Celia by Bud Powell

Overview

Key: B♭ major · Chords used: 16 · Sections: 8

Form: Intro → Intro → A Section → A Section → B Section → A Section → C Section → Solo

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

• B♭maj7 – B7 (×2)
  Imaj7 – #I7

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

A Section 1

• B♭maj7 – Cm7♭5 – Dm7 – E♭m7 – A♭7 – Dm7 – D♭m7 – Cm7 – B7 – B♭maj7 – Cm7♭5 – F7
  Imaj7 – iiø7 – iii7 – iv7 – bVII7 – iii7 – biii7 – ii7 – #I7 – Imaj7 – iiø7 – V7

A Section 2

• B♭maj7 – Cm7♭5 – Dm7 – E♭m7 – A♭7 – Dm7 – D♭m7 – Cm7 – B7 – B♭maj7
  Imaj7 – iiø7 – iii7 – iv7 – bVII7 – iii7 – biii7 – ii7 – #I7 – Imaj7

B Section

• Am7♭5 – D7♭9 – Gm7 – C7 – Cm7♭5 – F7♭5
  viiø7 – III7b9 – vi7 – II7 – iiø7 – V7♭5

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 2.

C Section

• E♭6 – E♭m7 – A♭7 – Dm7 – G7 – Cm7 – B7
  IV6 – iv7 – bVII7 – iii7 – VI7 – ii7 – #I7

Solo

• B♭maj7 – Cm7 – F7
  Imaj7 – ii7 – V7

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
B♭maj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section, Solo
B7	#I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section, C Section
Cm7♭5	iiø7	Borrowed from B♭ minor	A Section, B Section
Dm7	iii7	In the key	A Section, C Section
E♭m7	iv7	Borrowed from B♭ minor	A Section, C Section
A♭7	bVII7	Borrowed from B♭ minor	A Section, C Section
D♭m7	biii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Cm7	ii7	In the key	A Section, C Section, Solo
F7	V7	In the key	A Section, Solo
Am7♭5	viiø7	In the key	B Section
D7♭9	III7b9	Secondary dominant (V/vi)	B Section
Gm7	vi7	In the key	B Section
C7	II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
F7♭5	V7♭5	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
E♭6	IV6	In the key	C Section
G7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• Cm7♭5 (iiø7) is borrowed from the parallel key, B♭ minor.
• E♭m7 (iv7) is borrowed from the parallel key, B♭ minor.
• A♭7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, B♭ minor.
• D7♭9 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Gm7.
• G7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Cm7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Celia” (credited “Powell Bud”, style Up Tempo 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 “Celia” (credited “Powell Bud”, style Up Tempo 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.
• 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.