Butterfly by Herbie Hancock
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 33 steps · 16 unique chords
Fm7
No source cited for this step
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: F minor · Chords used: 16 · Sections: 8
Form: Intro → Intro → A Section → A Section → B Section → A Section → B Section → Outro
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 1
- Fm7 – Am7 (×2)
i7 – iii7
Intro 2
Same chords as Intro 1.
A Section 1
- Fm11 – Am11 – Fm11 – Dm11
i11 – iii11 – i11 – vi11
A Section 2
Same chords as A Section 1.
B Section 1
- B♭7 – A7♯9 – A♭maj7/B♭ – A♭maj7♯5/B♭ – A♭maj7/B♭ – B♭13 – E♭7sus4 – E♭7♯9 – A♭7sus4 – A♭7sus4/C – C7/E
IV7 – III7#9 – bIIImaj7 (bass B♭) – bIIImaj7#5 (bass B♭) – bIIImaj7 (bass B♭) – IV13 – bVII7sus4 – bVII7#9 – bIII7sus4 – bIII7sus4 (bass C) – V⁶₅ - Fm7 – Am7 (×4)
i7 – iii7
A Section 3
Same chords as A Section 1.
B Section 2
- B♭7 – A7♯9 – A♭maj7/B♭ – A♭maj7♯5/B♭ – A♭maj7/B♭ – B♭13 – E♭7sus4 – E♭7♯9 – A♭7sus4 – A♭7sus4/C – C7/E
IV7 – III7#9 – bIIImaj7 (bass B♭) – bIIImaj7#5 (bass B♭) – bIIImaj7 (bass B♭) – IV13 – bVII7sus4 – bVII7#9 – bIII7sus4 – bIII7sus4 (bass C) – V⁶₅
Outro
- Fm11 – B♭13 – Amaj7♯11
i11 – IV13 – IIImaj7#11
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fm7 | i7 | Home chord (tonic) | Intro, B Section |
| Am7 | iii7 | Borrowed from F major | Intro, B Section |
| Fm11 | i11 | Home chord (tonic) | A Section, Outro |
| Am11 | iii11 | Outside the key (chromatic) | A Section |
| Dm11 | vi11 | Borrowed from F major | A Section |
| B♭7 | IV7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| A7♯9 | III7#9 | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| A♭maj7/B♭ | bIIImaj7 (bass B♭) | In the key | B Section |
| A♭maj7♯5/B♭ | bIIImaj7#5 (bass B♭) | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| B♭13 | IV13 | Secondary dominant (V/bVII) | B Section, Outro |
| E♭7sus4 | bVII7sus4 | In the key | B Section |
| E♭7♯9 | bVII7#9 | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| A♭7sus4 | bIII7sus4 | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| A♭7sus4/C | bIII7sus4 (bass C) | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| C7/E | V⁶₅ | In the key | B Section |
| Amaj7♯11 | IIImaj7#11 | Outside the key (chromatic) | Outro |
Harmonic highlights
- Am7 (iii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F major.
- Dm11 (vi11) is borrowed from the parallel key, F major.
- B♭13 acts as V/bVII: it resolves to E♭7sus4.
Sources & accuracy
- Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Butterfly” (credited “Hancock Herbie”, style Funk) 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: other charts of this song differ in places from this one, so this page isn't marked verified.
- 4 chords were simplified to the closest symbol our player supports (for example, an unusual added tone dropped).
- 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 “Butterfly” (credited “Hancock Herbie”, style Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro 1 (×2) | Fm7 | F2, C3 | C4, E♭4, A♭4 | — |
| 2 | Intro 1 (×2) | Am7 | A2, E3 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 3 | A Section 1 | Fm11 | F2, C3 | B♭3, E♭4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 4 | A Section 1 | Am11 | A2, E3 | C4, D4, G4, B4 | — |
| 5 | A Section 1 | Fm11 | F2, C3 | B♭3, E♭4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 6 | A Section 1 | Dm11 | D2, A2 | C4, E4, F4, G4 | — |
| 7 | B Section 1, part 1 | B♭7 | B♭2, F3 | D4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 8 | B Section 1, part 1 | A7♯9 | A2, E3 | C♯4, E4, G4, B♯4 | — |
| 9 | B Section 1, part 1 | A♭maj7/B♭ | B♭2 | C4, E♭4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 10 | B Section 1, part 1 | A♭maj7♯5/B♭ | B♭2 | C4, E4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 11 | B Section 1, part 1 | A♭maj7/B♭ | B♭2 | C4, E♭4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 12 | B Section 1, part 1 | B♭13 | B♭2, F3 | C4, D4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 13 | B Section 1, part 1 | E♭7sus4 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, A♭4 | — |
| 14 | B Section 1, part 1 | E♭7♯9 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, F♯4, G4 | — |
| 15 | B Section 1, part 1 | A♭7sus4 | A♭2, E♭3 | D♭4, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 16 | B Section 1, part 1 | A♭7sus4/C | C2 | D♭4, E♭4, G♭4, A♭4 | — |
| 17 | B Section 1, part 1 | C7/E | E2 | C4, E4, G4, B♭4 | — |
| 18 | B Section 1, part 2 (×4) | Fm7 | F2, C3 | C4, E♭4, A♭4 | — |
| 19 | B Section 1, part 2 (×4) | Am7 | A2, E3 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 20 | B Section 2 | B♭7 | B♭2, F3 | D4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 21 | B Section 2 | A7♯9 | A2, E3 | C♯4, E4, G4, B♯4 | — |
| 22 | B Section 2 | A♭maj7/B♭ | B♭2 | C4, E♭4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 23 | B Section 2 | A♭maj7♯5/B♭ | B♭2 | C4, E4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 24 | B Section 2 | A♭maj7/B♭ | B♭2 | C4, E♭4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 25 | B Section 2 | B♭13 | B♭2, F3 | C4, D4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 26 | B Section 2 | E♭7sus4 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, A♭4 | — |
| 27 | B Section 2 | E♭7♯9 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, F♯4, G4 | — |
| 28 | B Section 2 | A♭7sus4 | A♭2, E♭3 | D♭4, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 29 | B Section 2 | A♭7sus4/C | C2 | D♭4, E♭4, G♭4, A♭4 | — |
| 30 | B Section 2 | C7/E | E2 | C4, E4, G4, B♭4 | — |
| 31 | Outro | Fm11 | F2, C3 | B♭3, E♭4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 32 | Outro | B♭13 | B♭2, F3 | C4, D4, G4, A♭4 | — |
| 33 | Outro | Amaj7♯11 | A2, E3 | C♯4, D♯4, E4, G♯4 | — |