7 distinct chords · 85 changes · 2:44 long
Chord timeline
Chords in this song
- E♭
- Cm
- A♭
- B♭
- Gm
- Fm
- G
What you are playing
Chords for How Do I Say Goodbye, laid out across its 2:44 exactly where they fall. Most of it sits in C minor. It leans on barre chords — with a capo on fret 3 the same song becomes C Am F G Em Dm E, which sits easier under the hand. Every one of its 7 chords is a plain triad, so three notes under the right hand covers the whole song.
Play it in another key
The same song, moved. Every row is How Do I Say Goodbye shifted by that many semitones — useful when the recording sits too high or too low for your voice. The chords keep their relationships, so the song is unchanged apart from its pitch.
| Shift | Key | Chords |
|---|---|---|
| G minor | A♯GmD♯FDmCmD | |
| G♯ minor | BG♯mEF♯D♯mC♯mD♯ | |
| A minor | CAmFGEmDmE | |
| A♯ minor | C♯A♯mF♯G♯FmD♯mF | |
| B minor | DBmGAF♯mEmF♯ | |
| C minor | E♭CmA♭B♭GmFmG | |
| C♯ minor | EC♯mABG♯mF♯mG♯ | |
| D minor | FDmA♯CAmGmA | |
| D♯ minor | F♯D♯mBC♯A♯mG♯mA♯ | |
| E minor | GEmCDBmAmB | |
| F minor | G♯FmC♯D♯CmA♯mC | |
| F♯ minor | AF♯mDEC♯mBmC♯ |
On a guitar there is a shortcut in one direction: transpose down by n and put a capo on fret n, and you are back at the original pitch while playing the easier shapes. That is what the capo line above is doing.
