CHORD LIBRARY

Play along Cruel Summer, chord by chord.

Chords of: Cruel Summer by: Taylor Swift. (A, F#m, F#m7, D) are the main chords of the song. The chords are displayed instantly in real-time with a YouTube player, four synced views, instrument diagrams, loop practice and a built-in vocal-remover mixer.

About the chords of “Cruel Summer”

“Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift is in D Major and runs at about 170 BPM, giving it a fast, energetic pace. Our analysis found 15 different chords across 74 chord changes; the ones that carry the song are A, F#m, F#m7, D.

A is the chord you will hold longest — roughly 35% of the 2:52 the chords were tracked for. The song opens with A → D6 → F#m7b5/E → F#m → Am → A → F#m7 → D7. Play the timeline above to hear each change land in real time.

Difficulty: advanced — 6 main chords with 6 extended, altered or slash voicings. Guitarists can play it as written — D Major sits in open-chord territory, no capo needed.

Chord frequency

ChordTime heldShare
A1:0135%
F#m0:1911%
F#m70:1911%
D60:1811%
C#m70:1810%
D0:1610%
A/E0:053%
E0:032%

Chord progression, in order

A – D6 – F#m7b5/E – C#m7 – F#m – D6 – Am – C#m7 – F#m7 – A – F#m7 – D7 – A – E – A – C#m7 – A/C# – F#m – D – A – C#m7 – F#m – D – A – D6 – E – C#m7 – F#m – D6 – E7 – A/E – C#m7 – F#m – Am – Dmaj7 – A/E – C#m7 – F#m7 – D6 – A/E – A – C#m7 – A/C# – F#m – A – D – A – C#m7 – …