1999 by Prince
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 11 steps · 4 unique chords · 1980s
C7
Whole song transcribed by
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: F major · Chords used: 4 · Sections: 7
Form: Intro → Verse → Verse → Interlude → Verse → Interlude → Outro
Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. This page shows that transcription as-is: the analysis below is generated directly from it by code, not written by AI. Consecutive repeats of a chord are shown once, and the piano voicings are our playable arrangement of each chord symbol, not a note-for-note transcription.
Section by section
Intro
- C7 – F
V7 – I
Verse 1
- F – B♭ – Dm7 (×2)
I – IV – vi7 - F
I
Verse 2
Same chords as Verse 1.
Interlude 1
- F
I
Verse 3
Same chords as Verse 1.
Interlude 2
- B♭ – Dm7 – F (×4)
IV – vi7 – I
Outro
- F
I
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| C7 | V7 | In the key | Intro |
| F | I | Home chord (tonic) | Intro, Verse, Interlude, Outro |
| B♭ | IV | In the key | Verse, Interlude |
| Dm7 | vi7 | In the key | Verse, Interlude |
Sources & accuracy
- Chords and sections: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. Expert by-ear harmonic analysis of the original recording, shown on this page.
- Cross-check: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by David Temperley. Independent by-ear analysis of the same recording. The two analysts agree on the chord (root and major/minor) for 62% of the song.
- Not verified: the two RS 200 analysts differ in places (see their agreement above).
- Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.
Sources & Accuracy
Every chord on this page comes from the expert transcription listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.
- the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de ClercqExpert transcription
Annotated from the original recording by trained musicians for a published research dataset.
Expert by-ear harmonic analysis of the original recording, shown on this page.
- the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by David TemperleyExpert transcription
Annotated from the original recording by trained musicians for a published research dataset.
Independent by-ear analysis of the same recording. The two analysts agree on the chord (root and major/minor) for 62% of the song.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | C7 | C2, G2 | B♭3, E4, G4 | — |
| 2 | Intro | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 3 | Verse 1, part 1 (×2) | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 4 | Verse 1, part 1 (×2) | B♭ | B♭2, F3 | D4, F4, B♭4 | — |
| 5 | Verse 1, part 1 (×2) | Dm7 | D2, A2 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 6 | Verse 1, part 2 | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 7 | Interlude 1 | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 8 | Interlude 2 (×4) | B♭ | B♭2, F3 | D4, F4, B♭4 | — |
| 9 | Interlude 2 (×4) | Dm7 | D2, A2 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 10 | Interlude 2 (×4) | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 11 | Outro | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |