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Baby Face by Harry Akst

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 21 steps · 9 unique chords

Community chart. These chords come from a chart a musician wrote and shared on the iReal Pro forums, not from a transcription checked against the recording. Charts are sometimes written in a different key or simplified, and no second chart of this song agreed closely enough to mark this page verified. Trust your ears.
IntroStep 1 of 21

A7

LeftA2, E3RightC♯4, E4, G4
C4A2E3E4G4C♯4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: G major · Chords used: 9 · Sections: 3

Form: Intro → A Section → B Section

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart 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

  • A7 – D7 – G – D7
    II7 – V7 – I – V7

A Section

  • G – D7 – G – E7 – A7 – D7
    I – V7 – I – VI7 – II7 – V7

B Section

  • G – B7 – Em – G7 – C – Gdim – G – E7
    I – III7 – vi – I7 – IV – i° – I – VI7
  • A7 – D7 – G (×2)
    II7 – V7 – I

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
A7II7Secondary dominant (V/V)Intro, A Section, B Section
D7V7In the keyIntro, A Section, B Section
GIHome chord (tonic)Intro, A Section, B Section
E7VI7Outside the key (chromatic)A Section, B Section
B7III7Secondary dominant (V/vi)B Section
EmviIn the keyB Section
G7I7Secondary dominant (V/IV)B Section
CIVIn the keyB Section
Gdimi°Outside the key (chromatic)B Section

Harmonic highlights

  • A7 acts as V/V: it resolves to D7.
  • B7 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Em.
  • G7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to C.

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Baby Face (Beloff Arr.)” (credited “Benny Davis, Harry Akst 1926”, style Cheerfully) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
  • Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
  • Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
  • About the song: Wikipedia.
  • Not verified: only one chart of this song is available, so it hasn't been cross-checked.
  • Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.

Sources & Accuracy

Every chord on this page comes from the community chart listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.

  • Chords from a chart a musician wrote and shared on the iReal Pro forums (archived in the ChoCo research dataset); may be in a different key from the recording, and not checked against it.

    Community chord chart “Baby Face (Beloff Arr.)” (credited “Benny Davis, Harry Akst 1926”, style Cheerfully) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1IntroA7A2, E3C♯4, E4, G4—
2IntroD7D2, A2C4, F♯4, A4—
3IntroGG2, D3D4, G4, B4—
4IntroD7D2, A2C4, F♯4, A4—
5A SectionGG2, D3D4, G4, B4—
6A SectionD7D2, A2C4, F♯4, A4—
7A SectionGG2, D3D4, G4, B4—
8A SectionE7E2, B2D4, G♯4, B4—
9A SectionA7A2, E3E4, G4, C♯5—
10A SectionD7D2, A2F♯4, A4, C5—
11B Section, part 1GG2, D3G4, B4, D5—
12B Section, part 1B7B1, F♯2F♯4, A4, D♯5—
13B Section, part 1EmE2, B2G4, B4, E5—
14B Section, part 1G7G2, D3F4, B4, D5—
15B Section, part 1CC2, G2G4, C5, E5—
16B Section, part 1GdimG2, G3G4, B♭4, D♭5—
17B Section, part 1GG2, D3G4, B4, D5—
18B Section, part 1E7E2, B2G♯4, B4, D5—
19B Section, part 2 (×2)A7A2, E3G4, C♯5, E5—
20B Section, part 2 (×2)D7D2, A2F♯4, A4, C5—
21B Section, part 2 (×2)GG2, D3G4, B4, D5—