Taylor Swift - Shake It Off - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords G, Am, C Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

G

               Am
I stay out too late
                  C 
Got nothing in my brain
                   G
That's what people say, mmm
That's what people say, mmm

                 Am
I go on too many dates
                     C
But I can't make 'em stay
                            G
At least that's what people say, mmm                     
That's what people say, mmm


           Am
But I keep cruisin
                      C
Can't stop won't stop moving 
                     G
It's like I got this music in my mind
       G
Saying it's gonna be alright


          Am
Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
        C
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate baby
G              
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off, I shake it off
      Am
Heart breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
        C
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake baby
G
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off, I shake it off


               Am
I never miss a beat
                     C
I'm lightening on my feet
                           G
And that's what they dont' see, mmm
That's what they dont' see, mmm
                  Am
I'm dancing on my own (dancing on my own)
                            C
I'll make the moves up as I go (moves up as I go)
                           G
And that's what they don't know, mmm
That's what they don't know, mmm


           Am
But I keep cruisin' 
                      C
Can't stop won't stop groovin'
                     G
It's like I got this music in my mind
       G
Saying it's gonna be alright


          Am
Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
        C
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate baby
G              
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off, I shake it off
      Am
Heart breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
        C
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake baby
G
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off, I shake it off (oooh oooh oooh oooh)



Am
Shake it off, I shake it off, I I
  C
I shake it off, I shake it off, I I
  G
I shake it off, I shake it off, I I
I shake it off, I shake it off


Hey, hey, hey, just think 
While you've been gettin' down and out
About the liars and dirty, dirty cheats of the world
You could've been gettin' down to this sick beat


Am                    C
My ex man brought his new girlfriend
            G
She's like  Oh my God
G
I 'm just gonna shake it
       Am                       C
To the fella over there with the hella good hair
          G                          G*/mute
Won't you come on over baby we could shake shake shake


          Am
Cause the players gonna play play play play play
        C
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate hate baby
G              
I'm just gonna shake shake shake
Shake it off, shake it off


      Am
Heart breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
        C
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake baby
G
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off, shake it off (oooh oooh oooh oooh)


Am
Shake it off, I shake it off, I I
  C
I shake it off, I shake it off, I I
  G
I shake it off, I shake it off, I I
I shake it off, I shake it off

Am
Shake it off, I shake it off, I I
  C
I shake it off, I shake it off, I I
  G
I shake it off, I shake it off, I I
I shake it off, I shake it off

End of song Play again?

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Taylor Swift – Shake It Off: key and chord analysis

The song opens on G and ends on G. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = B (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = F (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between C major and A minor. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	17×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	—
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	—
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	20×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	17×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	17×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	17×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	—
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	—
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	20×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 3 different chords appear 54 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.

Chord movement

G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×16

The move to watch is G → Am, heard 16 times. From the C side it reads V → vi (deceptive cadence: expected C, lands on Am); from the Am side it is VII → i (Aeolian arrival: rises a whole tone into home). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.

The song's harmonic story

Starting on G, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The backbone is G, Am, C — V–vi–I from the C side, VII–i–III from the Am side. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on G → Am (V → vi in C, VII → i in Am): deceptive cadence — expected C, lands on Am. The final chord is G; the ear comes to rest in C.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.