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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.

Elvis Costello - Oliver’s Army Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsA, D, E, C#, F#m, B, G#m, F#, D#
Strumming↓↑-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

ADEADE
ADon’tstartthattalking,DIcouldEtalkallnight
AMymindgoessleepwalking,DwhileI’mC#puttingtheworldtoF#mright
CalledcareersBinformation,F#mhaveyougot ByourselfanEoccupation
AOliver’sArmyisDheretoEstay,AOliver’sArmyareDontheirEway
AAndIwouldF#mratherbeAanywhereDelse,thanEhereAtoday
ADE
ATherewasaCheckpointCharlie,Dhedidn’tEcrackasmile
AButit’snolaughingparty,Dwhenyou’vebeenC#onthemurderF#mmile
OnlytakesoneBitchytrigger,F#monemorewidow,oneBlesswhiteEnigger
AOliver’sArmyisDheretoEstay,AOliver’sArmyareDontheirEway
AAndIwouldF#mratherbeAanywhereDelse,thanEhereAtoday
ADE
G#mHongKongisF#upforgrabs,ELondonisD#fullofArabs
C#WecouldbeinF#Palestine,EoverrunbytheF#Chineseline
WiththeEboysfromtheMerseyandtheF#ThamesandtheTyne
BButthere’snodanger,Eit’saF#professionalcareer
BThoughitcouldbearrangedwithEjustawordinD#MisterChurchill’sG#mear
Ifyou’reoutofC#luck,orifyou’reoutofG#mwork,wecouldsendyouC#to F#JohannesburgEF#
BOliversArmyisEheretoF#stay,BOliversArmyareEontheirF#way
BAndIwouldG#mratherbeBanywhereEelse,thanF#hereBtoday
AndBIwouldG#mratherbeBanywhereEelse,thanF#hereBtoday
AndBIwouldG#mratherbeBanywhereEelse,thanF#hereBtoday
BEF#BEF#
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.
ArtistElvis Costello
AlbumArmed Forces
GenresPop, Pop Rock, Rock
Year1979
KeyA
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Oliver's Army on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army on guitar requires 9 chords and 18 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.

Oliver's Army uses these transitions most often: A → D (14), E → A (13), and B → E (12). 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 - D chord transition.

1. A → D chord transition

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

To move 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, played 14 times.

A to D

2. D → E chord transition

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

Switching from D to E:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 12 times.

D to E

3. E → A chord transition

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

Switching from E 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. Lift your ring finger from D string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 13 times.

E to A

4. D → C# chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar C# | D♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-4-3-1-2-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar C# | D♭ chord diagram

Switching from D to C#:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

D to C#

5. C# → F#m chord transition

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

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

6. F#m → B chord transition

To move from F#m to B:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

7. B → E chord transition

Here's how to move from B to E:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 12 times.

8. 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 chorus, played 2 times.

9. E → G#m chord transition

Switching from E to G#m:

  1. While playing E, 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 4.
  3. Slide your ring finger from D string fret 2 to A string fret 6.
  4. Place pinky on D string fret 6.

This transition appears in the verse.

10. G#m → F# chord transition

To move from G#m to F#:

  1. Slide your index finger on E string from fret 4 to fret 2.
  2. Slide your ring finger on A string from fret 6 to fret 4.
  3. Slide your pinky on D string from fret 6 to fret 4.
  4. Place middle finger on G string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

11. F# → E chord transition

Here's how to move from F# to E:

  1. While playing F#, 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 1.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 3 to A string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 4 and place it on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

12. E → D# chord transition

To move from E to D#:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

13. D# → C# chord transition

To move from D# to C#:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

14. C# → F# chord transition

Here's how to move from C# to F#:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

15. F# → B chord transition

Here's how to move from F# to B:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

16. D# → G#m chord transition

Switching from D# to G#m:

  1. While playing D#, lift your middle finger from E string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from D string fret 1 and place it on E string fret 4.
  3. Slide your ring finger from G string fret 3 to A string fret 6.
  4. Lift your pinky from B string fret 4 and place it on D string fret 6.

This transition appears in the verse.

17. G#m → C# chord transition

To move from G#m to C#:

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 4 and place it on G string fret 1.
  2. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 6 to D string fret 3.
  3. Lift your pinky from D string fret 6 and place it on A string fret 4.
  4. Place middle finger on B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

18. B → G#m chord transition

Switching from B to G#m:

  1. While playing B, lift your middle finger from D string fret 4.
  2. Slide your index finger on E string from fret 2 to fret 4.
  3. Slide your ring finger from G string fret 4 to A string fret 6.
  4. Lift your pinky from B string fret 4 and place it on D string fret 6.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

Oliver's Army chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Oliver's Army.

  • Oliver's Army includes 106 chord transitions, 18 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Oliver's Army contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Oliver's Army connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After E, the most likely next chords across Chordier are A (25%), D (14%), and B (11%).
    • E → A: 25%
    • E → F#: 3%
    After B, the most likely next chords across Chordier are E (21%), Em (16%), and A (16%).
    • B → E: 21%
    • B → F#m: 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.