Corcovado by Antônio Carlos Jobim

Overview

Key: C major · Chords used: 18 · Sections: 4

Form: A Section → B Section → A Section → C 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

A Section 1

• Am6 – D9 – D♭7♯9 – C9sus4 – C9 – Fmaj7 – F6
  vi6 – II9 – bII7#9 – I9sus4 – I9 – IVmaj7 – IV6

B Section

• Fm6 – B♭9 – Em7 – Aaug7 – D9 – Dm9 – Fm6/A♭
  iv6 – bVII9 – iii7 – VI+7 – II9 – ii9 – iv6 (bass A♭)

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

C Section

• Fm6 – B♭9 – Em7 – Am7 – Dm7 – G7 – Em7 – A7 – Dm7 – Fm6/A♭ – Am6 – D9 – Cmaj9
  iv6 – bVII9 – iii7 – vi7 – ii7 – V7 – iii7 – VI7 – ii7 – iv6 (bass A♭) – vi6 – II9 – Imaj9

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Am6	vi6	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, C Section
D9	II9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, B Section, C Section
D♭7♯9	bII7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
C9sus4	I9sus4	Borrowed from C minor	A Section
C9	I9	Secondary dominant (V/IV)	A Section
Fmaj7	IVmaj7	In the key	A Section
F6	IV6	In the key	A Section
Fm6	iv6	Borrowed from C minor	B Section, C Section
B♭9	bVII9	Borrowed from C minor	B Section, C Section
Em7	iii7	In the key	B Section, C Section
Aaug7	VI+7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Dm9	ii9	In the key	B Section
Fm6/A♭	iv6 (bass A♭)	Borrowed from C minor	B Section, C Section
Am7	vi7	In the key	C Section
Dm7	ii7	In the key	C Section
G7	V7	In the key	C Section
A7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	C Section
Cmaj9	Imaj9	Home chord (tonic)	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• C9sus4 (I9sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm6 (iv6) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• B♭9 (bVII9) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• Fm6/A♭ (iv6 (bass A♭)) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
• C9 acts as V/IV: it resolves to Fmaj7.
• A7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Dm7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Corcovado (Getz/Gilberto)” (credited “Jobim Antonio-Carlos”, style Bossa Nova) 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 “Corcovado” (credited “Jobim Antonio-Carlos”, style Bossa Nova) 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 60%).
• 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.