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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.

Prince - Purple Rain Chords

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

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

GEmDC
GInevermeanttocauseyouany Emsorrow
DInevermeanttocauseyouany Cpain
GIonlywantonetimetoseeyou Emlaughing
IDonlywanttoseeyoulaughinginthepurpleGrain
Purplerain,purple Crain
Purplerain,purple GrainEm
Purplerain,purple Drain
IonlywanttoseeyoubathinginthePurpleGRain
Ineverwantedtobeyourweekend GloverEm
DIonlywantedtobesomekindof Cfriend
GBabyIcouldneverstealyoufrom Emanother
DIt'ssuchashameourfriendshiphadtoGend
Purplerain,purple Crain
Purplerain,purple GrainEm
Purplerain,purple Drain
IonlywanttoseeyouunderneaththepurpleGrain
HoneyIknowIknowIknowtimesare Gchangin'Em
DIt'stimeweallreachoutforsomethin' Cnew
Thatmeansyoutoo
GYousayyouwantaleader
EmButyoucan'tseemtomakeupyourmind
Ithinkyoubetterclose Dit
andletmeguideyoutothepurple Grain
Purplerain,purple Crain
Purplerain,purpleGrain(Whew)
ifyouknowwhatI'msingin'about
helpmeandEmcomeonraiseyourhand
Purplerain,purple Drain
Ionlywanttoseeyou,onlywanttoseeyou
Inthepurple Grain
GEmDC
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.
ArtistPrince
AlbumSingle
Year1999
KeyBb
DifficultyEasy

How to play Purple Rain on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Prince - Purple Rain on guitar requires 4 chords and 5 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.

Purple Rain uses these transitions most often: Em → D (11), G → Em (11), and C → G (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 G - Em chord transition.

1. G → Em chord transition

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

Switching from G to Em:

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

This transition appears in the intro, played 11 times.

G to Em

2. Em → D chord transition

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

Switching from Em to D:

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

This transition appears in the intro, played 11 times.

Em to D

3. D → C chord transition

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

Here's how to move from D to C:

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

This transition appears in the intro, played 5 times.

D to C

4. C → G chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

Here's how to move from C to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

C to G

5. D → G chord transition

To move from D to G:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E 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, played 6 times.

Purple Rain chord transition analysis

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

  • Purple Rain includes 43 chord transitions, 5 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Purple Rain contains 4 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Purple Rain connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → C: 25%
    • G → Em: 9%
    After Em, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (26%), G (18%), and D (18%).
    • Em → D: 18%
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.