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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.

Bobby Darin - Mack The Knife Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsC6, Dm, G7, Am, G, C
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

Well,theC6sharkhasprettyDmteethdear
AndheG7keepsthempearlyC6white
JustaAmjackknifehasoldMacDmHeathdear
AndheG7keepsitoutofC6sight
WhentheC6sharkbiteswithhisDmteethdear,
ScarletG7billowsstarttoC6spread
FancyAmglovesthoughwearsoldMacDmHeathdear,
Sothere’sG7neveratraceofC6red
SundayC6morning,ontheDmsidewalk,
LiesaG7bodyoozingC6life
Andsomeone’sAmcreeping,roundtheDmcorner.
CouldthatG7someonebeMacktheC6Knife?
FromaC6tugboatontheDmriver
A G7cementbag’sdroppingC6down
The Amcement’sjustfortheDmweight,dear.
IbetyouG7MackyisbackinC6town
LouisC6Miller Dmdisappeared,dear,
AfterG7drawingallhisC6cash
AndoldMacAmHeathspendslikeaDmsailor,
DidourG7boydosomethingC6rash?
JennyC6Diver;SukeyDmTawdry;
LotteG7Lenya;SweetLucyC6Brown
Well,theAmlineformsontheDmrightgirls
NowthatG7Macky’sbackinC6town!
Well,theAmlineformsontheDmrightgirls.
YouknowthatGMacky.G7STOP
He’sbackinCtown!
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.
ArtistBobby Darin
AlbumPetticoats and Popcorn
GenresPop
Year1928
KeyC
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Mack The Knife on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Bobby Darin - Mack The Knife on guitar requires 6 chords and 8 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.

Mack The Knife uses these transitions most often: Dm → G7 (12), G7 → C6 (12), and Am → Dm (7). 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 C6 - Dm chord transition.

1. C6 → Dm chord transition

Guitar C6 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-2-1-0Guitar C6 chord diagram
Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram

Switching from C6 to Dm:

  1. While playing C6, lift your pinky from A string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from D string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

C6 to Dm

2. Dm → G7 chord transition

Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram

To move from Dm to G7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 12 times.

Dm to G7

3. G7 → C6 chord transition

Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram
Guitar C6 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-2-1-0Guitar C6 chord diagram

Switching from G7 to C6:

  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 1 and place it on G string fret 2.
  4. Place pinky on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 12 times.

G7 to C6

4. C6 → Am chord transition

Guitar C6 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-2-1-0Guitar C6 chord diagram
Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram

Switching from C6 to Am:

  1. While playing C6, lift your pinky from A string fret 3.
  2. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.
  4. Keep ring finger on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

C6 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. Dm → G chord transition

Switching from Dm to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

7. 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.

8. G7 → C chord transition

To move from G7 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 1 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

Mack The Knife chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Mack The Knife.

  • Mack The Knife includes 47 chord transitions, 8 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Mack The Knife contains 3 of the top 25 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Mack The Knife connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After C6, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G7 (33%), Dm7 (16%), and Am (14%).
    • C6 → Am: 14%
    • C6 → Dm: 12%
    After Dm, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (18%), G (16%), and Am (14%).
    • Dm → G: 16%
    • Dm → G7: 6%
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.