Miley Cyrus - Ordinary Girl - Chord

Key G major – E minor Chords G, C, Am, D, Em Difficulty already in its easiest key

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Capo 0

Uhoo oh yeah
La da a da

G
Don't get me wrong
Am
I love who I am
Em
I don't wanna be ungrateful
C                   G
It probably sounds strange
                  Am
I really love the role I play
Em
The songs I sing
C                G
But with all the fame
                 Am
The things that seem so simple,
Em         C
suddenly, so far out of reach
G                        Am
Wish that they could see that underneath
C                    G
I'm just an ordinary girl

G             C
Sometimes I'm lazy
       Am
I get bored
       C
I get scared
       Am
I feel ignored
G      C            G
I feel happy, I get silly
  Am             G
I choke on my own words
       Am             C
I make wishes, I have Dreams
       G            Am
And I still want to believe
                            C
Anything can happen in this world,
                G
For an ordinary girl
       Am       C

D               G
For an ordinary girl
      Am        C

G
How are you
Am
Hello, Good bye
Em
One day here, One day there
    C                  G
And again it's time to go
G            Am
Miss popular always on the road
       C
Put my best foot forward
D
Gotta get on with the show
G                    Am               G
Strike a pose for the front cover of a magazine
             C                 G
Everywhere I arrive, I get high 5's
            Am
They pay me larger than life

C                    G
I'm just an ordinary girl

G             C
Sometimes I'm lazy
       Am
I get bored
       C
I get scared
       Am
I feel ignored
G      C            G
I feel happy, I get silly
  Am             G
I choke on my own words
       Am             C
I make wishes, I have Dreams
       G            Am
And I still want to believe
                            C
Anything can happen in this world,
                G
For an ordinary girl

D          C          G             D
So give it everything or nothin' at all
                     C
you Get back on your feel when
    G           D
You stumble and fall
G                      C
A little luck can go a long way
                                    G
So don't you worry about what people say
Am                          D
Who knows when the wind may blow
D               G       C
For an ordinary girl
C                    G
I'm just an ordinary girl

G             C
Sometimes I'm lazy
       Am
I get bored
       C
I get scared
       Am
I feel ignored
G      C            G
I feel happy, I get silly
  Am             G
I choke on my own words
       Am             C
I make wishes, I have Dreams
       G            Am
And I still want to believe
                            C
Anything can happen in this world,
                G
For an ordinary girl
       Am       C

D               G
For an ordinary girl
      Am        C

D                G
For an ordinary girl
D               G
For an ordinary girl
      Am        C

End of song Play again?

Miley Cyrus - Ordinary Girl Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Miley Cyrus – Ordinary Girl: key and chord analysis

The song opens on G and ends on C. Its chords belong to both G major and Em, so every chord below is read both ways.

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)

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: to us the song feels closer to the G major side because it opens on G and G is heard 40 times against 4 for Em. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from E minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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.

Seen from G major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	G	Tonic — home	G · B · D	40×
ii	Am	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	A · C · E	29×
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	33×
V	D	Dominant — strongest pull home	D · F# · A	10×
vi	Em	Relative minor — the melancholy side	E · G · B	4×
vii°	F#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	F# · A · C	—

Seen from E minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Em	Tonic — home	E · G · B	4×
ii°	F#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C	—
III	G	Relative major — the bright side	G · B · D	40×
iv	Am	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C · E	29×
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	33×
VII	D	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	D · F# · A	10×

Analysis

The key pair is G major and its relative E minor (1 sharp). 5 different chords appear 116 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.

Chord movement

C G GIV → Iplagal cadence EmVI → III ×21
D G GV → Iauthentic cadence EmVII → III ×7
Am Em Gii → vi Emiv → iminor plagal ×4
C D GIV → VIV → V EmVI → VIIVI → VII ×4
Am D Gii → Vii → V Emiv → VII ×1

The move to watch is C → G, heard 21 times. From the G side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Em side it is VI → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

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 G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Am, 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

Starting on G, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. The chords that keep coming back are G, C, Am, D; read them as I–IV–ii–V in G or III–VI–iv–VII in Em. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. Keep an ear on C → G (IV → I in G, VI → III in Em): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. The final chord is C; the ear comes to rest in G.

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.