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.

David Bowie - Space Oddity Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsC, Em, Am, D7, E7, F, Fm, Bb, G, A, Em7, D, E
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

CGroundcontroltoMajorEmTom.
CGroundcontroltoMajorEmTom
AmTakeyourCproteinpillsandD7putyourhelmeton
CGroundcontroltoMajorEmTom
CCommencingcountdown,enginesEmon
AmCheck CignitionandmayD7God’slovebewithyou
CThisisgroundcontroltoMajorE7Tom
you’vereallymadetheFgrade
AndtheFmpaperswanttoCknowwhoseshirtsyouFwear,
Nowit’sFmtimetoleavetheCcapsuleifyouFdare
CThisisMajorTomtoground E7control,
I’msteppingthroughtheFdoor
AndI’mFmfloatingintheCmostpeculiarFway
AndtheFmstarslookveryCdifferent Ftoday
ForFhereamIEmsittinginatincan,
FfarabovetheEmworld
BbPlanetEarthisAmblueandthere’sGnothingIcanFdo
CFGAACFGAA
FEm7AACCDDEE
CThoughI’mpassedonehundredthousandE7miles,
I’mfeelingveryFstill
AndIFmthinkmyspaceshipCknowswhichwaytoFgo,
TellmyFmwifeIloveherCverymuch…SheFknows.
GGroundcontroltoE7MajorTom:
YourAmcircuit’sdead,there’sCsomethingwrong.
CanyouD7hearmeMajorTom?CanyouChearmeMajorTom?
CanyouGhearmeMajorTom?Canyou
FHereamIEmfloatingroundmytincan,
FfarabovetheEmmoon
BbPlanetEarthisAmblueandthere’sGnothingIcanFdo
CFGAACFGAA
FEm7AACCDDEE
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.
ArtistDavid Bowie
AlbumSpace Oddity
GenresFunk, Rock
Year1969
KeyC
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Space Oddity on Guitar (Step-by-step)

David Bowie - Space Oddity on guitar requires 13 chords and 25 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.

Space Oddity uses these transitions most often: C → F (10), F → Fm (6), and Fm → C (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 C - Em chord transition.

1. C → Em chord transition

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

Switching from C to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

C to Em

2. Em → Am chord transition

Guitar Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-2-0-0-0Guitar Em chord diagram
Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram

Here's how to move from Em to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

Em to Am

3. Am → C chord transition

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

To move from Am to C:

  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.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

Am to C

4. C → D7 chord transition

Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram

To move from C to D7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

C to D7

5. C → E7 chord transition

Switching from C to E7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

6. E7 → F chord transition

Switching from E7 to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

7. F → Fm chord transition

Here's how to move from F to Fm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

8. Fm → C chord transition

Here's how to move from Fm to C:

  1. While playing Fm, 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. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place middle finger on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

9. C → F chord transition

Here's how to move from C 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. Place pinky on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

10. F → Em chord transition

Switching from F to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

11. Em → Bb chord transition

Switching from Em to Bb:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

12. Bb → Am chord transition

To move from Bb to Am:

  1. While playing Bb, lift your pinky from B 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 on D string from fret 3 to fret 2.
  4. Slide your ring finger on G string from fret 3 to fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

13. Am → G chord transition

Switching from Am 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 G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

14. G → F chord transition

To move from G to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

15. 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 interlude, played 4 times.

16. A → C chord transition

To move from A to C:

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

This transition appears in the interlude, played 4 times.

17. A → F chord transition

To move from A to F:

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

This transition appears in the interlude, played 2 times.

18. F → Em7 chord transition

Switching from F to Em7:

  1. While playing F, first lift your index finger, ring finger, and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the interlude, played 2 times.

19. Em7 → A chord transition

Here's how to move from Em7 to A:

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

This transition appears in the interlude, played 2 times.

20. C → D chord transition

To move from C to D:

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

This transition appears in the interlude, played 2 times.

21. D → E chord transition

Here's how to move 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 interlude, played 2 times.

22. E → C chord transition

Switching from E to C:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

23. G → E7 chord transition

Here's how to move from G to E7:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

24. E7 → Am chord transition

Here's how to move from E7 to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

25. C → G chord transition

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.

Space Oddity chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Space Oddity.

  • Space Oddity includes 90 chord transitions, 25 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Space Oddity contains 6 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Space Oddity connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After C, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → G: 35%
    • C → F: 16%
    After F, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (40%), G (21%), and Am (11%).
    • F → C: 40%
    • F → G: 21%
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.