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14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?We analyzed 14,015 chord transitions and ranked the 100 most repeated ones. Even the first 10 will transform your practice routine. The top transition appears in 23% of all songs.

Don MacLean - American Pie Ukulele Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on the ukulele and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsG, D, Em, Am, C, D7, A7
Strumming↓-↓↑

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

AGlong,DlongEmtimeago,AmIcanstill Crememberhow
ThatEmmusicusedtoDmakemesmile.D7
IGknewDifIEmhadmychancethatAmIcouldmakethoseCpeopledance
andEmmaybethey’dbeChappyforaDwhile.
ButEmFebruaryAmmademeshiver,EmwitheverypaperAmI’ddeliver,
CBadnewsGontheAmdoorstep,ICcouldn’ttakeoneDmorestep.
IGcan’t DrememberEmifIcriedwhenIAmreadabouthisDwidowedbride,
GSomethingDtouchedmeEmdeepinside,theCday,theD7music,Gdied.
SoGByeCbye,Miss GAmericanDPie,
drovemyGchevytotheCleveebuttheGleveewasDdry,
ThemGgoodole’Cboysweredrinkin’GwhiskeyandDrye,singin’
EmThis’llbethedaythatIA7die,Emthis’llbethedaythatIDdie.D7
GDidyouwritetheAmbookofloveanddoCyouhavefaithinAmGodabove,
EmiftheBibleDtellsyouso?D7
NowdoGyou DbelieveinEmrockandroll,
canAmmusicsaveyourCmortalsouland
EmCanyouteachmeA7howtodancerealDslow?
Well,IEmknowthatyou’reinDlovewithhim,
`causeIEmsawyoudancingDinthegym.
YouCbothkickedGoffyourA7shoes,manICdigthoserhythmandD7blues.
IwasaGlonelyDteenageEmbroncin’buck
withaAmpinkcarnationandaCpickuptruck,
butGIknewDIwasEmoutoflucktheCday,theD7music,Gdied.CG
SoGByeCbye,Miss GAmericanDPie,
drovemyGchevytotheCleveebuttheGleveewasDdry,
ThemGgoodole’Cboysweredrinkin’GwhiskeyandDrye,singin’
EmThis’llbethedaythatIA7die,Emthis’llbethedaythatIDdie.D7
GImetaDgirlwhoEmsangthebluesandIAmaskedherforsomeChappynews,
butEmshejustsmiledandDturnedaway.D7
GIwentDdowntotheEmsacredstorewhereIAmheardthemusicCyearsbefore,
buttheEmmantheresaidtheCmusicwouldn’tDplay.
AndEminthestreetstheAmchildrenscreamed,
theEmloverscriedandtheAmpoetsdreamed,
butCnotaGwordwasAmspoken,theCchurchbellsallwereDbroken.
AndtheGthreemenDI Emadmiremost,theAmFather,SonandtheDHolyGhost,
theyGcaughttheDlasttrainEmforthecoast,theCday,theAmmusic,Gdied.
DAndtheyweresingin’…
GByeCbye,Miss GAmericanDPie,
drovemyGchevytotheCleveebuttheGleveewasDdry,
ThemGgoodole’Cboysweredrinkin’GwhiskeyandDrye,singin’
CThis’llbetheDdaythatIGdieCG
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on the ukulele.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master ukulele today with the 100 most repeated chord transitions from 14,015 analyzed.
ArtistDon MacLean
AlbumAmerican Pie
GenresFolk, Folk Rock, Rock
Year1971
KeyG
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play American Pie on Ukulele (Step-by-step)

Don MacLean - American Pie on ukulele requires 7 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.

American Pie uses these transitions most often: G → D (21), D → Em (17), and C → G (15). 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 - D chord transition.

1. G → D chord transition

Ukulele G chord diagram Fingering: 0-2-3-2Ukulele G chord diagram
Ukulele D chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-2-0Ukulele D chord diagram

To move from G to D:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 21 times.

G to D

2. D → Em chord transition

Ukulele D chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-2-0Ukulele D chord diagram
Ukulele Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-4-3-2Ukulele Em chord diagram

Switching from D to Em:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 17 times.

D to Em

3. Em → Am chord transition

Ukulele Em chord diagram Fingering: 0-4-3-2Ukulele Em chord diagram
Ukulele Am chord diagram Fingering: 2-0-0-0Ukulele Am chord diagram

To move from Em to Am:

  1. While playing Em, first lift your index finger and ring finger.
  2. Lift your middle finger from E string fret 3 and place it on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 12 times.

Em to Am

4. Am → C chord transition

Ukulele Am chord diagram Fingering: 2-0-0-0Ukulele Am chord diagram
Ukulele C chord diagram Fingering: 0-0-0-3Ukulele C chord diagram

Here's how to move from Am to C:

  1. While playing Am, lift your middle finger from G string fret 2.
  2. Place ring finger on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section, played 11 times.

Am to C

5. C → Em chord transition

To move from C to Em:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 5 times.

6. D → D7 chord transition

To move from D to D7:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 5 times.

7. D7 → G chord transition

To move from D7 to G:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 9 times.

8. C → D chord transition

Here's how to move from C to D:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 5 times.

9. C → G chord transition

Here's how to move from C to G:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 15 times.

10. G → Am chord transition

To move from G to Am:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

11. Am → D chord transition

To move from Am to D:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

12. C → D7 chord transition

Here's how to move from C to D7:

  1. Keep ring finger on A string fret 3.
  2. Place index finger on G string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

13. Em → A7 chord transition

To move from Em to A7:

  1. While playing Em, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
  2. Lift your index finger from A string fret 2 and place it on C string fret 1.

This transition appears in the chorus, played 3 times.

14. A7 → D chord transition

To move from A7 to D:

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

This transition appears in the section.

15. G → A7 chord transition

To move from G to A7:

  1. While playing G, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
  2. Slide your index finger on C string from fret 2 to fret 1.

This transition appears in the section.

16. A7 → C chord transition

Here's how to move from A7 to C:

  1. While playing A7, lift your index finger from C string fret 1.
  2. Place ring finger on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section.

17. Am → D7 chord transition

Here's how to move from Am to D7:

  1. While playing Am, lift your middle finger from G string fret 2.
  2. Place index finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Place ring finger on A string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section.

American Pie chord transition analysis

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

  • American Pie includes 159 chord transitions, 17 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.04% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
  • American Pie contains 6 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
  • These transition patterns show how American Pie connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After G, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are C (25%), D (24%), and Am (13%).
    • G → C: 25%
    • G → D: 24%
    After D, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (28%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 28%
    • D → Em: 17%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains extracted from real songs. See which songs use each chain, learn the finger transitions, and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.