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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.

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsD, G, A, Em, A7, Bm
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

DWhenyourlegsdon’tworkliketheyGusedto Abefore
DAndIcan’tsweepyouoffofyourGfeetA
DWillyourmouthstillremembertheGtasteofmyloveA
DWillyoureyesstillsmileGfromyourcheeksA
AnddarlingDIwillbelovingGyouA’tilwe’re DseventyGA
AndbabymyDheartcouldstillfallGasAhardat Dtwentythree
GAndI’mthinking A‘bouthow
EmPeoplefallinlovein A7mysteriousDways
EmMaybejustthetouchofaA7hand
WellEmmeIfallinlovewithyouA7everysingleBmday
EmAndIjustwannaGtellyouIA7am
SohoneyDnowBmG
TakemeAintoyourlovingDarmsBmG
KissmeAunderthelightofaDthousandBmstarsG
PlaceyourAheadonmybeatingDheartBm
I’mthinkingGoutAloud
AndmaybeBmweAfoundGloveDrightEmwhereAweDare
DAndwhenmyDhead’sovergoneandmyGmemoryfadesA
DAndtheDcrowdsdon’tremembermyGnameA
DWhenmyDhandsdon’tGplaythestringstheAsameway,
IknowDyouwillstillloveme GthesameA
CausehoneyDyoursoulcouldneverGgrowAoldit’s DevergreenBmGA
AndbabyDyoursmile’sforeverGinmyAmindand DmemoryBmG
AndI’mthinkingA’bouthow
EmPeoplefallinlovein A7mysteriousDways
AndEmmaybeit’sallpartofaA7plan
WellEmI’lljustkeeponmakingtheA7same Bmmisstakes
EmHopingthatyou’ll A7understand
ThatbabyDnow,Bmoooooh
TakemeAintoyourlovingDarmsBmG
KissmeAunderthelightofaDthousandBmstarsG
PlaceyourAheadonmybeatingDheartBm
I’mthinkingGoutAloud
AndmaybeBmweAfoundGloveDrightEmwhereAweDare
DBmGA
SobabyDnowBmG
TakemeAintoyourlovingDarmsBmG
KissmeAunderthelightofaDthousandBmstars,ohGdarlin’
PlaceyourAheadonmybeatingDheartBm
I’mthinkingGoutAloud
AndmaybeBmweAfoundGloveDrightEmwhereAweDare
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.
ArtistEd Sheeran
Album×
GenresPop
Year2014
KeyD
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play Thinking Out Loud on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud on guitar requires 6 chords and 14 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.

Thinking Out Loud uses these transitions most often: G → A (29), A → D (27), and Bm → G (15). 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 D - G chord transition.

1. D → G chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

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 verse, played 14 times.

D to G

2. G → A chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram

To move 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 verse, played 29 times.

G to A

3. A → D chord transition

Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

To move from A 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 G string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger on B string from fret 2 to fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 27 times.

A to D

4. 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

Here's how 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 2 times.

A to Em

5. Em → A7 chord transition

To move from Em to A7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 7 times.

6. A7 → D chord transition

Switching 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 4 times.

7. D → Em chord transition

Here's how to move 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 verse, played 5 times.

8. A7 → Bm chord transition

To move from A7 to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

9. Bm → Em chord transition

Switching from Bm to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

10. Em → G chord transition

Here's how 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 verse.

11. G → A7 chord transition

Switching from G to A7:

  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 D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 3 to B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

12. D → Bm chord transition

Here's how to move from D to Bm:

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to B string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B 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 15 times.

13. Bm → G chord transition

Here's how to move from Bm to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 15 times.

14. A → Bm chord transition

Here's how to move from A to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

Thinking Out Loud chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Thinking Out Loud.

  • Thinking Out Loud includes 141 chord transitions, 14 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.04% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Thinking Out Loud contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Thinking Out Loud connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 29%
    • D → Em: 17%
    After A, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (29%), G (13%), and E (12%).
    • A → D: 29%
    • A → G: 13%
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.