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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.

Johnny Nash - Tears On My Pillow Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsG, Dm, G7, C, A, A7, D, D7, B7, Em
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

GGDmDmGGDmDm
Ican’tGtakeit
I’msoG7lonesome
GeeICneedyouso,
Ican’tAtakeit
WhenIA7wonder
WhyyouDeverD7hadtoDgo
ButGbaby,B7everynightIwakeupEmcryingC
TearsonmyGpillow
PaininmyDheartandyouonmyGmindD
I Gre-member,
AllthoseG7goodtimes
ThatweChadbefore,
I Are-member
andmyA7heart,
myveryDsoulcriesD7outforDmore
SoGbaby,B7allyourloveformeisEmdyingC
TearsonmyGpillow
PaininmyD7heartandyouonmyGmindD
No,I’llGalwaysrememberthatdayG7youpromisedtoloveme
Yousaidyou’dClovemetotheveryend,oohoohoohC
AAndI’llneverforgetthedaywhenyouwalkedoutofA7mylife
intotheDarmsofmyD7veryverybestDfriend
ButGbaby,B7everynightIwakeupEmcryingC
TearsonmyGpillow
PaininmyDheartandyouonmyGmindC
TearsonmyGpillow
PaininmyDheartandyouonmyGmindC
TearsonmyGpillow
PaininmyDheart
andyouonmyGmindCGG
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.
ArtistJohnny Nash
AlbumThe Johnny Nash Collection - 20 Of My Favourite Songs
GenresPop, Reggae
Year1975
KeyG
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Tears On My Pillow on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Johnny Nash - Tears On My Pillow on guitar requires 10 chords and 13 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.

Tears On My Pillow uses these transitions most often: D → G (9), C → G (6), and G → D (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 G - Dm chord transition.

1. G → Dm chord transition

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

Here's how to move from G to Dm:

  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 B string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

G to Dm

2. G → G7 chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from G to G7:

  1. Keep index finger on A string fret 2.
  2. Keep middle finger on E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 3 to fret 1.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

G to G7

3. G7 → C chord transition

Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram
Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram

Switching from G7 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 1 and place it on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

G7 to C

4. 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

Here's how to move 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 3 times.

C to A

5. A → A7 chord transition

Here's how to move from A to A7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

6. A7 → D chord transition

Here's how to move from A7 to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

7. D → D7 chord transition

Here's how to move from D to D7:

  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 G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

8. 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 chorus, played 9 times.

9. G → B7 chord transition

To move from G to B7:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 3 times.

10. B7 → Em chord transition

To move from B7 to Em:

  1. While playing B7, first lift your index finger and pinky.
  2. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 3 times.

11. Em → C chord transition

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 chorus, played 3 times.

12. C → G chord transition

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 chorus, played 6 times.

13. G → D7 chord transition

Here's how to move from G to D7:

  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 G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 3 to fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

Tears On My Pillow chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Tears On My Pillow.

  • Tears On My Pillow includes 60 chord transitions, 13 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Tears On My Pillow contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Tears On My Pillow 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 → D: 24%
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 29%
    • D → D7: 1%
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.