PianoChords.studio

Breathe by Pink Floyd

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 20 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.
Intro, part 1 (×8)Step 1 of 20

Em9

LeftE2, B2RightB3, D4, F♯4, G4
C4E2B2B3D4G4F♯4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: E minor · Chords used: 9 · Sections: 6

Form: Intro → A Section → A Section → B Section → 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

  • Em9 – A7 (×8)
    i9 – IV7
  • Cmaj7 – Bm7 – Fmaj7 – G7 – D7♯9 – Cdim/E♭
    bVImaj7 – v7 – bIImaj7 – bIII7 – bVII7#9 – bvi°⁶

A Section 1

  • Em9 – A7 (×2)
    i9 – IV7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 1

  • Cmaj7 – Bm7 – Fmaj7
    bVImaj7 – v7 – bIImaj7

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 2

  • Cmaj7 – Bm7 – Fmaj7 – G7 – D7♯9 – Cdim/E♭ – Em
    bVImaj7 – v7 – bIImaj7 – bIII7 – bVII7#9 – bvi°⁶ – i

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
Em9i9Home chord (tonic)Intro, A Section
A7IV7Outside the key (chromatic)Intro, A Section
Cmaj7bVImaj7In the keyIntro, B Section
Bm7v7In the keyIntro, B Section
Fmaj7bIImaj7Outside the key (chromatic)Intro, B Section
G7bIII7Outside the key (chromatic)Intro, B Section
D7♯9bVII7#9Outside the key (chromatic)Intro, B Section
Cdim/E♭bvi°⁶Outside the key (chromatic)Intro, B Section
EmiHome chord (tonic)B Section

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Breathe” (credited “Gilmour-Waters-Wright (Pink Floyd)”, style Pop Rock) 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.
  • The chart's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
  • 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 “Breathe” (credited “Gilmour-Waters-Wright (Pink Floyd)”, style Pop Rock) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1Intro, part 1 (×8)Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
2Intro, part 1 (×8)A7A2, E3C♯4, E4, G4—
3Intro, part 2Cmaj7C2, G2B3, E4, G4—
4Intro, part 2Bm7B1, F♯2A3, D4, F♯4—
5Intro, part 2Fmaj7F2, C3A3, C4, E4—
6Intro, part 2G7G2, D3B3, D4, F4—
7Intro, part 2D7♯9D2, A2A3, C4, E♯4, F♯4—
8Intro, part 2Cdim/E♭E♭2C4, E♭4, G♭4—
9A Section 1 (×2)Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
10A Section 1 (×2)A7A2, E3C♯4, E4, G4—
11B Section 1Cmaj7C2, G2B3, E4, G4—
12B Section 1Bm7B1, F♯2A3, D4, F♯4—
13B Section 1Fmaj7F2, C3A3, C4, E4—
14B Section 2Cmaj7C2, G2G3, B3, E4—
15B Section 2Bm7B1, F♯2F♯3, A3, D4—
16B Section 2Fmaj7F2, C3A3, C4, E4—
17B Section 2G7G2, D3B3, D4, F4—
18B Section 2D7♯9D2, A2A3, C4, E♯4, F♯4—
19B Section 2Cdim/E♭E♭2C4, E♭4, G♭4—
20B Section 2EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—