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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.

Shawn Mendes - Strings Chords

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

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

EmCAEm
EmAllthestringsCattachedgirl
AAllthestringsattachedgirl,Emohyeah
EmCAEm
EmMetthisgirlwhenIwasthreeyearsold,wewereholdinghandstightsoI’mtold
CAnditfeltlikeaneternity,saiditfeltlikeaneternity
A’CauseIknewbackthenweweremorethanfriends,twosidedstoryitalldepends
EmAndI’llsaiditonce,andI’llsayitagain,it’llonlyenduphurtingme
EmYearsflewbyIwaslessthantwelve,longdivisionIneedyourhelp
CCanyoucomeonoverandworkwithme?AnytimeyoulikeI’llmakeitworkforme
A’CauseIknewbackthenifIgetyouclose,whenthetimeisrightmaybeI’llpropose
EmBabyclimbonup,showmetheropes
GAmEmD
DarlingIwantGallthestringsAmattached,IloveitwhenyouEmlookatmeDlikethat
Andyou’retheonlyGgirlthatbringsAmmeback,’causebabyEmIwantalltheDstringsattached
It’slikeGalwaysandAmforever,IEmwon’tletaDmomentpass
AndwhenGI’mwithyouIAmfeelbetter,IEmwantalltheDstrings,allthestringsattached
EmAllthestringsCattachedgirl,Amallthestringsattachedgirl,Emohyeah
EmCAEm
EmSocomeongirlletmeholdyourhand,let’sgogetlost,livewithoutaplan
CAndIknowyou’vegottheworldtosee,butyouknowyoumeantheworldtome
AAndIknowrightnowyougotsecondthoughts,dowhateverittakes,paywhateverthecostEmyeah
EmYouknowme,notthetypeofguy,tostickaround,todothetime
CButyoumusthavemehypnotized,I’mAddowntobebyyourside,Emeverynight
GAmEmD
DarlingIwantGallthestringsAmattached,IloveitwhenyouEmlookatmeDlikethat
Andyou’retheonlyGgirlthatbringsAmmeback,’causebabyEmIwantalltheDstringsattached
It’slikeGalwaysandAmforever,IEmwon’tletaDmomentpass
AndwhenGI’mwithyouIAmfeelbetter,IEmwantalltheDstrings,allthestringsattached
AmEmDG
AndbabyAmwhenyouEmfalldown,DIfallGtoo
AndAmifyougetEmlost,thenI’llDgetlostwithGyou
AndwhenAmthewavescrashEmdown,thenbabyDIGwon’tmove
C’CauseDIneed
GAmEmD
DarlingIwantGallthestringsAmattached,IloveitwhenyouEmlookatmeDlikethat
Andyou’retheonlyGgirlthatbringsAmmeback,’causebabyEmIwantalltheDstringsattached
It’slikeGalwaysandAmforever,IEmwon’tletaDmomentpass
AndwhenGI’mwithyouIAmfeelbetter,
IEmwantallthestrings,Dallthestringsattached,
IEmwantallthestrings,Dallthestringsattached
EmAllthestringsCattachedgirl,AmallthestringsattachedEmgirl,ohyeah
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.
ArtistShawn Mendes
AlbumHandwritten
GenresPop
Year2015
KeyEm
DifficultyEasy

How to play Strings on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Shawn Mendes - Strings on guitar requires 6 chords and 12 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.

Strings uses these transitions most often: Am → Em (21), Em → D (20), and G → Am (18). 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 Em - C chord transition.

1. Em → C chord transition

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

Here's how to move from Em to C:

  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 A string fret 3.
  3. Place index finger on B string fret 1.

This transition appears in the verse, played 10 times.

Em to C

2. C → A chord transition

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

Switching from C to A:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 8 times.

C to A

3. 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

To move 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, played 8 times.

A to Em

4. 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

To move 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 chorus, played 2 times.

Em to G

5. G → Am chord transition

Here's how to move from G to Am:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 18 times.

6. Am → Em chord transition

Switching from Am to Em:

  1. While playing Am, 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 G string fret 2 to D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 21 times.

7. Em → D chord transition

To move 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 chorus, played 20 times.

8. D → G chord transition

Here's how 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 chorus, played 17 times.

9. C → Am chord transition

Switching from C to Am:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 2 times.

10. D → Am chord transition

Here's how to move from D to Am:

  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 G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

11. G → C chord transition

Switching from G to C:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

12. C → D chord transition

Switching 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 verse.

Strings chord transition analysis

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

  • Strings includes 112 chord transitions, 12 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Strings contains 6 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Strings connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Em, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (26%), G (18%), and D (18%).
    • Em → C: 26%
    • Em → G: 18%
    After Am, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (26%), G (21%), and C (16%).
    • Am → Em: 10%
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.