PianoChords.studio

Father and Daughter by Paul Simon

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 24 steps · 9 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.
IntroStep 1 of 24

E

LeftE2, B2RightB3, E4, G♯4
C4E2B2B3E4G♯4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 9 · Sections: 4

Form: Intro → A Section → C 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

Intro

  • E
    I

A Section

  • A – E/G♯ – F♯m – B – E – F♯m – C♯m – F♯m – B – C♯m
    IV – I⁶ – ii – V – I – ii – vi – ii – V – vi

C Section 1

  • E – A
    I – IV

C Section 2

  • E – A – E6 – G♯m/D♯ – F♯m/C♯ – B – C♯m – A – E/G♯ – F♯m – B
    I – IV – I6 – iii⁶₄ – ii⁶₄ – V – vi – IV – I⁶ – ii – V

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
EIHome chord (tonic)Intro, A Section, C Section
AIVIn the keyA Section, C Section
E/G♯I⁶Home chord (tonic)A Section, C Section
F♯miiIn the keyA Section, C Section
BVIn the keyA Section, C Section
C♯mviIn the keyA Section, C Section
E6I6Home chord (tonic)C Section
G♯m/D♯iii⁶₄In the keyC Section
F♯m/C♯ii⁶₄In the keyC Section

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Father And Daughter” (credited “Simon Paul”, style Folk Pop) 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 “Father And Daughter” (credited “Simon Paul”, style Folk Pop) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1IntroEE2, B2B3, E4, G♯4—
2A SectionAA2, E3C♯4, E4, A4—
3A SectionE/G♯G♯2B3, E4, G♯4—
4A SectionF♯mF♯2, C♯3C♯4, F♯4, A4—
5A SectionBB1, F♯2D♯4, F♯4, B4—
6A SectionEE2, B2E4, G♯4, B4—
7A SectionF♯mF♯2, C♯3F♯4, A4, C♯5—
8A SectionC♯mC♯2, G♯2E4, G♯4, C♯5—
9A SectionF♯mF♯2, C♯3F♯4, A4, C♯5—
10A SectionBB1, F♯2F♯4, B4, D♯5—
11A SectionC♯mC♯2, G♯2G♯4, C♯5, E5—
12C Section 1EE2, B2G♯4, B4, E5—
13C Section 1AA2, E3A4, C♯5, E5—
14C Section 2EE2, B2G♯4, B4, E5—
15C Section 2AA2, E3A4, C♯5, E5—
16C Section 2E6E2, B2G♯4, B4, C♯5—
17C Section 2G♯m/D♯D♯2G♯4, B4, D♯5—
18C Section 2F♯m/C♯C♯2F♯4, A4, C♯5—
19C Section 2BB1, F♯2F♯4, B4, D♯5—
20C Section 2C♯mC♯2, G♯2G♯4, C♯5, E5—
21C Section 2AA2, E3A4, C♯5, E5—
22C Section 2E/G♯G♯2G♯4, B4, E5—
23C Section 2F♯mF♯2, C♯3F♯4, A4, C♯5—
24C Section 2BB1, F♯2F♯4, B4, D♯5—