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El choclo by Louis Armstrong

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 29 steps · 13 unique chords

Community chart. These chords come from a chart a musician wrote and shared on the iReal Pro forums, not from a transcription checked against the recording. Charts are sometimes written in a different key or simplified, and no second chart of this song agreed closely enough to mark this page verified. Trust your ears.
A Section, part 1Step 1 of 29

Cm

LeftC2, G2RightC4, E♭4, G4
C2G2C4G4E♭4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: E♭ major · Chords used: 13 · Sections: 1

Form: 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

  • Cm – Dm7♭5 – Cm/E♭
    vi – viiø7 – vi⁶
  • G7 – Cm (×3)
    III7 – vi
  • Dm7♭5 – Cm/E♭ – G7 – C7 – Fm – Dm7♭5
    viiø7 – vi⁶ – III7 – VI7 – ii – viiø7
  • Cm – G7 (×2)
    vi – III7
  • Cm
    vi
  • B♭7 – E♭ (×2)
    V7 – I
  • Dm7♭5 – G7 – Cm – A♭7
    viiø7 – III7 – vi – IV7
  • G7 – C – G7 – C – A7 – Dm – D7 (×2)
    III7 – VI – III7 – VI – #IV7 – vii – VII7
  • G7 – C (×2)
    III7 – VI

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
CmviIn the keyA Section
Dm7♭5viiø7In the keyA Section
Cm/E♭vi⁶In the keyA Section
G7III7Secondary dominant (V/vi)A Section
C7VI7Secondary dominant (V/ii)A Section
FmiiIn the keyA Section
B♭7V7In the keyA Section
E♭IHome chord (tonic)A Section
A♭7IV7Outside the key (chromatic)A Section
CVIOutside the key (chromatic)A Section
A7#IV7Outside the key (chromatic)A Section
DmviiOutside the key (chromatic)A Section
D7VII7Outside the key (chromatic)A Section

Harmonic highlights

  • G7 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Cm.
  • C7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Fm.

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “El Choclo” (credited “Villoldo Angel”, style Tango) 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).
  • 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.
  • Not verified: only one chart of this song is available, so it hasn't been cross-checked.
  • Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.

Sources & Accuracy

Every chord on this page comes from the community chart listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.

  • Chords from a chart a musician wrote and shared on the iReal Pro forums (archived in the ChoCo research dataset); may be in a different key from the recording, and not checked against it.

    Community chord chart “El Choclo” (credited “Villoldo Angel”, style Tango) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1A Section, part 1CmC2, G2C4, E♭4, G4—
2A Section, part 1Dm7♭5D2, D3C4, F4, A♭4—
3A Section, part 1Cm/E♭E♭2C4, E♭4, G4—
4A Section, part 2 (×3)G7G2, D3B3, D4, F4—
5A Section, part 2 (×3)CmC2, G2C4, E♭4, G4—
6A Section, part 3Dm7♭5D2, D3C4, F4, A♭4—
7A Section, part 3Cm/E♭E♭2C4, E♭4, G4—
8A Section, part 3G7G2, D3B3, D4, F4—
9A Section, part 3C7C2, G2B♭3, E4, G4—
10A Section, part 3FmF2, C3C4, F4, A♭4—
11A Section, part 3Dm7♭5D2, D3C4, F4, A♭4—
12A Section, part 4 (×2)CmC2, G2C4, E♭4, G4—
13A Section, part 4 (×2)G7G2, D3B3, D4, F4—
14A Section, part 5CmC2, G2C4, E♭4, G4—
15A Section, part 6 (×2)B♭7B♭2, F3D4, F4, A♭4—
16A Section, part 6 (×2)E♭E♭2, B♭2E♭4, G4, B♭4—
17A Section, part 7Dm7♭5D2, D3F4, A♭4, C5—
18A Section, part 7G7G2, D3F4, B4, D5—
19A Section, part 7CmC2, G2G4, C5, E♭5—
20A Section, part 7A♭7A♭2, E♭3G♭4, C5, E♭5—
21A Section, part 8 (×2)G7G2, D3F4, B4, D5—
22A Section, part 8 (×2)CC2, G2G4, C5, E5—
23A Section, part 8 (×2)G7G2, D3F4, B4, D5—
24A Section, part 8 (×2)CC2, G2G4, C5, E5—
25A Section, part 8 (×2)A7A2, E3G4, C♯5, E5—
26A Section, part 8 (×2)DmD2, A2F4, A4, D5—
27A Section, part 8 (×2)D7D2, A2F♯4, A4, C5—
28A Section, part 9 (×2)G7G2, D3F4, B4, D5—
29A Section, part 9 (×2)CC2, G2G4, C5, E5—