → F#m chord transition

Here's how to move from A to F#m:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

7. F#m → Bm chord transition

To move from F#m to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

8. Bm → E7 chord transition

Switching from Bm to E7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

9. E7 → A chord transition

To move from E7 to A:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

10. D → Bm7 chord transition

To move from D to Bm7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

11. Bm7 → A chord transition

To move from Bm7 to A:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 8 times.

12. F#m → D chord transition

Here's how to move from F#m to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

13. D → A chord transition

Switching from D to A:

  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 G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 3 to fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

14. E7 → D chord transition

To move from E7 to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

15. Em → Dmaj7 chord transition

To move from Em to Dmaj7:

  1. While playing Em, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
  2. Place index finger on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

16. Dmaj7 → Bm7 chord transition

To move from Dmaj7 to Bm7:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

Father and Son chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Father and Son.

  • Father and Son includes 95 chord transitions, 16 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Father and Son contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Father and Son 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 → Em: 7%
    • A → F#m: 6%
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → A: 17%
    • D → Bm: 5%
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.