About the chords of “Problem”

“Problem” by Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea is in Ab Minor and runs at about 103 BPM, giving it a relaxed mid-tempo groove. Our analysis found 22 different chords across 59 chord changes; the ones that carry the song are F#6, Abm, B6, Ab7.

Abm is the chord you will hold longest — roughly 33% of the 3:13 the chords were tracked for. The song opens with Abm → Ab → Abm → B6 → Emaj7 → B → Abm → Ab6. Play the timeline above to hear each change land in real time.

Difficulty: advanced — 7 main chords with 8 extended, altered or slash voicings. Guitar tip: put a capo on fret 4 and use E minor shapes — the song stays in Ab Minor but every chord becomes an open chord.

Chord frequency

Chord progression, in order

Abm – Ebm7 – C#7 – Ab – Ebm7 – Abm – B6 – Emaj7 – F# – B – Emaj7 – F# – Abm – Ab6 – Abm – Ab7 – Abm – B6 – C#m – Bmaj7 – Emaj7 – F#/E – B – E – Bmaj7 – Abm – Ab6 – Abm – Ab7 – Abm – C#/G# – E7/G# – Ab – Abdim – Ab – Abdim – C#/G# – Abm – Ab – F#m – Abmaj7 – Abm – Emaj7 – B – Emaj7 – B/F# – Abm – Emaj7 – …

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