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Help Me Make It Through the Night by John Holt

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 34 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, part 1Step 1 of 34

G

LeftG2, D3RightB3, D4, G4
C4G2D3B3D4G4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: G major · Chords used: 11 · Sections: 1

Form: Intro

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

  • G – C/G
    I – IV⁶₄
  • G – C – Am – D – G – C (×2)
    I – IV – ii – V – I – IV
  • G – G7 – C – G – A7 – D
    I – I7 – IV – I – II7 – V
  • G – C – Am – D – G – C (×2)
    I – IV – ii – V – I – IV
  • G – C – G – A7 – D – D♯ – G♯ – C♯ – B♭m
    I – IV – I – II7 – V – #V – #I – #IV – biii
  • D♯ – G♯ – C♯ (×4)
    #V – #I – #IV
  • D♯ – G♯
    #V – #I

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
GIHome chord (tonic)Intro
C/GIV⁶₄In the keyIntro
CIVIn the keyIntro
AmiiIn the keyIntro
DVIn the keyIntro
G7I7Secondary dominant (V/IV)Intro
A7II7Secondary dominant (V/V)Intro
D♯#VBorrowed from G minorIntro
G♯#IOutside the key (chromatic)Intro
C♯#IVOutside the key (chromatic)Intro
B♭mbiiiOutside the key (chromatic)Intro

Harmonic highlights

  • D♯ (#V) is borrowed from the parallel key, G minor.
  • G7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to C.
  • A7 acts as V/V: it resolves to D.

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Help Me Make It Through The Night (G)” (credited “John Holt (reggea Version)”, style Ballad Even) 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 “Help Me Make It Through The Night (G)” (credited “John Holt (reggea Version)”, style Ballad Even) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1Intro, part 1GG2, D3B3, D4, G4—
2Intro, part 1C/GG2C4, E4, G4—
3Intro, part 2 (×2)GG2, D3B3, D4, G4—
4Intro, part 2 (×2)CC2, G2C4, E4, G4—
5Intro, part 2 (×2)AmA2, E3C4, E4, A4—
6Intro, part 2 (×2)DD2, A2D4, F♯4, A4—
7Intro, part 2 (×2)GG2, D3D4, G4, B4—
8Intro, part 2 (×2)CC2, G2E4, G4, C5—
9Intro, part 3GG2, D3D4, G4, B4—
10Intro, part 3G7G2, D3D4, F4, B4—
11Intro, part 3CC2, G2E4, G4, C5—
12Intro, part 3GG2, D3D4, G4, B4—
13Intro, part 3A7A2, E3E4, G4, C♯5—
14Intro, part 3DD2, A2F♯4, A4, D5—
15Intro, part 4 (×2)GG2, D3G4, B4, D5—
16Intro, part 4 (×2)CC2, G2G4, C5, E5—
17Intro, part 4 (×2)AmA2, E3A4, C5, E5—
18Intro, part 4 (×2)DD2, A2F♯4, A4, D5—
19Intro, part 4 (×2)GG2, D3G4, B4, D5—
20Intro, part 4 (×2)CC2, G2G4, C5, E5—
21Intro, part 5GG2, D3G4, B4, D5—
22Intro, part 5CC2, G2G4, C5, E5—
23Intro, part 5GG2, D3G4, B4, D5—
24Intro, part 5A7A2, E3G4, C♯5, E5—
25Intro, part 5DD2, A2F♯4, A4, D5—
26Intro, part 5D♯D♯2, A♯2F♯♯4, A♯4, D♯5—
27Intro, part 5G♯G♯2, D♯3G♯4, B♯4, D♯5—
28Intro, part 5C♯C♯2, G♯2E♯4, G♯4, C♯5—
29Intro, part 5B♭mB♭2, F3F4, B♭4, D♭5—
30Intro, part 6 (×4)D♯D♯2, A♯2F♯♯4, A♯4, D♯5—
31Intro, part 6 (×4)G♯G♯2, D♯3G♯4, B♯4, D♯5—
32Intro, part 6 (×4)C♯C♯2, G♯2E♯4, G♯4, C♯5—
33Intro, part 7D♯D♯2, A♯2D♯4, F♯♯4, A♯4—
34Intro, part 7G♯G♯2, D♯3D♯4, G♯4, B♯4—