Major view
G major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = F# (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = C (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Sabrina Carpenter - Skinny Dipping - Chord
Key G major – E minor Chords E, A Difficulty already in its easiest key
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Key: G | Em
Capo: 0
E A E A
E
It'll be a Wednesday
A
And I'll be going in this coffee shop
E
Hear the barista call an oat milk latte and your name
And I look up from my phone
A E
And think there's no chance it's you, but it is
A
You'll say, "Hi", I'll say, "Hi, how are you?"
You'll say, "How's your family? How's your sister?"
E
I'll say, "Shannon's being Shannon"
A E
After a minute of nonsensical chatter, you'll say
A
"Well, this was really nice, maybe we should do this on purpose sometime"
E A
And it'll have been long enough that we won't harp on
E
Arguments in your garage
A
All the ways we sabotaged it
E A
What it was and what it wasn't
E A
We've been swimming on the edge of a cliff
E A
I'm resistant, but going down with the ship
E
It'd bе so nice, right? Right
A E
If we could take it all off and just еxist
A E A
And skinny dip in water under the bridge
E
You'll suggest a restaurant we used to go to
A
And I'll say, "Won't that be too nostalgic?"
E A
And you'll say, "Maybe, but let's do it anyway"
E
We won't sit at our same old table, I promise
A
And we won't bring up the past, we'll keep it bureaucratic
And we won't say it
E A
But both of us, we'll be thinking about how different we are
From those scared little kids that had those
E
Arguments in your garage
A
All the ways we sabotaged it
E
What it was and what it wasn't
E A
We've been swimming on the edge of a cliff
E A
I'm resistant, but going down with the ship
E
It'd bе so nice, right? Right
A E
If we could take it all off and just еxist
A
And skinny dip in water under the bridge
E A
Ah ha ha, ah ha, ah ha, ha
E A
Ah ha ha, ah ha, ah ha, ha
E A
Ah ha ha, ah ha, ah ha, ha
E A
Ah ha ha, ah ha, ah ha, ha
E A
We've been swimming on the edge of a cliff
E A
I'm resistant, but going down with the ship
E
It'd bе so nice, right? Right
A E
If we could take it all off and just еxist
A
And skinny dip in water under the bridge
End of song Play again?
Sabrina Carpenter - Skinny Dipping Tabs
NotesX
Harmony analysis
Sabrina Carpenter – Skinny Dipping: key and chord analysis
The song opens on E and ends on A. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
E minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = C (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = D (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 G major and E 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 G or to Em; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | G | Tonic — home | G · B · D | — |
| ii | Am | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | A · C · E | — |
| II | A | Chromatic colour chordoutside the key | A · C# · E | 32× |
| iii | Bm | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | B · D · F# | — |
| V/vi | B | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Emsecondary dominant | B · D# · F# | — |
| IV | C | Subdominant — moves away from home | C · E · G | — |
| V | D | Dominant — strongest pull home | D · F# · A | — |
| vi | Em | Relative minor — the melancholy side | E · G · B | — |
| V/ii | E | Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Amsecondary dominant | E · G# · B | 33× |
| vii° | F#dim | Leading-tone chord — tension | F# · A · C | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Em | Tonic — home | E · G · B | — |
| V/iv | E | Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Amsecondary dominant | E · G# · B | 33× |
| ii° | F#dim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | F# · A · C | — |
| III | G | Relative major — the bright side | G · B · D | — |
| iv | Am | Subdominant — moves away from home | A · C · E | — |
| IV | A | Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour | A · C# · E | 32× |
| v | Bm | Minor dominant — soft pull | B · D · F# | — |
| V | B | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | B · D# · F# | — |
| VI | C | Submediant — warm colour | C · E · G | — |
| VII | D | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | D · F# · A | — |
Analysis
The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 2 different chords appear 65 times in total; 0 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. E acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.
Chord movement
There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.
Improvisation tips
- G major pentatonic and E minor pentatonic are the same five notes (G – A – B – D – E): start from G for a brighter phrase, from E for a bluesier one.
- Over E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over A, land on A, C#, E — 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 G major shapes
- No capo — open G shapes
- Capo 3 + E shapes
- Capo 5 + D shapes
With E minor shapes
- No capo — open Em shapes
- Capo 2 + Dm shapes
- Capo 7 + Am shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
The song is already written in its easiest key for guitar.
The song's harmonic story
The opening E lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is E, A — V/ii–II from the G side, V/iv–IV from the Em side. E adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Am. It closes on A, letting the G side have the last word.
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.
Sabrina Carpenter - Skinny Dipping Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano
Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.
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