Bye Bye Blackbird by Ray Henderson

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 14 · Sections: 4

Form: A Section → B Section → Outro → 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

A Section

• Fmaj7 – Am7 – A♭dim7 – Gm7 – C7 – Gm – Gmmaj7
  Imaj7 – iii7 – biii°7 – ii7 – V7 – ii – iimaj7
• Gm7 – C7 (×2)
  ii7 – V7
• Fmaj7
  Imaj7

B Section

• F7 – Am7♭5 – D7♭9 – Gm7 – D♭7 – C7♭9 – Fmaj7 – Am7♭5 – D7♭9 – Gm7 – C7 – Fmaj7 – Gm7 – C7 – Am7♭5 – D7♯9 – Gm7
  I7 – iiiø7 – VI7b9 – ii7 – bVI7 – V7b9 – Imaj7 – iiiø7 – VI7b9 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7 – ii7 – V7 – iiiø7 – VI7#9 – ii7

Outro 1

• C7 – Am7♭5 – D7♯9 – Gm7
  V7 – iiiø7 – VI7#9 – ii7

Outro 2

• C7 – Am7♭5 – D7♯9 – Fmaj7♯11
  V7 – iiiø7 – VI7#9 – Imaj7#11

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Fmaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, B Section
Am7	iii7	In the key	A Section
A♭dim7	biii°7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Gm7	ii7	In the key	A Section, B Section, Outro
C7	V7	In the key	A Section, B Section, Outro
Gm	ii	In the key	A Section
Gmmaj7	iimaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
F7	I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Am7♭5	iiiø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section, Outro
D7♭9	VI7b9	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	B Section
D♭7	bVI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
C7♭9	V7b9	Borrowed from F minor	B Section
D7♯9	VI7#9	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	B Section, Outro
Fmaj7♯11	Imaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	Outro

Harmonic highlights

• C7♭9 (V7b9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• D7♭9 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Gm7.
• 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 “Bye Bye Blackbird (Aebersold)” (credited “Henderson Ray”, style Medium Swing) 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 “Bye Bye Blackbird” (credited “Henderson Ray”, style Medium Swing) 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 75%).
• 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.
• 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.