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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.

Shawn Mendes - If I Can’t Have You Chords

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

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

FIcan’tEmwriteoneDmsongthat’sEmnotabout
FYoucan’tEmdrinkDmwithoutEmthinkingaboutFyou
IsEmittooDmlatetoEmtellyouthat
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FI’minTorontoandIEmgotthisAmview
ButIDmmightaswellbeinaEmhotelroom,yeah
FItdoesn’tmatter’causeI’mEmsoAmconsumed
SpendingDmallmynightsreadingEmtextsfromyou
FOh,I’mgoodatEmkeepingmyAmdistance
IDmknowthatyou’retheEmfeelingI’mmissing
YouFknowthatIEmhatetoadmitAmit
ButFeverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FIcan’tEmwriteoneDmsongthat’sEmnotabout
FYoucan’tEmdrinkDmwithoutEmthinkingaboutFyou
IsEmittooDmlatetoEmtellyouthat
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FIcan’tEmwriteoneDmsongthat’sEmnotabout
FYoucan’tEmdrinkDmwithoutEmthinkingaboutFyou
IsEmittooDmlatetoEmtellyouthat
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FI’msosorrythatmyEmtiming’sAmoff
ButIDmcan’tmoveonifwe’restillEmgonnatalk
FIsitwrongformetoEmnotwantAmhalf?
IwantDmallofyou,alltheEmstringsattached
FOh,I’mgoodatEmkeepingmyAmdistance
IDmknowthatyou’retheEmfeelingI’mmissing
YouFknowthatIEmhatetoadmitAmit
ButFeverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FIcan’tEmwriteoneDmsongthat’sEmnotabout
FYoucan’tEmdrinkDmwithoutEmthinkingaboutFyou
IsEmittooDmlatetoEmtellyouthat
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FIcan’tEmwriteoneDmsongthat’sEmnotabout
FYoucan’tEmdrinkDmwithoutEmthinkingaboutFyou
IsEmittooDmlatetoEmtellyouthat
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FI’mtryingtomoveEmon,forgetAmyou,butIholdon
DmEverythingmeansnothing,Emeverythingmeansnothing,babe
FI’mtryingtomoveEmon,forgetAmyou,butIholdon
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FIcan’tEmwriteoneDmsongthat’sEmnotabout
FYoucan’tEmdrinkDmwithoutEmthinkingaboutFyou
IsEmittooDmlatetoEmtellyouthat
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
FIcan’tEmwriteoneDmsongthat’sEmnotabout
FYoucan’tEmdrinkDmwithoutEmthinkingaboutFyou
IsEmittooDmlatetoEmtellyouthat
FEverythingmeansEmnothingifIDmcan’thaveyou
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.
ArtistShawn Mendes
AlbumShawn Mendes
GenresPop
Year2018
KeyF
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play If I Can't Have You on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Shawn Mendes - If I Can't Have You on guitar requires 4 chords and 6 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 I Can't Have You uses these transitions most often: F → Em (41), Em → Dm (31), and Dm → Em (28). 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 F - Em chord transition.

1. F → Em chord transition

Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

To move from F to Em:

  1. While playing F, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from G 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 41 times.

F to Em

2. Em → Dm chord transition

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

Switching from Em to Dm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 31 times.

Em to Dm

3. Dm → F chord transition

Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

Here's how to move from Dm to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 9 times.

Dm to F

4. 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

Switching 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 10 times.

Em to Am

5. Am → Dm chord transition

To move from Am to Dm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

6. Am → F chord transition

Here's how to move from Am to F:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 3 times.

If I Can't Have You chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in If I Can't Have You.

  • If I Can't Have You includes 157 chord transitions, 6 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.04% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • If I Can't Have You contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how If I Can't Have You 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 → Am: 12%
    • Em → F: 8%
    After F, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (40%), G (21%), and Am (11%).
    • F → Em: 3%
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.