Ballade by Charlie Parker

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 17 · Sections: 4

Form: A Section → A Section → Bridge → A 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

A Section 1

• Fmaj7 – Em7♭5 – A7♭9 – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – Fmaj7 – Dm7 – Gm7 – C7
  Imaj7 – viiø7 – III7b9 – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7

A Section 2

• Fmaj7 – Em7♭5 – A7♭9 – D7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – F6
  Imaj7 – viiø7 – III7b9 – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7 – I6

Bridge

• Cm7 – F7 – B♭maj7 – B♭m7 – E♭7 – Fmaj7 – Em7♭5 – A7 – Dm7 – G7 – Gm7 – D7♯9 – Gm7 – C7♯9
  v7 – I7 – IVmaj7 – iv7 – bVII7 – Imaj7 – viiø7 – III7 – vi7 – II7 – ii7 – VI7#9 – ii7 – V7#9

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 2.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Fmaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, Bridge
Em7♭5	viiø7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
A7♭9	III7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D7	VI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G7	II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, Bridge
Gm7	ii7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
C7	V7	In the key	A Section
Dm7	vi7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
F6	I6	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Cm7	v7	Borrowed from F minor	Bridge
F7	I7	Secondary dominant (V/IV)	Bridge
B♭maj7	IVmaj7	In the key	Bridge
B♭m7	iv7	Borrowed from F minor	Bridge
E♭7	bVII7	Borrowed from F minor	Bridge
A7	III7	Secondary dominant (V/vi)	Bridge
D7♯9	VI7#9	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	Bridge
C7♯9	V7#9	Borrowed from F minor	Bridge

Harmonic highlights

• Cm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭m7 (iv7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• C7♯9 (V7#9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• F7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to B♭maj7.
• A7 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Dm7.
• D7♯9 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Gm7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Ballade” (credited “Parker Charlie”, style Ballad) 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).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Ballade” (credited “Parker Charlie”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 72%).
• 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.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.