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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.

Elvis Costello - Oliver’s Army Ukulele Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on the ukulele and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsA, D, E, C#, F#m, B, G#m, F#, D#
Strumming↓↑-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

ADEADE
ADon’tstartthattalking,DIcouldEtalkallnight
AMymindgoessleepwalking,DwhileI’mC#puttingtheworldtoF#mright
CalledcareersBinformation,F#mhaveyougot ByourselfanEoccupation
AOliver’sArmyisDheretoEstay,AOliver’sArmyareDontheirEway
AAndIwouldF#mratherbeAanywhereDelse,thanEhereAtoday
ADE
ATherewasaCheckpointCharlie,Dhedidn’tEcrackasmile
AButit’snolaughingparty,Dwhenyou’vebeenC#onthemurderF#mmile
OnlytakesoneBitchytrigger,F#monemorewidow,oneBlesswhiteEnigger
AOliver’sArmyisDheretoEstay,AOliver’sArmyareDontheirEway
AAndIwouldF#mratherbeAanywhereDelse,thanEhereAtoday
ADE
G#mHongKongisF#upforgrabs,ELondonisD#fullofArabs
C#WecouldbeinF#Palestine,EoverrunbytheF#Chineseline
WiththeEboysfromtheMerseyandtheF#ThamesandtheTyne
BButthere’snodanger,Eit’saF#professionalcareer
BThoughitcouldbearrangedwithEjustawordinD#MisterChurchill’sG#mear
Ifyou’reoutofC#luck,orifyou’reoutofG#mwork,wecouldsendyouC#to F#JohannesburgEF#
BOliversArmyisEheretoF#stay,BOliversArmyareEontheirF#way
BAndIwouldG#mratherbeBanywhereEelse,thanF#hereBtoday
AndBIwouldG#mratherbeBanywhereEelse,thanF#hereBtoday
AndBIwouldG#mratherbeBanywhereEelse,thanF#hereBtoday
BEF#BEF#
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.
ArtistElvis Costello
AlbumArmed Forces
GenresPop, Pop Rock, Rock
Year1979
KeyA
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Oliver's Army on Ukulele (Step-by-step)

Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army on ukulele requires 9 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.

Oliver's Army uses these transitions most often: A → D (14), E → A (13), and B → E (12). 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 - D chord transition.

1. A → D chord transition

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

Here's how to move from A to D:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 14 times.

A to D

2. D → E chord transition

Ukulele D chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-2-0Ukulele D chord diagram
Ukulele E chord diagram Fingering: 4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 4.Ukulele E chord diagram

To move 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, played 12 times.

D to E

3. E → A chord transition

Ukulele E chord diagram Fingering: 4-4-4-2 Barre at fret 4.Ukulele E chord diagram
Ukulele A chord diagram Fingering: 2-1-0-0Ukulele A chord diagram

To move 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 13 times.

E to A

4. D → C# chord transition

Ukulele D chord diagram Fingering: 2-2-2-0Ukulele D chord diagram
Ukulele C# | D♭ chord diagram Fingering: 1-1-1-4 Barre at fret 1.Ukulele C# | D♭ chord diagram

Here's how to move from D to C#:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

D to C#

5. C# → F#m chord transition

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

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

6. F#m → B chord transition

Switching from F#m to B:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 4 times.

7. B → E chord transition

Switching from B to E:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 12 times.

8. A → F#m chord transition

To move from A to F#m:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 2 times.

9. E → G#m chord transition

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

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

This transition appears in the section.

10. G#m → F# chord transition

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

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

This transition appears in the section.

11. F# → E chord transition

To move from F# to E:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

12. E → D# chord transition

Switching from E to D#:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

13. D# → C# chord transition

Switching from D# to C#:

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

This transition appears in the section.

14. C# → F# chord transition

To move from C# to F#:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

15. F# → B chord transition

To move from F# to B:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 10 times.

16. D# → G#m chord transition

To move from D# to G#m:

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

This transition appears in the section.

17. G#m → C# chord transition

Here's how to move from G#m to C#:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 2 times.

18. B → G#m chord transition

Here's how to move from B to G#m:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

Oliver's Army chord transition analysis

A short, data-driven summary of the chord flow in Oliver's Army.

  • Oliver's Army includes 106 chord transitions, 18 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.03% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
  • Oliver's Army contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
  • These transition patterns show how Oliver's Army connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After E, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are A (25%), D (14%), and B (11%).
    • E → A: 25%
    • E → F#: 3%
    After B, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are E (21%), Em (16%), and A (16%).
    • B → E: 21%
    • B → F#m: 3%
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.