In Your Own Sweet Way by Dave Brubeck

Overview

Key: E♭ major · Chords used: 26 · Sections: 5

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

A Section 1

• Am7♭5 – D7♭9 – Gm7 – C7 – Cm7 – F7 – B♭6 – E♭maj7 – A♭m7 – D♭7 – G♭maj7 – Bmaj7 – Cm7♭5 – F7♭9 – B♭maj7♯11
  #ivø7 – VII7b9 – iii7 – VI7 – vi7 – II7 – V6 – Imaj7 – iv7 – bVII7 – bIIImaj7 – #Vmaj7 – viø7 – II7b9 – Vmaj7#11

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section

• Em7♭5 – A7♭9 – Dmaj7 – Em7 – A7 – Dmaj7 – Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 – E♭m7 – A♭7 – G7
  #iø7 – #IV7b9 – VIImaj7 – #i7 – #IV7 – VIImaj7 – vii7 – III7 – VImaj7 – i7 – IV7 – III7

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

C Section

• A♭7sus4
  IV7sus4

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Am7♭5	#ivø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D7♭9	VII7b9	Secondary dominant (V/iii)	A Section
Gm7	iii7	In the key	A Section
C7	VI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Cm7	vi7	In the key	A Section
F7	II7	Secondary dominant (V/V)	A Section
B♭6	V6	In the key	A Section
E♭maj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
A♭m7	iv7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
D♭7	bVII7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
G♭maj7	bIIImaj7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
Bmaj7	#Vmaj7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	A Section
Cm7♭5	viø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
F7♭9	II7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭maj7♯11	Vmaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Em7♭5	#iø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
A7♭9	#IV7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Dmaj7	VIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Em7	#i7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
A7	#IV7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Dm7	vii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
G7	III7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Cmaj7	VImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
E♭m7	i7	Borrowed from E♭ minor	B Section
A♭7	IV7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
A♭7sus4	IV7sus4	Borrowed from E♭ minor	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• A♭m7 (iv7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• D♭7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• G♭maj7 (bIIImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• Bmaj7 (#Vmaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• E♭m7 (i7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• A♭7sus4 (IV7sus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, E♭ minor.
• D7♭9 acts as V/iii: it resolves to Gm7.
• F7 acts as V/V: it resolves to B♭6.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “In Your Own Sweet Way” (credited “Brubeck Dave”, style Medium Swing) 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).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “In Your Own Sweet Way 1” (credited “Brubeck Dave”, style Medium Swing) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 90%).
• 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.