Cantabile by Michel Petrucciani

Overview

Key: G major · Chords used: 14 · Sections: 3

Form: Intro → B Section → 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

Intro

• G – C/G – G – Baug – Em7 – A7 – Em7 – A7 – D7 – G – C/G (×2)
  I – IV⁶₄ – I – III+ – vi7 – II7 – vi7 – II7 – V7 – I – IV⁶₄
• G – D7♭9 – G7♭9 – G7/C – Cm/G – F♯dim – Bm7♭5/F – Em11 – Cm/E♭ – D7 (×2)
  I – V7b9 – I7b9 – I7 (bass C) – iv⁶₄ – vii° – iiiø⁴₃ – vi11 – iv⁶ – V7
• G – C/G – G – Baug
  I – IV⁶₄ – I – III+
• Em7 – A7 (×2)
  vi7 – II7
• D7 – G – C/G – G
  V7 – I – IV⁶₄ – I

B Section

• G – C/G – G – Baug
  I – IV⁶₄ – I – III+
• Em7 – A7 (×2)
  vi7 – II7
• D7 – G – C/G – G
  V7 – I – IV⁶₄ – I

A Section

• G – C/G – G – Baug
  I – IV⁶₄ – I – III+
• Em7 – A7 (×2)
  vi7 – II7
• D7 – G – C/G – G – D7♭9 – G7♭9 – G7/C – Cm/G – F♯dim – Bm7♭5/F – Em11 – Cm/E♭ – D7 – G – C/G – G – Baug
  V7 – I – IV⁶₄ – I – V7b9 – I7b9 – I7 (bass C) – iv⁶₄ – vii° – iiiø⁴₃ – vi11 – iv⁶ – V7 – I – IV⁶₄ – I – III+
• Em7 – A7 (×2)
  vi7 – II7
• D7 – G – C/G
  V7 – I – IV⁶₄

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
G	I	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section, A Section
C/G	IV⁶₄	In the key	Intro, B Section, A Section
Baug	III+	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, B Section, A Section
Em7	vi7	In the key	Intro, B Section, A Section
A7	II7	Secondary dominant (V/V)	Intro, B Section, A Section
D7	V7	In the key	Intro, B Section, A Section
D7♭9	V7b9	Borrowed from G minor	Intro, A Section
G7♭9	I7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section
G7/C	I7 (bass C)	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section
Cm/G	iv⁶₄	Borrowed from G minor	Intro, A Section
F♯dim	vii°	In the key	Intro, A Section
Bm7♭5/F	iiiø⁴₃	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section
Em11	vi11	In the key	Intro, A Section
Cm/E♭	iv⁶	Borrowed from G minor	Intro, A Section

Harmonic highlights

• D7♭9 (V7b9) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
• Cm/G (iv⁶₄) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
• Cm/E♭ (iv⁶) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
• A7 acts as V/V: it resolves to D7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Cantabile-Rev JE” (credited “Petrucciani Michel”, style Latin-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 “Cantabile-Rev JE” (credited “Petrucciani Michel”, style Latin-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 100%).
• 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.
• 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.
• 1 chord was 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.