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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.

The Lumineers - Life In The City Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsF, Em, G, C, G7, Am
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

FWoo,EmwooGwoo,FwooEmG
AndiftheFcity’sEmskyscrapersriseGoverthisisland
WouldyoubeFgladtoEmseeManhattanforGonce?
IknewtheFdream,itdied,EmJMZline,GMyrtle,andBroadway
ButI’dbeFgladtoseeEmManhattanforGonce
CWoah-woah,livinglifeinthecity
EmWoah-woah,itwillneverbepretty, Foh, Goh
CWoah-woah,wecanplanifwemakeit
EmWoah-woah,wewon’tlet’em
Theywon’ttakeitfromme,Fno,oh,oh,Gwoah(2,3,F4)
EmWoo,GwooFwoo,Emwoo
AndifyouFleave,don’tEmleavemeallGalone
‘CauseI’llbeFscared,I’llbeEmnaked,I’llgetGcold
AndImissmyFdadandEmCleopatrasittingonaGphone
SotakemeFbackoff Emthesestreetsandwe’llGneverbeG7apart
GTogetherfromtheG7start,Gnever,neverfallingbackalone
COh-oh,Livinglifeinthecity, Emoh-oh,itwillneverbepretty, Foh, Goh
COh-oh,wecanplanifwemakeit,Emwoah-woah,wewon’tlet’em
Theywon’ttakeitfromme,Fno,oh,oh,Gwoah
AndiftheCsundon’tshineFonmeCtoday
AndiftheCsubwaysfloodandFbridgesCbreak
WillyoujustAmlaydownandFdigyourCgrave?
OrwillyouCrailagainstyourFdyingCday?
CDa-da-da-da,da,da, Fda-ah-da
CDa-da-da-da-ah,Fda,da,Cda
CDa-da-da-da,da,da, Fda-ah-da
CDa-da-da-da-ah,Fda,da,Cda
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.
ArtistThe Lumineers
AlbumGloria Sparks
GenresAlternative, Folk, Indie
Year2019
KeyA
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play Life In The City on Guitar (Step-by-step)

The Lumineers - Life In The City on guitar requires 6 chords and 9 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.

Life In The City uses these transitions most often: Em → G (12), F → Em (12), and G → F (11). 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

Switching 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 12 times.

F to Em

2. Em → G chord transition

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

Here's how to move from Em to G:

  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 E string fret 3.
  3. Place index finger on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 12 times.

Em to G

3. G → F chord transition

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

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 11 times.

G to F

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

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 chorus, played 5 times.

G to C

5. C → Em chord transition

Switching 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 chorus, played 4 times.

6. G → G7 chord transition

Switching from G to G7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

7. C → F chord transition

Here's how to move from C 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. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

8. C → Am chord transition

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.

9. Am → F chord transition

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 verse.

Life In The City chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Life In The City.

  • Life In The City includes 73 chord transitions, 9 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Life In The City contains 5 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Life In The City connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After F, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (40%), G (21%), and Am (11%).
    • F → C: 40%
    • F → G: 21%
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → F: 16%
    • C → Am: 10%
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.