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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.

Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsD, F#m, G, Em7, F#7, Bm, Bb, A7, Gmaj7, F#, B7
Strumming↓-↓↑-↑↓↑

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

IseeDtreesofF#mgreen,GredrosesF#mtoo
Em7IseethemDbloom,forF#7meandBmyou,
AndIBbthinktomyself,A7
A7WhatawonderfulDworld.DGmaj7A7
IseeDskiesofF#mblueandGcloudsofF#mwhite,
Em7ThebrightblessedDday,theF#7darksacredBmnight,
AndIBbthinkto A7myself,
whataA7wonderfulDworldGD
TheA7colorsoftherainbow,soDprettyinthesky
AreA7alsoonthefacesofDpeoplegoin’by
IseeBmfriendsshakingF#mhands,saying, Bm“HowdoyouF#mdo?”
Em7They’rereallyF#saying,”Em7IloveA7you.”
IhearDbabiesF#mcry,IGwatchthemF#mgrow
Em7They’lllearnmuchDmoreF#7thanI’lleverBmknow,
AndIBbthinktomyself
A7whataA7wonderfulDworldDB7
YesIEm7thinktomyself,
A7whataEm7wonderfulDworld.Em7D
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.
ArtistLouis Armstrong
AlbumWhat a Wonderful World
GenresJazz
Year1967
KeyD
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play What a Wonderful World on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World on guitar requires 11 chords and 18 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.

What a Wonderful World uses these transitions most often: A7 → D (7), Em7 → D (5), and F#m → Em7 (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 D - F#m chord transition.

1. D → F#m chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram Fingering: 2-4-4-2-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram

Switching from D to F#m:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

D to F#m

2. F#m → G chord transition

Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram Fingering: 2-4-4-2-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

Switching from F#m to G:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

F#m to G

3. F#m → Em7 chord transition

Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram Fingering: 2-4-4-2-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Guitar F#m | G♭m chord diagram
Guitar Em7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-0-0-0Guitar Em7 chord diagram

Switching from F#m to Em7:

  1. While playing F#m, first lift your index finger, ring finger, and pinky.
  2. Place middle finger on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse, played 4 times.

F#m to Em7

4. Em7 → D chord transition

Guitar Em7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-0-0-0Guitar Em7 chord diagram
Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram

Here's how to move from Em7 to D:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 5 times.

Em7 to D

5. D → F#7 chord transition

Switching from D to F#7:

  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 G string fret 3.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on A string fret 4.

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

6. F#7 → Bm chord transition

Switching from F#7 to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

7. Bm → Bb chord transition

Switching from Bm to Bb:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

8. Bb → A7 chord transition

To move from Bb to A7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 3 times.

9. A7 → D chord transition

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 7 times.

10. D → Gmaj7 chord transition

Switching from D to Gmaj7:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

11. Gmaj7 → A7 chord transition

To move from Gmaj7 to A7:

  1. While playing Gmaj7, lift your ring finger from E string fret 3.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on D string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to B string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

12. D → G chord transition

Here's how 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.

13. D → Bm chord transition

Switching 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.

14. Bm → F#m chord transition

Switching from Bm to F#m:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

15. Em7 → F# chord transition

To move from Em7 to F#:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

16. Em7 → A7 chord transition

To move from Em7 to A7:

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

This transition appears in the verse, played 2 times.

17. D → B7 chord transition

Switching from D to B7:

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

This transition appears in the verse.

18. B7 → Em7 chord transition

Here's how to move from B7 to Em7:

  1. While playing B7, first lift your index finger, ring finger, and pinky.
  2. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the verse.

What a Wonderful World chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in What a Wonderful World.

  • What a Wonderful World includes 55 chord transitions, 18 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • What a Wonderful World contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how What a Wonderful World 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 → Bm: 5%
    After A7, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (41%), D7 (18%), and Dm (13%).
    • A7 → D: 41%
    • A7 → Em7: 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.