Skip to song content
Chordier homepage
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 Weeknd - Real Life Chords

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

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

BmAEmG
Tell’emBmthisboywasn’tmadeGforloving,Bmtell’emthisheartdoesn’tGstaytoone
BmI’llbethesame,neverGchangedfornothing,Bmit’sallIknow,neverGlearnedmuchmore
BmMamacalledmeDdestructive,ohyeah,Emsaidit’druinmeoneday,yeah
BmCauseeverywomanthatDlovedme,ohyeah,EmIseemedtopushthemGaway
That’sBmreallifeDrealGlife,AmamatalkingthatBmreallife,D
ThatGreallife,realAlife,reallife,reallife
BmIknowyoudon’treallyGunderstandit,BmI’mnotallowedtoGregretmychoice
BmIheardthatloveisaGriskworthtaking,BmI’velearnedtoknowneverGbeenthatboy
BmMamacalledmeDdestructive,ohyeah,Emsaidit’druinmeoneday,yeah
BmCauseeverywomanthatDlovedme,ohyeah,EmIseemedtopushthemGaway
That’sBmreallifeDrealGlife,AmamatalkingthatBmreallife,D
ThatGreallife,realAlife,reallife,reallife
F#mHeavenonlyletsaBmfewin,F#mit’stoolateformetoBmchooseit
DDon’twasteprecioustearsonme,I’mnotGworththemisery,I’mbetterDoffwhenI’malone
That’sBmreallifeDrealGlife,AmamatalkingthatBmreallife,D
ThatGreallife,realAlife,reallife,reallife
That’sBmreallifeDrealGlife,AmamatalkingthatBmreallife,D
ThatGreallife,realAlife,reallife,reallife
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 Weeknd
AlbumBeauty Behind the Madness
GenresR&B, Soul
Year2015
KeyBm
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play Real Life on Guitar (Step-by-step)

The Weeknd - Real Life on guitar requires 6 chords and 11 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.

Real Life uses these transitions most often: Bm → D (13), G → Bm (11), and D → G (9). 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 Bm - A chord transition.

1. Bm → A chord transition

Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram
Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram

Switching from Bm to A:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

Bm to A

2. A → Em chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram

Switching from A to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

A to Em

3. 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

Switching 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 3 times.

Em to G

4. G → Bm chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar Bm chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-4-4-3-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar Bm chord diagram

Switching from G to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 11 times.

G to Bm

5. Bm → D chord transition

Switching from Bm to D:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 13 times.

6. D → Em chord transition

Switching from D to Em:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 4 times.

7. Em → Bm chord transition

Switching from Em to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 2 times.

8. D → G chord transition

Switching 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 chorus, played 9 times.

9. G → A chord transition

Switching from G to A:

  1. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  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 B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 8 times.

10. 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 verse.

11. F#m → Bm chord transition

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

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

Real Life chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Real Life.

  • Real Life includes 72 chord transitions, 11 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Real Life contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Real Life connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Bm, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (25%), A (19%), and Em (13%).
    • Bm → G: 25%
    • Bm → A: 19%
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → D: 24%
    • G → A: 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.