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.

Buddy Holly - True Love Ways Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsF, Am, Bb, C7, Dm, G7, C, Gm7, Bbm, Eb, Ab, G
Strumming↓-↓-↓-↓↑

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

JustyouknowFwhyAmBb
WhyC7youandFIAmBb
WillC7byandFbyDmG7
KnowtrueloveCwaysGm7C7
AmSometimesCwe’llFsighAmBb
C7Sometimeswe’llFcryAmBb
AndC7we’llknowFwhyjustDmyouandGm7I
KnowC7trueloveFways
ThroughouttheBbmdaysourEbtrueloveFways
WillbringusAbjoystoshare
WithCthosewhoG7reallyCcareC7
Sometimeswe’llFsighAmBb
SomeC7timeswe’llFcryAmBb
AndC7we’llknowFwhyjustDmyouandGm7I
KnowC7trueloveFwaysBbF
ThroughouttheBbmdaysourEbtrueloveFways
WillbringusAbjoystoshare
WithCthosewhoGreallyCcareC7
CSometimeswe’llFsighAmBb
SomeC7timeswe’llFcryAmBb
AndC7we’llknowFwhyjustDmyouandGm7I
KnowC7trueloveFwaysBbmF
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.
ArtistBuddy Holly
AlbumThe Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2
GenresPop
Year1960
KeyF
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play True Love Ways on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Buddy Holly - True Love Ways on guitar requires 12 chords and 21 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.

True Love Ways uses these transitions most often: C7 → F (12), Am → Bb (8), and Bb → C7 (8). 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 F - Am chord transition.

1. F → Am chord transition

Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram

To move from F to Am:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 8 times.

F to Am

2. Am → Bb chord transition

Guitar Am chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-1-0Guitar Am chord diagram
Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-1-3-3-3-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram

Switching from Am to Bb:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 8 times.

Am to Bb

3. Bb → C7 chord transition

Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram Fingering: x-1-3-3-3-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar A# | B♭ chord diagram
Guitar C7 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-3-1-0Guitar C7 chord diagram

To move from Bb to C7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 8 times.

Bb to C7

4. C7 → F chord transition

Guitar C7 chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-3-1-0Guitar C7 chord diagram
Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram

Here's how to move from C7 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. Lift your pinky from G string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 12 times.

C7 to F

5. F → Dm chord transition

To move from F to Dm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

6. Dm → G7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Dm to G7:

  1. Lift your index finger from E string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G 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 1.

This transition appears in the verse.

7. G7 → C chord transition

To move 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 2 times.

8. C → Gm7 chord transition

Switching from C to Gm7:

  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 E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger from A string fret 3 to D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse.

9. Gm7 → C7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Gm7 to C7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

10. C7 → Am chord transition

Switching from C7 to Am:

  1. While playing C7, lift your pinky from G string fret 3.
  2. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.
  4. Lift your ring finger from A string fret 3 and place it on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the chorus.

11. Am → C chord transition

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 chorus.

12. C → F chord transition

Switching 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 chorus, played 2 times.

13. Dm → Gm7 chord transition

To move from Dm to Gm7:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 3 times.

14. F → Bbm chord transition

To move from F to Bbm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

15. Bbm → Eb chord transition

Here's how to move from Bbm to Eb:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

16. Eb → F chord transition

Here's how to move from Eb to F:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

17. F → Ab chord transition

Switching from F to Ab:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

18. Ab → C chord transition

Switching from Ab to C:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

19. C → C7 chord transition

Here's how to move from C to C7:

  1. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Place pinky on G string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

20. F → Bb chord transition

Here's how to move from F to Bb:

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

This transition appears in the chorus.

21. 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 verse.

True Love Ways chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in True Love Ways.

  • True Love Ways includes 75 chord transitions, 21 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • True Love Ways contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how True Love Ways connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After F, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (40%), G (21%), and Am (11%).
    • F → Am: 11%
    • F → Dm: 5%
    After C7, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (62%), C (4%), and Gm (4%).
    • C7 → F: 62%
    • C7 → C: 4%
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.