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14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?The 100 most repeated chord transitions extracted from thousands of songs. Even the first 10 will transform your guitar practice routine.

Louis Armstrong - Cabaret Chords

DATA-DRIVENWhich Chord Comes Next?Learn the most likely chord transitions on guitar and start playing songs with confidence.
ChordsD, A, D7, G, Ab, F#m, B7, Em7, A7, G#, Gm, Bm, B
Strumming↓-↓↑-↓↑-↓↑

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

[Opening]
[D] What good is [A] sitting
A[D]lone in your [A] room
[D] Come hear the music [D7] play
[G] Life is a [Ab] Caba[F#m]ret old [B7] chum
[Em7] Come to the [A7] Caba[D]ret [A]

[verse 2]
[D] Put down the [A] knitting
The [D] book and the [A] broom
[D] Time for a holi[D7]day
[G] Life is a [G#] Caba[F#m]ret old [B7] chum
[Em7] Come to the [A7] Caba[D]ret [D7]

[verse 3]
Come taste the [Gm] wine
Come hear the [D] band
Come blow your [Bm] horn start celebrating
[A] Right this way your [A7] table’s waiting

[Closing]
[D] No use per[A]mitting
Some [D] prophet of [A] doom
To [D] wipe every smile a[D7]way
[G] Life is a [B] Caba[F#m]ret old [B7] chum
[G] Only a [B] Caba[F#m]ret old [B7] chum
So [Em7] come to the [A] Caba[D]ret

SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookDiscover the most-used three-chord combinations in songs and build real command on guitar.
14,015 TRANSITIONS ANALYZED#1 at 23%: Which Transition?Master guitar today with the most repeated high-impact chord transitions.
ArtistLouis Armstrong
AlbumSingle
GenresJazz
Year1968
KeyD
DifficultyAdvanced

How to play Cabaret on Guitar (Step-by-step)

Louis Armstrong - Cabaret on guitar requires 13 chords and 20 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.

Cabaret uses these transitions most often: A → D (8), D → A (7), and D → D7 (4). 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 - A chord transition.

1. D → A chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar A chord diagram Fingering: x-0-2-2-2-0Guitar A chord diagram

To move from D to A;

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

2. D → D7 chord transition

Guitar D chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-3-2Guitar D chord diagram
Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram

To move from D to D7;

  1. Lift your index finger from G string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 1.
  2. Slide your middle finger from E string fret 2 to G string fret 2.
  3. Lift your ring finger from B string fret 3 and place it on E string fret 2.
D to D7

3. D7 → G chord transition

Guitar D7 chord diagram Fingering: x-x-0-2-1-2Guitar D7 chord diagram
Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram

To move from D7 to G;

  1. Lift your index finger from B string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  2. Slide your middle finger from G string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  3. Slide your ring finger on E string from fret 2 to fret 3.
D7 to G

4. G → Ab chord transition

Guitar G chord diagram Fingering: 3-2-0-0-0-3Guitar G chord diagram
Guitar G# | A♭ chord diagram Fingering: 4-3-1-1-1-x Barre at fret 1.Guitar G# | A♭ chord diagram

To move from G to Ab;

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

5. Ab → F#m chord transition

To move from Ab to F#m;

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

6. F#m → B7 chord transition

To move from F#m to B7;

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

7. B7 → Em7 chord transition

To move from B7 to Em7;

  1. While playing B7, first lift your index finger, ring finger, and pinky.
  2. Keep middle finger on A string fret 2.

8. Em7 → A7 chord transition

To move from Em7 to A7;

  1. Lift your middle finger from A string fret 2 and place it on B string fret 2.
  2. Place index finger on D string fret 2.

9. A7 → D chord transition

To move from A7 to D;

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

10. G → G# chord transition

To move from G to G#;

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

11. G# → F#m chord transition

To move from G# to F#m;

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

12. D7 → Gm chord transition

To move from D7 to Gm;

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

13. Gm → D chord transition

To move from Gm to D;

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

14. D → Bm chord transition

To move from D to Bm;

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

15. Bm → A chord transition

To move from Bm to A;

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

16. A → A7 chord transition

To move from A to A7;

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

17. G → B chord transition

To move from G to B;

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

18. B → F#m chord transition

To move from B to F#m;

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

19. B7 → G chord transition

To move from B7 to G;

  1. While playing B7, lift your pinky from E string fret 2.
  2. Lift your index finger from D string fret 1 and place it on A string fret 2.
  3. Slide your middle finger from A string fret 2 to E string fret 3.
  4. Lift your ring finger from G string fret 2 and place it on E string fret 3.

20. Em7 → A chord transition

To move from Em7 to A;

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

Cabaret chord transition analysis

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

  • Cabaret includes 49 chord transitions, 20 of them unique.
  • These transitions represent 0.01% of all chord transitions in Chordier.
  • Cabaret contains 1 of the top 10 transitions across Chordier.
  • These transition patterns show how Cabaret connects to the rest of Chordier. Mastering them helps you move to similar songs faster.
    After D, the most likely next chords across Chordier are G (29%), A (17%), and Em (17%).
    • D → A: 17%
    • D → Bm: 5%
    After A, the most likely next chords across Chordier are D (29%), G (13%), and E (12%).
    • A → D: 29%
    • A → A7: 3%
SONG DATA3 Chords, 200 Chains, 1 BookThe 200 most popular three-chord chains from real songs. See which songs use each chain and expand your repertoire with patterns that actually matter.