I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise by George Gershwin
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 35 steps · 14 unique chords
C
No source cited for this step
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: C major · Chords used: 14 · Sections: 4
Form: A Section → B Section → A Section → B Section
Where these chords come from: a lead sheet of this public-domain song, contributed by a musician to the Wikifonia archive and preserved in the OpenEWLD lead-sheet collection (Simonetta et al., 2018). It describes the song as written, not any particular recording. This page shows that lead sheet 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
- C – G7 – C7 – G – C – C7 – F – C7 – F7 – C/E – E♭dim7 – Gmaj7(no3) – G7
I – V7 – I7 – V – I – I7 – IV – I7 – IV7 – I⁶ – biii°7 – Vmaj7(no3) – V7
B Section 1
- C – A♭7 – C – Gaug7 – C7 – C♯dim – D7 – Gmaj7(no3) – C – F♯dim7 – G7
I – bVI7 – I – V+7 – I7 – #i° – II7 – Vmaj7(no3) – I – #iv°7 – V7
A Section 2
Same chords as A Section 1.
B Section 2
- C – A♭7 – C – Gaug7 – C7 – C♯dim – D7 – Gmaj7(no3) – C – A♭7 – C
I – bVI7 – I – V+7 – I7 – #i° – II7 – Vmaj7(no3) – I – bVI7 – I
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | I | Home chord (tonic) | A Section, B Section |
| G7 | V7 | In the key | A Section, B Section |
| C7 | I7 | Secondary dominant (V/IV) | A Section, B Section |
| G | V | In the key | A Section |
| F | IV | In the key | A Section |
| F7 | IV7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | A Section |
| C/E | I⁶ | Home chord (tonic) | A Section |
| E♭dim7 | biii°7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | A Section |
| Gmaj7(no3) | Vmaj7(no3) | Outside the key (chromatic) | A Section, B Section |
| A♭7 | bVI7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| Gaug7 | V+7 | Borrowed from C minor | B Section |
| C♯dim | #i° | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| D7 | II7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
| F♯dim7 | #iv°7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | B Section |
Harmonic highlights
- Gaug7 (V+7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C minor.
- C7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to F.
Sources & accuracy
- Chords: the OpenEWLD lead-sheet collection (Simonetta et al., 2018). Community-contributed lead sheet (chord symbols over the melody) from the Wikifonia archive, MIT licence. Title and songwriter credit as written on the sheet.
- Section names: detected by code from repeated 8-, 12- and 16-bar phrases (letters such as A and B mark different phrases; a phrase that comes back keeps its letter). Lead sheets rarely print section names.
- Not verified: only one lead sheet of this song is available, so it hasn't been cross-checked.
- 2 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 public-domain lead sheet listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.
- the OpenEWLD lead-sheet collection (Simonetta et al., 2018)Community lead sheet
Chords as written in a lead sheet of a public-domain song, contributed by a musician to the Wikifonia archive; not checked against a recording.
Community-contributed lead sheet (chord symbols over the melody) from the Wikifonia archive, MIT licence. Title and songwriter credit as written on the sheet.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Section 1 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 2 | A Section 1 | G7 | G2, D3 | B3, D4, F4 | — |
| 3 | A Section 1 | C7 | C2, G2 | B♭3, E4, G4 | — |
| 4 | A Section 1 | G | G2, D3 | B3, D4, G4 | — |
| 5 | A Section 1 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 6 | A Section 1 | C7 | C2, G2 | B♭3, E4, G4 | — |
| 7 | A Section 1 | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 8 | A Section 1 | C7 | C2, G2 | B♭3, E4, G4 | — |
| 9 | A Section 1 | F7 | F2, C3 | C4, E♭4, A4 | — |
| 10 | A Section 1 | C/E | E2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 11 | A Section 1 | E♭dim7 | E♭2, E♭3 | D♭♭4, G♭4, B♭♭4 | — |
| 12 | A Section 1 | Gmaj7(no3) | G2, D3 | D4, F♯4, G4 | — |
| 13 | A Section 1 | G7 | G2, D3 | D4, F4, B4 | — |
| 14 | B Section 1 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 15 | B Section 1 | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, G♭4, C5 | — |
| 16 | B Section 1 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 17 | B Section 1 | Gaug7 | G2, G3 | D♯4, F4, B4 | — |
| 18 | B Section 1 | C7 | C2, G2 | E4, G4, B♭4 | — |
| 19 | B Section 1 | C♯dim | C♯2, C♯3 | E4, G4, C♯5 | — |
| 20 | B Section 1 | D7 | D2, A2 | F♯4, A4, C5 | — |
| 21 | B Section 1 | Gmaj7(no3) | G2, D3 | F♯4, G4, D5 | — |
| 22 | B Section 1 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 23 | B Section 1 | F♯dim7 | F♯2, F♯3 | E♭4, A4, C5 | — |
| 24 | B Section 1 | G7 | G2, D3 | D4, F4, B4 | — |
| 25 | B Section 2 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 26 | B Section 2 | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, G♭4, C5 | — |
| 27 | B Section 2 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 28 | B Section 2 | Gaug7 | G2, G3 | D♯4, F4, B4 | — |
| 29 | B Section 2 | C7 | C2, G2 | E4, G4, B♭4 | — |
| 30 | B Section 2 | C♯dim | C♯2, C♯3 | E4, G4, C♯5 | — |
| 31 | B Section 2 | D7 | D2, A2 | F♯4, A4, C5 | — |
| 32 | B Section 2 | Gmaj7(no3) | G2, D3 | F♯4, G4, D5 | — |
| 33 | B Section 2 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |
| 34 | B Section 2 | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, G♭4, C5 | — |
| 35 | B Section 2 | C | C2, G2 | E4, G4, C5 | — |