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Carpenters - We’ve Only Just Begun Chords

ChordsG, Em, Bm, C, Am7, D, E, A, Ab, C#
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

GWe’veonlyjust EmbeguntoBmlive
EmWhitelaceandBmpromises
ACkissforluckandwe’reAm7onourDway
We’veonly Gbegun
GBeforetherisingEmsunweBmfly
EmSomanyBmroadstoEmchoose
WeCstartoutwalkingandAm7learntoDrun
Andyes!We’vejust Gbegun
ESharingAhorizonsthatareEnewtousA
EWatchingtheAsignsalongtheEway
AbTalkingitoverjustthetwoofusC#
AbWorkingtogetherC#daytoCday, Dtogether, Dtogether
GAndwhentheeveningEmcomesweBmsmile
EmSomuchofBmlife Emahead
We’llCfindaplacewherethere’sAm7roomtoDgrow
Andyes!We’vejust Gbegun
AlbumClose to You
GenresPop
Year1970
KeyG
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play We've Only Just Begun on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Carpenters - We've Only Just Begun on guitar requires 10 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.

We've Only Just Begun uses these transitions most often: Bm → Em (6), Em → Bm (6), and D → G (4). 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 - Em chord transition.

1. 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 3 times.

G to Em

2. Em → Bm chord transition

To move from Em to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 6 times.

Em to Bm

3. 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 3 times.

Em to C

4. C → Am7 chord transition

To move from C to Am7:

  1. While playing C, lift your ring finger from A string fret 3.
  2. Keep index finger on B string fret 1.
  3. Keep middle finger on D string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

C to Am7

5. Am7 → D chord transition

Switching from Am7 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. Place ring finger on B string fret 3.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

6. 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 verse, played 4 times.

7. G → E chord transition

Switching from G to E:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

8. E → A chord transition

Switching from E to A:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

9. E → Ab chord transition

To move from E to Ab:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

10. Ab → C# chord transition

Here's how to move from Ab to C#:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

11. C# → C chord transition

To move from C# to C:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

12. C → D chord transition

Here's how to move 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.

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in We've Only Just Begun.

  • We've Only Just Begun includes 41 chord transitions, 12 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • We've Only Just Begun contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how We've Only Just Begun 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 → Bm: 5%
    After G, the most likely next chords across Chordier are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → Em: 9%
    • G → E: 1%