TV Chords by Billie Eilish: Guitar, Piano, Ukulele

Billie Eilish’s “TV” runs on a deceptively simple chord loop, and the same shapes transfer to guitar, piano, and ukulele. This guide breaks down the tv chords for all three, including simplified versions for beginners and how Alex G’s original recording differs from Eilish’s cover.

Song: TV by Billie Eilish —
Album: Guitar Songs (2022) —
Release: July 21, 2022 —
Key: G major —
Tempo: 75 BPM

“I don’t wanna talk right now, I just wanna watch TV.” — Billie Eilish, “TV”

The key facts line up cleanly:

What are the TV chords for guitar?

Standard chord progression

The main progression is built around five chords that cycle throughout the verses and chorus. The intro and verse use G, G/F#, Em, C, and D — a sequence that gives the song its gentle, forward-moving feel. According to the Ultimate Guitar user community, the chorus shifts to C, D, G, D, Em, creating a lift before returning to the verse pattern.

Ultimate Guitar user community — Intro/verse: G, G/F#, Em, C, D. Chorus: C, D, G, D, Em.

The G/F# chord is the one that trips up most players: it’s a G major shape with the low E string fretted at the 2nd fret (F#), or simply played with the thumb wrapping around the neck. The chord-reference site Chordify chord recognition platform actually reduces the whole song to just Em, C, D, G, dropping the G/F# entirely — proof that the progression works without it.

What this means: the G/F# is a passing bass note, not a structural pillar. Skip it and the song still sounds complete.

Barre chord alternative

• Place a barre at the 3rd fret for chord shapes based on the E and A forms.
• The G chord becomes a standard barre on the 3rd fret (E-form).
• The C chord moves to the 3rd fret (A-form).
• The D chord stays open or uses an A-form barre on the 5th fret.

Barre chords give a fuller, punchier tone — closer to what you hear on the studio recording — but they demand hand strength. For players who feel comfortable with barres, this approach preserves the original voicings without needing a capo. Sheet Music Direct publishes a digital piano/vocal/guitar arrangement that uses these shapes in the standard notation.

The trade-off: barre chords are fatiguing at 75 BPM across a full performance. Most live acoustic covers you see online use open chords with a capo instead.

Capo version for beginners

Place a capo on the 3rd fret and play the open chord shapes G, Em, C, and D. With the capo, G becomes the relative equivalent of E, Em stays as Em-shape, C becomes A-shape, and D becomes C-shape. This eliminates the G/F# entirely and lets you strum with open strings, which sounds cleaner on a steel-string acoustic. The Musicnotes easy piano edition lists the original key as C Major, so the capo-at-3rd fret trick actually brings guitar into that same tonal neighborhood.

Why this matters: for a bedroom guitarist who can’t nail a barre G yet, this is the difference between practicing for an hour or giving up after five minutes. The capo version is the most accessible entry point.

The pattern: pick one route and stick with it until the changes feel automatic.

What are the TV chords for piano?

Right-hand melody chords

The piano version uses the same harmonic skeleton: G, G/F#, Em, C, D in the verse, and C, D, G, D, Em in the chorus. Musicnotes publishes an easy piano edition in C Major, which means the right hand carries the melody while the left hand plays root-position chords — a classic ballad layout.

Chord inversions make the transitions smoother. Instead of jumping from G to C, try playing the C as C/E (C first inversion with E in the bass). The Sheet Music Plus intermediate piano arrangement, arranged by Leah Tousignant, uses inversions extensively to keep the left hand moving in small intervals.

Musicnotes — Separate editions label the song in C Major and A Minor; the home-key disagreement is part of the arrangement, not an error.

The implication: inversions aren’t decoration; they’re necessary for legato phrasing in a slow ballad. Without them, the chord changes sound clunky at 75 BPM.

Left-hand bass notes

• The root note for the G chord is G (bass).
• For G/F#, the bass note moves down a half-step to F#.
• Em takes E in the bass, C stays on C, D on D.

The descending bass line (G → F# → E) is the emotional engine of the song. It’s a half-step walkdown that creates tension before the IV chord (C). That same bass motion appears in countless ballads — Radiohead’s “Karma Police” uses a similar device — because the chromatic drop is inherently melancholic. Musicnotes’ separate Piano/Vocal/Chords edition in A Minor shifts the tonal center but preserves the same descending-bass feel.

The catch: the multiple key-labeling across editions (C Major, A Minor, G Major) reflects that “TV” is tonally ambiguous — it sits in a grey area between G major and E minor. That ambiguity is why you see different home keys on different sheet-music products.

Full piano arrangement

The intro is often played with arpeggiated chords: instead of striking all notes at once, roll them from bottom to top. This mimics Billie Eilish’s vocal phrasing, where she enters on the second beat. The Sheet Music Direct digital arrangement includes the arpeggiation as written notation, with the left hand holding the root note while the right hand rolls the chord.

For intermediate players, the Sheet Music Plus edition by Leah Tousignant adds subtle syncopation in the right hand, displacing the melody slightly behind the beat to match Eilish’s laid-back delivery. That “lazy” timing is hard to notate but crucial to the song’s feel.

What are the TV chords for ukulele?

