Creep by Radiohead

Overview

Key: G major · Meter: 4/4 · Tempo: about 92–95 BPM · Core harmony: I – III – IV – iv

The official sheet music and Hooktheory both put "Creep" in G major, and the top-rated Ultimate Guitar chart plays it in G with no capo. ChordU's auto-detected chords match (G, B, C, Cm), although its page labels the key as E minor. That mislabel is typical of auto-detection.

How to read this page: chord symbols come from the sources listed under Sources & Accuracy. Where sources report different chords for the same spot, the visualizer shows every reported version so you can compare them by ear. Consecutive repeats of the same chord are shown once. The piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.

Where the sources differ

Spot	Ultimate Guitar	Hooktheory	ChordU
4th chord of the loop	Cm	Cm in its Verse analysis; Csus4 → C in its Intro and Verse and Chorus analyses	Cm
Bridge	not charted	G – C – Cm(add11) – G – B	—

Hooktheory has several section analyses for this song, and they don't all agree with each other. Its Verse matches the familiar Cm, while its Intro and Verse and Chorus analyses show Csus4 resolving to C. Csus4 (C–F–G) and Cm (C–E♭–G) share C and G and differ in just one note, so the visualizer lets you compare both.

Song form

The top-rated Ultimate Guitar chart repeats the same four-chord loop through the Intro, Verses and Chorus. Hooktheory additionally analyzes a Bridge with a different progression, shown separately here.

Harmonic notes

• The B major chord (III): B major isn't in G major; its D♯ is foreign to the key. Hooktheory labels it V/vi, the dominant of Em, but instead of resolving to Em it moves to C. This chromatic-mediant move gives the progression its dramatic, unsettled feel.
• C → Cm (IV → iv): borrowing the minor iv chord from G minor lowers E to E♭. That single half-step drop is the emotional heart of the song.
• The loop never changes: four chords repeat for almost the whole song, so the dynamics, not the harmony, create the build.
• Bridge (Hooktheory): G – C – Cm(add11) – G – B intensifies the same IV → iv idea.

Practice tips

1. Play the loop slowly and focus on the E → E♭ move inside C → Cm. Keep every other finger still.
2. On B major, notice the D♯ and F♯. Apart from the E♭ in Cm, they're the only black keys in the loop.
3. Compare Cm and Csus4 at step 4 and decide which matches the recording to your ear.