Somewhere Only We Know chords

How to play Somewhere Only We Know

Play Somewhere Only We Know by Keane with G-family shapes and capo 2 in standard tuning. These shapes sound in A. The exercises keep the descending verse bass, the added G in the pre-chorus grip and the G/B change in the chorus. Every chord entry is expanded into a four-beat practice bar at 72 BPM, so the exercises provide room for the hand movements rather than the recording’s precise bar lengths.

Choose Keane’s song and the capo-2 setup

Keane’s official music catalogue identifies Somewhere Only We Know as a single released on 16 February 2004. This page follows a guitar arrangement of that song’s piano accompaniment. A different cover can change the pitch, pulse or accompaniment, so match the artist and version before comparing chord names.

At capo 2, G sounds as A, Am as Bm, D as E, Em as F#m and C as D. The slash chords rise by the same two semitones: G/F# sounds as A/G#, and G/B as A/C#. Place the capo behind fret 2, check tuning and read every diagram from that new starting point. Removing the capo while keeping these shapes lowers the accompaniment to G; the key field remains a description of the selected capo-2 version.

Let the verse bass descend from G to F#

The first exercise moves G–G/F#–Am–D. The G/F# grip is 2-x-0-0-0-3. Play the sixth-string second fret as the lowest note and mute string 5; the open middle strings belong to the intended voicing. Compare that F# bass with the preceding G before adding four quiet downstrokes per bar.

Do not substitute Bm simply because it contains F#. It would change the upper harmony as well as the bass. Likewise, our full G voicing is not the G5 grip used for some melody-focused demonstrations. This accompaniment exercise leaves out the piano melody, keeping chord tones in the diagrams instead. Start Am on string 5 and D on string 4 so the bass line does not acquire an unintended low open E.

Keep the extra G in the pre-chorus grip

The exercise uses Em–Gmaj7/B–C–C–D. The second grip is x-2-0-0-0-2, giving B, D, G, B and F#. It combines the B-minor chord tones with G. Check the open third string: muting it would remove the added colour that distinguishes this grip from a plain Bm voicing.

JustinGuitar’s Keane lesson discusses this pre-chorus voicing and the capo-2 guitar arrangement. Its final C and D share a bar in the published progression. Here they receive separate complete practice boxes. The two adjacent C boxes are therefore learning holds, not evidence that the recording contains the same expanded bar count. Keep counting steadily through them instead of using the space to reset the rhythm.

Separate the chorus exercise from the song form

The opening chorus exercise repeats Am–G/B–D three times. G/B is x-2-0-0-3-3: its low B connects the fifth-string bass of Am toward the following D chord. It differs from the pre-chorus Gmaj7/B, which has F# and an open B string in the printed grip. Learn the two shapes as separate targets rather than shortening both names to G.

The continuation moves C–D–G, then C–D–C–D. Our boxes stretch changes that can share a bar in the teaching arrangement. The source also notes changes in the final double chorus, so this exercise list does not claim a complete performance route. Use the quiet quarter-note strokes to make each bass and chord quality clear; add a busier strum only after the changes remain steady without the piano melody as a cue.