Basic ukulele chords

• G (0232 on GCEA tuning)
• Em (0402)
• C (0003)
• D (2220)

Ukulele is the most forgiving instrument for this song. The Chordify reduction to four chords works perfectly on ukulele because the instrument’s tuning (GCEA) naturally gives a brighter, thinner timbre that doesn’t need the bass walkdown. The G chord on ukulele is the same shape as a D chord on guitar, so the voicing is lighter.

No capo is needed if you stay in the standard key. The open-position chords are all in the first three frets, which makes “TV” one of the easiest Billie Eilish songs to play on ukulele.

The pattern: “TV” is essentially a four-chord trick that works on any instrument. The ukulele version is the most beginner-friendly.

Strumming pattern

The standard pattern is down, down-up, up-down-up (D DU UDU). At 75 BPM, this gives a gentle eighth-note pulse with a slight swing. The downbeat lands on the 1 and 3, with the upstrokes filling the offbeats.

Ultimate Guitar user transcriptions suggest muting the strings slightly on the 2 and 4 beats (a “chuck”) to mimic the percussive sound of the original recording. This is optional but adds dynamic contrast.

Ultimate Guitar user community — Optional chuck on beats 2 and 4 adds a percussive edge.

The implication: the strumming is secondary to the chord changes. “TV” is a song that breathes on chord movement, not rhythm. Keep the strumming simple and let the chords carry the emotion.

Key change for ukulele

If you want to shift the key on ukulele, capo on the 3rd fret and play the same G, Em, C, D shapes; the actual key rises to Bb and the open chords stay in first position. The strumming pattern does not change.

How does the TV chord progression differ in Alex G’s version?

Alex G original chords

Alex G’s original recording of “TV” predates Billie Eilish’s cover by several years. The key difference is key: Alex G plays it in A major with a simpler, more repetitive chord sequence — basically A, D, E for most of the song. Eilish’s version shifts the tonal center to G/Em and adds the G/F# walkdown, which gives it a more classical ballad structure.

Tempo and key differences

Alex G’s chord voicings are intentionally rough and lo-fi, with open strings ringing through the changes. Eilish’s version (produced by Finneas) cleans up the harmonics and adds the descending bass line. The chord-reference site Chordify captures the common four-chord version used in most covers, which is closer to Alex G’s original than to Eilish’s arranged version.

The tempo is also different: Alex G’s original is slightly faster, around 80 BPM, with a more driving strum. Eilish slows it to 75 BPM and adds space between phrases.

Stylistic variation

The takeaway: if you want to play Alex G’s version, learn three power chords (A, D, E) and strum hard. If you want the Billie Eilish version, invest in the G/F# and the slower tempo.

What are the chords for The 30th?

Chord progression

“The 30th” is also in G major and appears on the same Guitar Songs EP. The chords are different from “TV”: the verse uses G, Am, C, G/B, D, and the chorus shifts to C, D, G, Em.

Song key

Musicnotes lists the key for both songs as G Major, but “The 30th” includes an Am (A minor) that “TV” avoids — that minor ii chord gives the newer song a darker, more unresolved feel.

Playing tips

The tempo is slower, around 65 BPM, making it even more ballad-like. The Sheet Music Direct arrangement notes that the left hand should hold each chord for a full measure, creating a droning effect.

The pattern: both songs share the same key but use different harmonic colors. “TV” is brighter (major I-IV-V focus), while “The 30th” leans on the minor ii (Am).

What is the easiest way to play TV chords on guitar?

Using a capo

As covered above, capo on the 3rd fret with open chords G, Em, C, D is the easiest route. This eliminates the G/F# and reduces finger stretch. The progression becomes G, Em, C, D (capo 3rd fret), which sounds closer to the original than dropping the G/F# without a capo.

Musicnotes notes that the easy piano edition is in C Major; with capo on 3rd fret, a G open chord on guitar sounds as Bb — not C Major but close enough for casual play. If you want to match C Major exactly, capo on the 5th fret and play G, Em, C, D shapes.

Simplified chord shapes

• Replace G/F# with G (it’s the same chord minus one bass note).
• Use open Em, C, D as normal.
• Strum only the top four strings to avoid muddy low-end on the G chord.

Practice techniques

At 75 BPM, the chord changes give you about 1.6 seconds per chord. Sheet Music Plus suggests breaking the song into 4-bar phrases and looping each until the muscle memory sets.

1. Practice the transition from Em to C by anchoring the ring finger on the 3rd fret of the B string for both chords.
2. Loop a 4-bar phrase on a metronome at 60 BPM before speeding up to 75 BPM.
3. Break the song into 4-bar phrases and repeat each until the changes land on the beat.
4. Move C to D by lifting the ring finger and moving the hand as a single block.

Frequently asked questions

This breakdown covers the three most common instrumentations and the two notable versions of the song. For guitar players starting out, the capo-on-3rd-fret route is the fastest path to playing along with the record. Piano players should invest in chord inversions to avoid clunky transitions. Ukulele players have it easiest — four open chords and a gentle strum. The difference between the Alex G original and the Billie Eilish cover is essentially three power chords versus a five-chord ballad with a descending bass line. For anyone trying to learn the song in an hour: capo on 3rd fret, play G-Em-C-D, and keep the strumming simple. That will get you through.