Leonard Cohen - Bird on the Wire Ukulele Chords
Before you play, tune your ukulele and use the tools below to set up your view and flow.
How to play Bird on the Wire on Ukulele (Step-by-step)
Leonard Cohen - Bird on the Wire on ukulele requires 5 chords and 7 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.
Bird on the Wire uses these transitions most often: E7 → A (11), A → E7 (10), and D → A (10). 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 A - E7 chord transition.
1. A → E7 chord transition
To move from A to E7:
- Lift your index finger from C string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to C string fret 2.
- Place ring finger on A string fret 2.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 10 times.
2. A → A7 chord transition
Here's how to move from A to A7:
- While playing A, lift your middle finger from G string fret 2.
- Keep index finger on C string fret 1.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 5 times.
3. A7 → D chord transition
Here's how to move from A7 to D:
- Lift your index finger from C string fret 1 and place it on G string fret 2.
- Place middle finger on C string fret 2.
- Place ring finger on E string fret 2.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 5 times.
4. D → A chord transition
Here's how to move from D to A:
- While playing D, lift your ring finger from E string fret 2.
- Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on C string fret 1.
- Slide your middle finger from C string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
This transition appears in the chorus, played 10 times.
5. A → Bm chord transition
To move from A to Bm:
- While playing A, lift your middle finger from G string fret 2.
- Slide your index finger on C string from fret 1 to fret 2.
- Place ring finger on G string fret 4.
This transition appears in the section, played 4 times.
6. Bm → E7 chord transition
To move from Bm to E7:
- Lift your index finger from C string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 1.
- Slide your ring finger from G string fret 4 to A string fret 2.
- Place middle finger on C string fret 2.
This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.
7. E7 → D chord transition
To move from E7 to D:
- Slide your index finger on G string from fret 1 to fret 2.
- Keep middle finger on C string fret 2.
- Slide your ring finger from A string fret 2 to E string fret 2.
This transition appears in the chorus.
Bird on the Wire chord transition analysis
A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Bird on the Wire.
- Bird on the Wire includes 54 chord transitions, 7 of them unique.
- These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
- Bird on the Wire contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
- These transition patterns show how Bird on the Wire connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.After A, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are D (29%), G (13%), and E (12%).
- A → D: 29%
- A → Bm: 8%
After E7, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are A (31%), Am (28%), and A7 (7%).- E7 → A: 31%
- E7 → D: 6%