Desafinado by Antônio Carlos Jobim

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 25 · Sections: 4

Form: A Section → A Section → Bridge → 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

A Section 1

• Fmaj7 – G7♯11 – Gm7 – C7 – Am7♭5 – D7♭9 – Gm7 – A7♭9 – D7 – D7♭9 – G7♭9 – G♭maj7
  Imaj7 – II7#11 – ii7 – V7 – iiiø7 – VI7b9 – ii7 – III7b9 – VI7 – VI7b9 – II7b9 – bIImaj7

A Section 2

• Fmaj7 – G7♯11 – Gm7 – C7 – Am7♭5 – D7♭9 – Gm7 – B♭m6 – Fmaj7 – E7♯9 – Amaj7 – B♭dim7 – Bm7 – E7
  Imaj7 – II7#11 – ii7 – V7 – iiiø7 – VI7b9 – ii7 – iv6 – Imaj7 – VII7#9 – IIImaj7 – iv°7 – #iv7 – VII7

Bridge

• Amaj7 – B♭dim7 – Bm7 – E7 – Amaj7 – F♯m7 – Bm7 – E7 – Cmaj7 – C♯dim7 – Dm7 – G7 – Gm7 – E♭m6 – G7 – C7♭9
  IIImaj7 – iv°7 – #iv7 – VII7 – IIImaj7 – #i7 – #iv7 – VII7 – Vmaj7 – #v°7 – vi7 – II7 – ii7 – bvii6 – II7 – V7b9

A Section 3

• Fmaj7 – G7♯11 – Gm7 – C7 – Am7♭5 – D7♭9 – Gm7 – B♭m6 – Fmaj7 – Dm7 – G7 – E♭7 – G7 – Gm7 – C7 – F6 – C7
  Imaj7 – II7#11 – ii7 – V7 – iiiø7 – VI7b9 – ii7 – iv6 – Imaj7 – vi7 – II7 – bVII7 – II7 – ii7 – V7 – I6 – V7

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Fmaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
G7♯11	II7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Gm7	ii7	In the key	A Section, Bridge
C7	V7	In the key	A Section
Am7♭5	iiiø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D7♭9	VI7b9	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section
A7♭9	III7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D7	VI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G7♭9	II7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G♭maj7	bIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭m6	iv6	Borrowed from F minor	A Section
E7♯9	VII7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Amaj7	IIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, Bridge
B♭dim7	iv°7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, Bridge
Bm7	#iv7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, Bridge
E7	VII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, Bridge
F♯m7	#i7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Cmaj7	Vmaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
C♯dim7	#v°7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Dm7	vi7	In the key	Bridge, A Section
G7	II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge, A Section
E♭m6	bvii6	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
C7♭9	V7b9	Borrowed from F minor	Bridge
E♭7	bVII7	Borrowed from F minor	A Section
F6	I6	Home chord (tonic)	A Section

Harmonic highlights

• B♭m6 (iv6) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• C7♭9 (V7b9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• 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 “Desafinado” (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 “Desafinado” (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 98%).
• Cross-check: Wikifonia chord annotations (via ChoCo). Chord-symbol comparison with the community sheet "Desafinado", credited to Antonio Carlos Jobim. CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Song identity matched against Wikidata Q277804 using title, page artist and sheet composer. In each chart's own key, root/major-minor vocabulary overlap is 100%, transition overlap 97%, and ordered chord-symbol agreement 95% (including extensions and bass notes, ignoring durations). This is not a recording check; shared original authorship cannot be ruled out, so this comparison does not change verification status.
• 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.