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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.

Shawn Mendes - Something Big Ukulele Chords

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

Before you play, tune your ukulele and use the tools below to set up your view and flow. Using the Transpose tool, switch to A,D keys to play this song with easier chords.

EmohwhoaDohwhoaBmohohohoh,ohwhoaCohwhoaEmohohohoh
EmPlaythelottoyoumightwinit
It’slikeD25tolifesoyoubustoutofAmprison
Something’sintheCair,something’sintheair
It’slikethatEmfeelingwhenyou’rejustabouttokillit
TakeyourDlastshotyouknowyou’regonnahitAmit
Something’sintheair,something’sCintheair,woahAmoh
EmSomethingbigIfeelithappening,Doutofmycontrol
BmPushingpullingandit’sgrabbingme,Cfeelitinmybones
LikeEmoh,whoaDohwhoaBmohohohohwhoaoh
CSomethingbigIfeelithappeningEmoh
WhoaDohwhoaBmohohohohwhoaoh,Csomethingbig…
It’sliketheEmfeelingwhenyou’bouttowinthemedal
AndyouDworkedsohardthatyouknewyouwouldn’tAmsettle
Handsareintheair,handsareCintheair
WhentheyEmhearyouwhenyouthoughttheywouldn’tlisten
It’slikeanDanthemthatthewholeworld’sAmsinging
Handsareintheair,handsareCintheair,woahAmoh
EmSomethingbigIfeelithappening,Doutofmycontrol
BmPushingpullingandit’sgrabbingme,Cfeelitinmybones
LikeEmoh,whoaDohwhoaBmohohohohwhoaoh
CSomethingbigIfeelithappeningEmoh
WhoaDohwhoaBmohohohohwhoaoh,Csomethingbig…
EmWoah,GyeahAmyeah
IfweEmstompourfeetthegroundwillshake
IfweGclapourhandsthewallswillbreak
AmYellsoloudwon’tforgetournames
‘CauseCsomethingbigishappening
EmTakethispackandstartafire
GRaisethisupwe’refeelinghigher
AmTheycan’ttellusanything
C’CausesomethingbigisAmhappening
EmSomethingbigIfeelithappening,Doutofmycontrol
BmPushingpullingandit’sgrabbingme,Cfeelitinmybones
LikeEmoh,whoaDohwhoaBmohohohohwhoaoh
CSomethingbigishappeningEmoh
WhoaDohwhoaBmohohohohwhoaoh
CSomethingbigIfeelithappeningEmohEm
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.
ArtistShawn Mendes
AlbumHandwritten
GenresPop
Year2015
KeyEm
DifficultyIntermediate

How to play Something Big on Ukulele (Step-by-step)

Shawn Mendes - Something Big on ukulele requires 6 chords and 9 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.

Something Big uses these transitions most often: Em → D (14), C → Em (13), and Bm → C (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 Em - D chord transition.

1. Em → D chord transition

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

Switching 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 14 times.

Em to D

2. D → Bm chord transition

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

Switching from D to Bm:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 10 times.

D to Bm

3. Bm → C chord transition

Ukulele Bm chord diagram Fingering: 4-2-2-2 Barre at fret 2.Ukulele Bm chord diagram
Ukulele C chord diagram Fingering: 0-0-0-3Ukulele C chord diagram

To move from Bm to C:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 10 times.

Bm to C

4. C → Em chord transition

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

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 13 times.

C to Em

5. D → Am chord transition

To move from D to Am:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 4 times.

6. Am → C chord transition

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 6 times.

7. Am → Em chord transition

Switching from Am to Em:

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

This transition appears in the chorus, played 3 times.

8. Em → G chord transition

Switching from Em to G:

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

This transition appears in the section, played 3 times.

9. 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.

Something Big chord transition analysis

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

  • Something Big includes 71 chord transitions, 9 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.02% of all chord transitions in Ukulelearn.
  • Something Big contains 3 of the top 10 transitions across Ukulelearn.
  • These transition patterns show how Something Big connects to the rest of Ukulelearn. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After Em, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are C (27%), G (18%), and D (18%).
    • Em → G: 18%
    • Em → D: 18%
    After C, the most likely next chords across Ukulelearn are G (35%), F (16%), and D (11%).
    • C → Am: 10%
    • C → Em: 8%
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.