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First Light by Freddie Hubbard

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 26 steps · 11 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.
Intro 1 (×2)Step 1 of 26

A♭m7

LeftA♭2, E♭3RightC♭4, E♭4, G♭4
C4C♭4A♭2E♭3E♭4G♭4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: G♯ minor · Chords used: 11 · Sections: 12

Form: Intro → Intro ×3 → A Section → A Section ×3 → B Section → Solo → 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 1

  • A♭m7 – B♭m7 (×2)
    i7 – ii7

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

Intro 3

Same chords as Intro 1.

Intro 4

Same chords as Intro 1.

A Section 1

  • A♭m7 – B♭m7 (×2)
    i7 – ii7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 4

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section

  • C7♯9 – Emaj7♯11 – C7♯9 – Amaj7 – C7♯9 – Emaj7♯11 – Gmaj7♯11 – Bmaj7♯11 – E♭7♯11 – A♭maj7 – C7♯9 – Emaj7♯11 – C7♯9 – Amaj7 – C7♯9 – Emaj7♯11 – Gmaj7♯11 – B♭maj7♯11
    bIV7#9 – bVImaj7#11 – bIV7#9 – bIImaj7 – bIV7#9 – bVImaj7#11 – bImaj7#11 – bIIImaj7#11 – V7#11 – Imaj7 – bIV7#9 – bVImaj7#11 – bIV7#9 – bIImaj7 – bIV7#9 – bVImaj7#11 – bImaj7#11 – IImaj7#11

Solo

  • E♭maj7♯11 – A♭maj7
    Vmaj7#11 – Imaj7

C Section 1

  • A♭m7 – B♭m7 (×2)
    i7 – ii7

C Section 2

Same chords as C Section 1.

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
A♭m7i7Home chord (tonic)Intro, A Section, C Section
B♭m7ii7Borrowed from G♯ majorIntro, A Section, C Section
C7♯9bIV7#9Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
Emaj7♯11bVImaj7#11In the keyB Section
Amaj7bIImaj7Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
Gmaj7♯11bImaj7#11Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
Bmaj7♯11bIIImaj7#11Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
E♭7♯11V7#11Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
A♭maj7Imaj7Borrowed from G♯ majorB Section, Solo
B♭maj7♯11IImaj7#11Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
E♭maj7♯11Vmaj7#11Outside the key (chromatic)Solo

Harmonic highlights

  • B♭m7 (ii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♯ major.
  • A♭maj7 (Imaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♯ major.

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “First Light” (credited “Hubbard Freddie”, style Medium 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).
  • 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.
  • 6 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.

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 “First Light” (credited “Hubbard Freddie”, style Medium Latin) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1Intro 1 (×2)A♭m7A♭2, E♭3C♭4, E♭4, G♭4—
2Intro 1 (×2)B♭m7B♭2, F3D♭4, F4, A♭4—
3A Section 1 (×2)A♭m7A♭2, E♭3C♭4, E♭4, G♭4—
4A Section 1 (×2)B♭m7B♭2, F3D♭4, F4, A♭4—
5B SectionC7♯9C2, G2B♭3, D♯4, E4, G4—
6B SectionEmaj7♯11E2, B2A♯3, B3, D♯4, G♯4—
7B SectionC7♯9C2, G2B♭3, D♯4, E4, G4—
8B SectionAmaj7A2, E3C♯4, E4, G♯4—
9B SectionC7♯9C2, G2B♭3, D♯4, E4, G4—
10B SectionEmaj7♯11E2, B2A♯3, B3, D♯4, G♯4—
11B SectionGmaj7♯11G2, D3B3, C♯4, D4, F♯4—
12B SectionBmaj7♯11B1, F♯2A♯3, D♯4, E♯4, F♯4—
13B SectionE♭7♯11E♭2, B♭2B♭3, D♭4, G4, A4—
14B SectionA♭maj7A♭2, E♭3C4, E♭4, G4—
15B SectionC7♯9C2, G2B♭3, D♯4, E4, G4—
16B SectionEmaj7♯11E2, B2A♯3, B3, D♯4, G♯4—
17B SectionC7♯9C2, G2B♭3, D♯4, E4, G4—
18B SectionAmaj7A2, E3C♯4, E4, G♯4—
19B SectionC7♯9C2, G2B♭3, D♯4, E4, G4—
20B SectionEmaj7♯11E2, B2A♯3, B3, D♯4, G♯4—
21B SectionGmaj7♯11G2, D3B3, C♯4, D4, F♯4—
22B SectionB♭maj7♯11B♭2, F3A3, D4, E4, F4—
23SoloE♭maj7♯11E♭2, B♭2A3, B♭3, D4, G4—
24SoloA♭maj7A♭2, E♭3G3, C4, E♭4—
25C Section 1 (×2)A♭m7A♭2, E♭3G♭3, C♭4, E♭4—
26C Section 1 (×2)B♭m7B♭2, F3A♭3, D♭4, F4—