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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.

Ray Henderson - Bye Bye Blackbird Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsF, Bb, Am, C7, Gm7, B, Gm, C, F7, Cm, F#, G7, Bbm, D7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

[Opening]
[F]Pack up all my [Bb]cares and [F]woe,
[Am]Here I [C7]go [Gm7]singing [F]low
[F]Bye [B]bye [Gm7]black[C7]bird. [Gm7] [C7]

[chorus]
[Gm]Where somebody [C]waits for [Gm]me,
[C7]Sugar’s [Am]sweet so is [C7]she
[C7]Bye [C]bye [C7] [F]blackbird.

[chorus]
[F7]No one here can love and under[Cm]stand [F#]me
[Gm]Oh what [Gm7]hard luck [F]stories
[G7]they all [Bbm]hand [C7]me.

[chorus]
[F]Make my bed and [Bb]light the [F]light,
[Am]I’ll ar[C7]rive [Cm]late to[D7]night
[Gm7]Blackbird [C7]bye [F]bye.

[Closing]
[F]Pack up all my [Bb]cares and [F]woe,
[Am]Here I [C7]go [Gm7]singing [F]low
[F]Bye [B]bye [Gm7]black[C7]bird. [Gm7] [C7]

[chorus]
[Gm]Where somebody [C]waits for [Gm]me,
[C7]Sugar’s [Am]sweet so is [C7]she
[C7]Bye [C]bye [C7] [F]blackbird.

[chorus]
[F7]No one here can love and under[Cm]stand [F#]me
[Gm]Oh what [Gm7]hard luck [F]stories
[G7]they all [Bbm]hand [C7]me.

[chorus]
[F]Make my bed and [Bb]light the [F]light,
[Am]I’ll ar[C7]rive [Cm]late to[D7]night
[Gm7]Blackbird [C7]bye [F]bye.

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.
ArtistRay Henderson
AlbumSingle
GenresJazz
Year1924
KeyF
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Bye Bye Blackbird on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Ray Henderson - Bye Bye Blackbird on guitar requires 14 chords and 22 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.

Bye Bye Blackbird uses these transitions most often: Am → C7 (6), C7 → F (6), and Gm7 → C7 (6). 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 - Bb chord transition.

1. F → Bb chord transition

Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-1-3-3-3-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram

To move from F to Bb;

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

2. F → Am chord transition

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

To move from F to Am;

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

3. Am → C7 chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar C7 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-3-1-0Guitar C7 chord diagram

To move from Am to C7;

  1. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on D 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 G string fret 3.
Am to C7

4. C7 → Gm7 chord transition

Guitar C7 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-3-1-0Guitar C7 chord diagram
Guitar Gm7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-x-3-3-3-x Barre at fret 3.Guitar Gm7 chord diagram

To move from C7 to Gm7;

  1. While playing C7, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from D string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to D string fret 3.
C7 to Gm7

5. Gm7 → F chord transition

To move from Gm7 to F;

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

6. F → B chord transition

To move from F to B;

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

7. B → Gm7 chord transition

To move from B to Gm7;

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

8. C7 → Gm chord transition

To move from C7 to Gm;

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

9. Gm → C chord transition

To move from Gm to C;

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

10. C7 → C chord transition

To move from C7 to C;

  1. While playing C7, lift your pinky from G 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 A string fret 3.

11. C7 → F chord transition

To move from C7 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. Lift your pinky from G string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 3.

12. F → F7 chord transition

To move from F to F7;

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

13. F7 → Cm chord transition

To move from F7 to Cm;

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

14. Cm → F# chord transition

To move from Cm to F#;

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

15. F# → Gm chord transition

To move from F# to Gm;

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

16. Gm → Gm7 chord transition

To move from Gm to Gm7;

  1. While playing Gm, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Keep middle finger on E string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 3.

17. F → G7 chord transition

To move from F to G7;

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

18. G7 → Bbm chord transition

To move from G7 to Bbm;

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

19. Bbm → C7 chord transition

To move from Bbm to C7;

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

20. C7 → Cm chord transition

To move from C7 to Cm;

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

21. Cm → D7 chord transition

To move from Cm to D7;

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

22. D7 → Gm7 chord transition

To move from D7 to Gm7;

  1. While playing D7, lift your index finger from B string fret 1.
  2. Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger from E string fret 2 to D string fret 3.

Bye Bye Blackbird chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Bye Bye Blackbird.

  • Bye Bye Blackbird includes 78 chord transitions, 22 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Bye Bye Blackbird contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Bye Bye Blackbird connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After C7, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (62%), C (4%), and Gm (4%).
    • C7 → F: 62%
    • C7 → C: 4%
    After F, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (40%), G (21%), and Am (11%).
    • F → Am: 11%
    • F → Bb: 5%
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.