PianoChords.studio

For the Love of God by Steve Vai

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 25 steps · 8 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 1Step 1 of 25

Em9

LeftE2, B2RightB3, D4, F♯4, G4
C4E2B2B3D4G4F♯4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: E minor · Chords used: 8 · Sections: 5

Form: A Section → A Section → B Section → A Section → B 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

  • Em9 – Fmaj7♯11 – Em9 – Am9 – Em9 – Cmaj7 – Fmaj7♯11 – Em9
    i9 – bIImaj7#11 – i9 – iv9 – i9 – bVImaj7 – bIImaj7#11 – i9

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 1

  • G – Fmaj9 – Em – Dadd9
    bIII – bIImaj9 – i – bVIIadd9

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 2

  • G – Fmaj9 – Em – Dadd9 – Em9 – Fmaj7♯11 – Em9 – Am9 – Em9 – Cmaj7 – Fmaj7♯11 – Em9 – Em
    bIII – bIImaj9 – i – bVIIadd9 – i9 – bIImaj7#11 – i9 – iv9 – i9 – bVImaj7 – bIImaj7#11 – i9 – i

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
Em9i9Home chord (tonic)A Section, B Section
Fmaj7♯11bIImaj7#11Outside the key (chromatic)A Section, B Section
Am9iv9In the keyA Section, B Section
Cmaj7bVImaj7In the keyA Section, B Section
GbIIIIn the keyB Section
Fmaj9bIImaj9Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
EmiHome chord (tonic)B Section
Dadd9bVIIadd9In the keyB Section

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “For The Love Of God” (credited “Vai Steve”, style Rock Ballad) 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.
  • The chart has D.S./D.C. jump markings that couldn't be followed reliably, so it's shown in written order; part of the song may be played more times than shown.
  • 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 “For The Love Of God” (credited “Vai Steve”, style Rock Ballad) 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 1Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
2A Section 1Fmaj7♯11F2, C3B3, C4, E4, A4—
3A Section 1Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
4A Section 1Am9A2, E3B3, C4, E4, G4—
5A Section 1Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
6A Section 1Cmaj7C2, G2B3, E4, G4—
7A Section 1Fmaj7♯11F2, C3B3, C4, E4, A4—
8A Section 1Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
9B Section 1GG2, D3B3, D4, G4—
10B Section 1Fmaj9F2, C3A3, C4, E4, G4—
11B Section 1EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
12B Section 1Dadd9D2, A2A3, E4, F♯4—
13B Section 2GG2, D3B3, D4, G4—
14B Section 2Fmaj9F2, C3A3, C4, E4, G4—
15B Section 2EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
16B Section 2Dadd9D2, A2A3, E4, F♯4—
17B Section 2Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
18B Section 2Fmaj7♯11F2, C3B3, C4, E4, A4—
19B Section 2Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
20B Section 2Am9A2, E3B3, C4, E4, G4—
21B Section 2Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
22B Section 2Cmaj7C2, G2B3, E4, G4—
23B Section 2Fmaj7♯11F2, C3B3, C4, E4, A4—
24B Section 2Em9E2, B2B3, D4, F♯4, G4—
25B Section 2EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—