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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.

The Beatles - Yesterday Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsF, Em7, A7, Dm, Dm/C, Bb, C7, F/e/E, G7, Gm, C, G/f/F
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

  • Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
  • Guitar Em7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-0-0-0Guitar Em7 chord diagram
  • Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
  • Guitar Dm/C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-3-2-3-xGuitar Dm/C chord diagram
  • 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
  • Guitar F/E chord diagram Fingering: x-x-2-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F/E chord diagram
  • Guitar G7 chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-1Guitar G7 chord diagram
  • Guitar Gm chord diagram Fingering: 3-1-0-0-3-3Guitar Gm chord diagram
  • Guitar C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-2-0-1-0Guitar C chord diagram
  • Guitar G/F chord diagram Fingering: x-x-3-4-3-3 Barre at fret 3.Guitar G/F chord diagram

[intro]
[F] [F]

[Opening]
[F]Yesterday,[Em7] all my [A7]troubles seemed so [Dm]far away[Dm/C]
[Bb] Now it l[C7]ooks as though they're [F]here to stay,[F/E] oh [Dm]I be[G7]lieve in [Bb]yes[F]terd[F]ay

[verse 2]
[F]Suddenly,[Em7] I'm not [A7]half the man I [Dm]used to be [Dm/C]
[Bb] There's a [C7]shadow hanging [F]over me, [F/E]oh y[Dm]ester[G7]day came [Bb]sud[F]denly[F]

[chorus]
[Em7]Why [A7]she [Dm]had [Dm/C]to [Bb]go I don't [Gm]know, she [C]wouldn't [F]say
[Em7]I [A7]said [Dm]someth[Dm/C]ing [Bb]wrong, now I [Gm]long for [C]yester[F]day

[chorus]
[F]Yesterday,[Em7] love was [A7]such an easy [Dm]game to play[Dm/C]
[Bb] Now I [C7]need a place to [F]hide away, [F/E]oh [Dm]I be[G7]lieve in [Bb]yes[F]terd[F]ay

[chorus]
[Em7] Why[A7] she [Dm] had[Dm/C] to [Bb] go I don't k[Gm]now, she [C]wouldn't[F] say
[Em7]I [A7]said [Dm]someth[Dm/C]ing [Bb]wrong, now I [Gm]long for [C]yester[F]day

[chorus]
[F]Yesterday,[Em7] love was [A7]such an easy [Dm]game to play [Dm/C]
[Bb] Now I [C7]need a place to [F]hide away, [F/E]oh [Dm]I be[G7]lieve in [Bb]yes[F]terd[F]ay

[Closing]
[F]Mm mm [G/F]mm mm [Bb]mm [F]mm [F]mmmmmmmmm
xx321x
xx300x

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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.
ArtistThe Beatles
AlbumSingle
GenresRock, Classic Rock, Pop
Year1996
KeyF

How to play Yesterday on Guitar (Step-by-step)

The Beatles - Yesterday on guitar requires 12 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.

Yesterday uses these transitions most often: A7 → Dm (8), Dm → Dm/C (8), and Dm/C → Bb (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 - Em7 chord transition.

1. F → Em7 chord transition

Guitar F chord diagram Fingering: 1-3-3-2-1-1 Barre at fret 1.Guitar F chord diagram
Guitar Em7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-0-0-0Guitar Em7 chord diagram

To move from F to Em7;

  1. While playing F, first lift your index finger, ring finger, and pinky.
  2. Lift your middle finger from G string fret 2 and place it on A string fret 2.
F to Em7

2. Em7 → A7 chord transition

Guitar Em7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-0-0-0-0Guitar Em7 chord diagram
Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram

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.
Em7 to A7

3. A7 → Dm chord transition

Guitar A7 chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-0-2-0Guitar A7 chord diagram
Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram

To move from A7 to Dm;

  1. Lift your index finger from D string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from B string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on B string fret 3.
A7 to Dm

4. Dm → Dm/C chord transition

Guitar Dm chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-1Guitar Dm chord diagram
Guitar Dm/C chord diagram Fingering: x-3-3-2-3-xGuitar Dm/C chord diagram

To move from Dm to Dm/C;

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

5. Dm/C → Bb chord transition

To move from Dm/C to Bb;

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

6. Bb → C7 chord transition

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.

7. C7 → F chord transition

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.

8. F → F/e/E chord transition

To move from F to F/e/E;

  1. While playing F, first lift your index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.

9. F/e/E → Dm chord transition

To move from F/e/E to Dm;

  1. Place index finger on E string fret 1.
  2. Place middle finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on B string fret 3.

10. Dm → G7 chord transition

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.

11. G7 → Bb chord transition

To move from G7 to Bb;

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

12. Bb → F chord transition

To move from Bb to F;

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

13. Bb → Gm chord transition

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.

14. Gm → C chord transition

To move from Gm to C;

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

15. C → F chord transition

To move 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.

16. F → G/f/F chord transition

To move from F to G/f/F;

  1. While playing F, first lift your index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.

17. G/f/F → Bb chord transition

To move from G/f/F to Bb;

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

Yesterday chord transition analysis

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

  • Yesterday includes 83 chord transitions, 17 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Yesterday contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Yesterday 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 → Em7: 0%
    • F → F/e/E: 0%
    After Bb, the most likely next chords across Chordier are F (34%), C (20%), and Dm (9%).
    • Bb → F: 34%
    • Bb → Gm: 6%
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.