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I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 8 steps · 8 unique chords · 1970s

Intro 1Step 1 of 8

Am

LeftA2, E3RightC4, E4, A4
A2E3C4E4A4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: A minor · Chords used: 8 · Sections: 2

Form: Intro → 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 1

  • Am – Dm – G7 – Cmaj7 – Fmaj7 – Bm7♭5 – Esus4 – E
    i – iv – bVII7 – bIIImaj7 – bVImaj7 – iiø7 – Vsus4 – V

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
AmiHome chord (tonic)Intro
DmivIn the keyIntro
G7bVII7In the keyIntro
Cmaj7bIIImaj7In the keyIntro
Fmaj7bVImaj7In the keyIntro
Bm7♭5iiø7In the keyIntro
Esus4Vsus4In the keyIntro
EVIn the keyIntro

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “I Will Survive” (credited “Gaynor Gloria”, style Dance) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts.
  • 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 “I Will Survive” (credited “Gaynor Gloria”, style Pop) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 100%).
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 “I Will Survive” (credited “Gaynor Gloria”, style Dance) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts.

  • 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 “I Will Survive” (credited “Gaynor Gloria”, style Pop) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 100%).

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1Intro 1AmA2, E3C4, E4, A4—
2Intro 1DmD2, A2D4, F4, A4—
3Intro 1G7G2, D3D4, F4, B4—
4Intro 1Cmaj7C2, G2E4, G4, B4—
5Intro 1Fmaj7F2, C3E4, A4, C5—
6Intro 1Bm7♭5B1, B2F4, A4, D5—
7Intro 1Esus4E2, B2E4, A4, B4—
8Intro 1EE2, B2E4, G♯4, B4—