The One That Got Away chords

How to play The One That Got Away

The One That Got Away by Katy Perry can be practised with C, Em, Am and F shapes and capo 4. In standard tuning those fingers sound E, G#m, C#m and A. This sheet studies the central verse and chorus loop at 80 BPM, with four beats for every box. It is a focused accompaniment exercise, not a complete transcription of every section or recording detail.

Match the capo version to the sounding chords

Katy Perry’s official acoustic chord video shows the opening harmony moving through E major, G# minor, C# minor and A major. Its G# minor is displayed with the enharmonic label Ab minor. The C–Em–Am–F shapes under capo 4 produce those same sounding chord roots and qualities. The C symbol describes what your fingers play, while E describes what listeners hear.

Read all fret numbers from the capo. The two fretted strings in an Em shape sit two frets above it, at physical fret 6. An open string rings from the capo itself, not from the nut. Tune carefully after fitting it and check that every string speaks clearly. Do not also transpose the written C shape up to E unless you intentionally want another four-semitone rise.

Keep Em and Am distinct under the fingers

Em is 0-2-2-0-0-0. Am is x-0-2-2-1-0, so this change does more than move a single finger sideways. Em’s low E may sound; Am begins from the fifth string. Prepare the Am shape while keeping the previous bar’s count, then land its bass on the next first beat. Avoid letting the open low E keep ringing loudly beneath the new chord.

The C-to-Em change also alters the bass range. C starts on the fifth string and Em opens the sixth again. Test the three open-position shapes with single strokes before bringing F into the sequence. That lets you hear whether an uneven sound comes from a left-hand finger or from striking an unwanted lower string. Keep the four-bar practice cycle moving even while using very quiet strokes.

Build the F grip without changing the harmony

The printed F is 1-3-3-2-1-1, relative to the capo. Its index-finger barre is physically at fret 5 with capo 4 fitted. The capo raises the whole instrument’s open reference; it does not make the fretting-hand barre for you. Check the high strings first, then add the lower notes without squeezing harder than necessary.

An Fmaj7 grip would introduce E into the shape and G# into the sounding A chord. That is a major-seventh colour, not a completely equivalent way to play the selected harmony. A smaller F voicing can keep the same three chord tones if its unwanted strings are muted. Treat that as a separate fingering choice and inspect the actual notes rather than accepting a different chord name as an automatic shortcut.

Use the loop as a study, not an entire song map

The Easy 2 Play Music lesson documents the capo-4 approach and a fuller chord vocabulary. This page deliberately selects the central four-chord loop. Each displayed verse or chorus contains two practice passes; those repeats were chosen for the exercise. They do not establish the number of bars in the commercial recording, and the bridge is outside these two studies.

The published lead sheet lists E major and credits Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald and Max Martin. Its tempo marking belongs to that publication; the 80 BPM clock here is a slower coordination target. Start with the four downstrokes, keep the last F bar intact, and return to C without adding an extra pause. Study the full source separately before coordinating a vocal or arranging an ending.