Equinox by John Coltrane

Overview

Key: C♯ minor · Chords used: 17 · Sections: 12

Form: Intro → Intro → Intro → A Section → Solo → B Section → B Section ×3 → A Section → Solo → Outro

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

• C♯m – C♯m/F♯ – C♯m/G♯ – F♯m – F♯m/C♯ – F♯m/B
  i – i (bass F♯) – i⁶₄ – iv – iv⁶₄ – iv (bass B)

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

Intro 3

• C♯m – C♯m/F♯ – C♯m/G♯ – F♯m – F♯m/C♯ – F♯m/B – C♯m
  i – i (bass F♯) – i⁶₄ – iv – iv⁶₄ – iv (bass B) – i

A Section 1

• C♯m
  i
• F♯m9 – F♯m69 – E9/F♯ (×2)
  iv9 – iv69 – bIII9 (bass F♯)
• C♯m – A13
  i – bVI13

Solo 1

• G♯7sus4 – G♯7♭9 – C♯m
  V7sus4 – V7b9 – i

B Section 1

• Emaj9/C♯ – Amaj9/F♯ – Emaj9/C♯ – A7sus4 – G♯7♭9 – Emaj9/C♯
  bIIImaj9 (bass C♯) – bVImaj9 (bass F♯) – bIIImaj9 (bass C♯) – bVI7sus4 – V7b9 – bIIImaj9 (bass C♯)

B Section 2

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 3

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 4

Same chords as B Section 1.

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

Solo 2

Same chords as Solo 1.

Outro

• C♯m – A13 – G♯7sus4 – G♯7♭9 – F♯/C♯ – G♯m/C♯ – Emaj9/C♯
  i – bVI13 – V7sus4 – V7b9 – IV⁶₄ – v (bass C♯) – bIIImaj9 (bass C♯)

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
C♯m	i	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section, Solo, Outro
C♯m/F♯	i (bass F♯)	Home chord (tonic)	Intro
C♯m/G♯	i⁶₄	Home chord (tonic)	Intro
F♯m	iv	In the key	Intro
F♯m/C♯	iv⁶₄	In the key	Intro
F♯m/B	iv (bass B)	In the key	Intro
F♯m9	iv9	In the key	A Section
F♯m69	iv69	In the key	A Section
E9/F♯	bIII9 (bass F♯)	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A13	bVI13	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, Outro
G♯7sus4	V7sus4	In the key	Solo, Outro
G♯7♭9	V7b9	In the key	Solo, B Section, Outro
Emaj9/C♯	bIIImaj9 (bass C♯)	In the key	B Section, Outro
Amaj9/F♯	bVImaj9 (bass F♯)	In the key	B Section
A7sus4	bVI7sus4	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
F♯/C♯	IV⁶₄	Borrowed from C♯ major	Outro
G♯m/C♯	v (bass C♯)	In the key	Outro

Harmonic highlights

• F♯/C♯ (IV⁶₄) is borrowed from the parallel key, C♯ major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Equinox - SM” (credited “Coltrane John”, style Latin) 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 “Equinox - Sher Music 2” (credited “Coltrane John”, style Latin) 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 81%).
• 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.
• The chart's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
• 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.
• 4 chords were simplified to the closest symbol our player supports (for example, an unusual added tone dropped).
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.