Oct212022

Taylor Swift – Mastermind Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

ChordsC F Am GC/BEm

KeyKeyCapo

View

[Intro]
 C      C      C     C

[Verse 1]
C
 Once upon a time,

 the planets and the fates
                   C
And all the stars aligned
                          F
You and I ended up in the same
room at the same time
C                                F
 And the touch of a hand lit the fuse
                              C
Of a chain reaction of countermoves
                          F
To assess the equation of you,
checkmate, I couldn't lose

[Pre-Chorus]
Am                          F
 What if I told you none of it
 was accidental?
        G
And the first night that you saw me,
   C                C/B
 nothing was gonna stop me
Am                        F
I laid the groundwork and then,
just like clockwork
    G
The dominoes cascading in the line

[Chorus]
                           C
What if I told you I'm the mastermind?
    F
And now you're mine
           Am
It was all by design
 G           F
'Cause I'm a mastermind

[Verse 2]
C                        F
 You see, all the wisest women
had to do it this way
C                             F
'Cause we were born to be the pawn
 in every lover's game
C                                 F
 If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
                                C
Strategy sets the scene for the tale
                                   F
I'm the wind and I'm free, flowing sails
 in the liquor of our cocktails

[Pre-Chorus]
Am                          F
 What if I told you none of it
was accidental?
        G
And the first night that you saw me,
   C                  C/B
 I knew I wanted your body?
Am                        F
I laid the groundwork and then,
just like clockwork
    G
The dominoes cascading in the line

[Chorus]
                           C
What if I told you I'm the mastermind?
    F
And now you're mine
           Am
It was all by design
 G           F
'Cause I'm a mastermind

[Bridge]
C
 No one wanted to play
 with me as a little kid
C
 So I've been scheming
like a criminal ever since
F
 To make them love me and
 make it seem effortless
F
 Is this the first time
I feel the need to confess?
    Em     F          G
And I swear, I'm only cryptic
and Machiavellian 'cause I care

Check out Musical Tips from our BLOG

[Pre-Chorus]
Am                     F
 So I told you none of it
was accidental
        G
And the first night that you saw me,
    C                C/B
 nothing was gonna stop me
Am                        F
I laid the groundwork and then,
 saw a wild smirk
   G
On your face, you knew the entire time

[Chorus]
                    C
You knew that I'm a mastermind
    F
And now you're mine
              Am
Yeah, all you did was smile
 G           F         C
'Cause I'm a mastermind

How to play Mastermind: key, chords and progression

These are Mastermind chords by Taylor Swift on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard.

Mastermind by Taylor Swift is centred on C major (no sharps or flats). The song uses 6 chords: C, F, Am, G, C/B and Em.

The progression the song keeps returning to is Am – F – G – C (vi – IV – V – I in C major). In solfa, that is lah – fah – soh – doh. Learn these 4 changes first and most of the song falls into place.

Beginner-friendly: on guitar almost every chord is an open shape, which makes this a good song to learn early on.