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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.

Johnny Cash - My Grandfather’s Clock Ukulele Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on the ukulele and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsD, A7, G, E7, B7, Em, E, A, F#7, C#7, F#m
Strumming↓-↓↑

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

DTick,DTock,DTick,DTock,DTick,DTock,DTick,DTock
DMygrandfather’sA7clockwastooDlargefortheGshelf
SoitDstoodninetyA7yearsontheDfloor
ItwastallerbyA7half,thantheDoldman Ghimself
ThoughitDweighednotaA7penny-weightDmore.
ItwasDboughtonthemornoftheGdaythathewasDborn
AndwasDalwayshisE7treasureandA7pride
ButitDstoppedA7shortDnevertoB7go Emagain
WhentheDoldA7manDdied.
MyDgrandfatherA7saidthatofDthosehecouldhire
NotaDservantso A7faithfulheDfound
ForitwastednoA7timeandhadDbutone Gdesire
AttheDcloseofeachA7weektobeDwound
Anditkeptinits’placenotaGfrownuponits’Dface
Andits’handsneverE7hungbyitsA7side
ButitDstoppedA7shortDnevertoB7go Emagain
WhentheDoldA7manDdied.
ForitDstrucktwentyfourwhenheGenter’dattheDdoor
WithaDbloomingandE7beautifulbride
ButitDstoppedA7shortDnevertoB7go Emagain
WhentheDoldA7manDdied.
ItErangan B7alarmintheEdeadoftheAnight
An EalarmthatforB7yearshadbeenEdumb
AndweknewthathisB7spiritwasEplumingforAflight,
ThathisEhourfor B7departurehadEcome.
StilltheEclockkepttheEtime,withits’AsoftandmuffledEchimes
AsweEproudlyF#7stoodbyhisB7side
ButitEstoppedB7shortEnevertoC#7go F#magain
WhentheEoldB7manEdied.
ENinetyyearswithoutslumbering,E(Dahdahdahdah,dahdahdah!)
EHislifesecondsnumbering,E(Dahdahdahdah,dahdahdah!)
ItEstoppedB7shortEnevertoC#7go F#magain
WhentheEoldB7manEdied.
WhentheEoldB7manEdied.
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.
ArtistJohnny Cash
AlbumSongs of Our Soil. Evelyn Knight
GenresBlues, Country, Rockabilly
Year1959
KeyD
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play My Grandfather's Clock on Ukulele (Step-by-step)

Johnny Cash - My Grandfather's Clock on ukulele requires 11 chords and 15 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.

My Grandfather's Clock uses these transitions most often: A7 → D (17), D → A7 (14), and B7 → E (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 D - A7 chord transition.

1. D → A7 chord transition

Ukulele D chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-2-0Ukulele D chord diagram
Ukulele A7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-1-0-0Ukulele A7 chord diagram

Switching from D to A7:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 14 times.

D to A7

2. D → G chord transition

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

To move from D to G:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 6 times.

D to G

3. D → E7 chord transition

Ukulele D chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-2-0Ukulele D chord diagram
Ukulele E7 chord diagram Fingering: 1-2-0-2Ukulele E7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from D to E7:

  1. Slide your index finger on G string from fret 2 to fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on C string fret 2.
  3. Slide your ring finger from E string fret 2 to A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

D to E7

4. E7 → A7 chord transition

Ukulele E7 chord diagram Fingering: 1-2-0-2Ukulele E7 chord diagram
Ukulele A7 chord diagram Fingering: 0-1-0-0Ukulele A7 chord diagram

Here's how to move from E7 to A7:

  1. While playing E7, first lift your middle finger and ring finger.
  2. Lift your index finger from G string fret 1 and place it on C string fret 1.

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

E7 to A7

5. D → B7 chord transition

Here's how to move from D to B7:

  1. While playing D, lift your ring finger from E string fret 2.
  2. Keep index finger on G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger on C string from fret 2 to fret 3.

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

6. B7 → Em chord transition

To move from B7 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 3 to E string fret 3.
  3. Place ring finger on C string fret 4.

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

7. Em → D chord transition

Here's how to move from Em to D:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

8. D → E chord transition

Switching from D to E:

  1. While playing D, lift your ring finger from E string fret 2.
  2. Slide your index finger on G string from fret 2 to fret 4.
  3. Slide your middle finger from C string fret 2 to A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section.

9. E → B7 chord transition

To move from E to B7:

  1. Slide your index finger on G string from fret 4 to fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to C string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section, played 9 times.

10. E → A chord transition

Switching from E to A:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

11. E → F#7 chord transition

Here's how to move from E to F#7:

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

This transition appears in the section.

12. F#7 → B7 chord transition

To move from F#7 to B7:

  1. While playing F#7, first lift your ring finger and pinky.
  2. Lift your index finger from E string fret 2 and place it on G string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 3 to C string fret 3.

This transition appears in the section.

13. E → C#7 chord transition

Here's how to move from E to C#7:

  1. Slide your index finger on G string from fret 4 to fret 1.
  2. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

14. C#7 → F#m chord transition

Here's how to move from C#7 to F#m:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

15. F#m → E chord transition

Here's how to move from F#m to E:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

My Grandfather's Clock chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in My Grandfather's Clock.

  • My Grandfather's Clock includes 92 chord transitions, 15 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
  • My Grandfather's Clock contains 2 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
  • These transition patterns show how My Grandfather's Clock connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After D, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (28%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → G: 28%
    • D → E: 3%
    After E, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are A (25%), D (14%), and B (11%).
    • E → A: 25%
    • E → B7: 0%
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.