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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.

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsD, Em, G, A, Bb, Gm, Cm, F, C, Am
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

DEmDGA
DUptowngirl,Emshe’sbeenlivinginherDuptownworld
GIbetsheAneverhadaDbackstreetguy
EmIbethermamaneverDtoldherwhy
GI’mgonnaAtryforan
DUptowngirl,Emshe’sbeenlivinginherDwhitebreadworld
GAslongasAanyonewithDhotbloodcan
EmAndnowshe’slookingforaDdowntownman
GThat’swhatIAam
BbAndwhensheGmknowswhatsheCmwantsfromherFtime
BbAndwhensheGmwakesupandCmmakesupherFmind
GShe’llseeI’mEmnotsotough
CJustbecauseAI’minlovewithanDuptowngirl
EmYouknowI’veseenherinherDuptownworld
GShe’sgettingAtiredofherDhighclasstoys
EmAndallherpresentsfromherDuptownboys
GShe’sgotaAchoice
FWhoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Emooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-oah
FWhoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Emooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-oah
DUptowngirl,EmyouknowIcan’taffordtoDbuyherpearls
GButmaybeAsomedaywhenmyDshipcomesin
EmShe’llunderstandwhatkindofDguyI’vebeen
GAndthenI’llAwin
BbAndwhenshe’sGmwalking,she’sCmlookingsoFfine
BbAndwhenshe’sGmtalking,she’llCmsaythatshe’sFmine
GShe’llsayI’mEmnotsotough,CjustbecauseAI’minlovewithan
DUptowngirl,Emshe’sbeenlivinginherDwhitebreadworld
GAslongasAanyonewithDhotbloodcan
EmAndnowshe’slookingforaDdowntownman
GThat’swhatIAam
FWhoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Emooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-oah
FWhoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Emooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-oah
DUptowngirl,Emshe’smyuptownDgirl
YouGknowI’minAlovewithanDuptowngirl
EmMyuptownDgirlyouGknowI’minAlove
WithanDuptowngirl,EmmyuptownDgirl
YouGknowI’minAlovewithanDuptowngirl
EmMyuptownDgirl
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.
ArtistBilly Joel
AlbumAn Innocent Man
GenresPop
Year1983
KeyD
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Uptown Girl on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Billy Joel - Uptown Girl on guitar requires 10 chords and 17 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.

Uptown Girl uses these transitions most often: D → Em (15), Em → D (15), and A → D (14). 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 - Em chord transition.

1. D → Em chord transition

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

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 intro, played 15 times.

D to Em

2. 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

Switching 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 intro, played 14 times.

D to G

3. 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

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 intro, played 14 times.

G to A

4. 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

Switching 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 14 times.

A to D

5. A → Bb chord transition

To move from A to Bb:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

6. Bb → Gm chord transition

Here's how to move from Bb to Gm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

7. Gm → Cm chord transition

Here's how to move from Gm to Cm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

8. Cm → F chord transition

Here's how to move from Cm 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 1 to G string fret 2.
  3. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  4. Lift your pinky from E string fret 3 and place it on D string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

9. 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 verse, played 2 times.

10. F → G chord transition

To move from F to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

11. G → Em chord transition

Here's how to move from G to Em:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

12. Em → C chord transition

Switching 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 2 times.

13. C → A chord transition

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 2 times.

14. 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 chorus, played 2 times.

15. Em → Am chord transition

Switching 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 chorus, played 2 times.

16. 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 chorus, played 2 times.

17. Em → A chord transition

Here's how to move from Em to A:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 2 times.

Uptown Girl chord transition analysis

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

  • Uptown Girl includes 114 chord transitions, 17 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Uptown Girl contains 6 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Uptown Girl 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 G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → F: 9%
    • G → Em: 9%
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.