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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.

Bread - If Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsA, Amaj7, A7, D, Dm, E7, F#m, C#7, Bm, Em, F#7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

AAmaj7A7DDmADmE7
IfaApicturepaintsaAmaj7thousandwords
ThenA7whycan’tIpaintDyou?
TheDmwordswillneverAshow,
TheDmyouI’vecometoE7know
IfaAfacecouldlaunchaAmaj7thousandships
ThenA7whereamItoDgo?
There’sDmnoonehomebutAyou,
You’reDmallthat’sleftmeE7too
AndF#mwhenmyC#7loveforAlifeisrunningBmdry
YouEmcomeandF#7pour BmyourselfonE7me
IfaAmancouldbetwoAmaj7places
AtoneA7time,I’dbewithDyou
DmTomorrowand Atoday,
DmBesideyoualltheE7way
IftheAworldshouldstop Amaj7revolving
SpinningA7slowlydowntoDdie
I’dDmspendtheendwithAyou
AndDmwhentheworldwasE7through
ThenF#monebyC#7onetheAstarswouldallgoBmout
ThenEmyouandF#7IwouldBmsimplyE7fly
AawaDmay
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.
ArtistBread
AlbumManna
GenresPop
Year1971
KeyA
DifficultyAdvanced

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

Bread - If on guitar requires 11 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.

If uses these transitions most often: D → Dm (6), Dm → A (6), and A → Amaj7 (5). 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 - Amaj7 chord transition.

1. A → Amaj7 chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar Amaj7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-1-2-0Guitar Amaj7 chord diagram

To move from A to Amaj7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

A to Amaj7

2. Amaj7 → A7 chord transition

Guitar Amaj7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-1-2-0Guitar Amaj7 chord diagram
Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram

Switching from Amaj7 to A7:

  1. While playing Amaj7, lift your ring finger from B string fret 2.
  2. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

Amaj7 to A7

3. A7 → D chord transition

Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

To move from A7 to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

A7 to D

4. D → Dm chord transition

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

To move from D to Dm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

D to Dm

5. Dm → A chord transition

To move from Dm to A:

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on D string fret 2.
  2. Keep middle finger on 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 6 times.

6. Dm → E7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Dm to E7:

  1. While playing Dm, lift your ring finger from B 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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

7. E7 → A chord transition

Switching 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 5 times.

8. E7 → F#m chord transition

To move from E7 to F#m:

  1. While playing E7, lift your middle finger from A string fret 2.
  2. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on A string fret 4.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

9. F#m → C#7 chord transition

Switching from F#m to C#7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

10. C#7 → A chord transition

Switching from C#7 to A:

  1. While playing C#7, lift your pinky from G string fret 4.
  2. Lift your index finger from B string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 3 to G string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 4 and place it on B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

11. A → Bm chord transition

Switching from A to Bm:

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

12. Bm → Em chord transition

To move from Bm to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

13. Em → F#7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Em to F#7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

14. F#7 → Bm chord transition

To move from F#7 to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

15. Bm → E7 chord transition

To move 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 2 times.

16. A → D chord transition

Switching from A to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

If chord transition analysis

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

  • If includes 59 chord transitions, 16 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • If contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how If 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 Dm, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (18%), G (16%), and Am (14%).
    • Dm → A: 3%
    • Dm → E7: 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.