Little Sister by Elvis Presley

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 4 · Sections: 8

Form: Intro → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Outro

Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). This page shows that transcription 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

• E
  I

Chorus 1

• E – A – E – B – C – B – E
  I – IV – I – V – bVI – V – I

Verse 1

• E
  I

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Verse 3

• E – A – E – B – C – B – E
  I – IV – I – V – bVI – V – I

Outro

• B – C – B – E (×2)
  V – bVI – V – I

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• C (bVI) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0159, CC0), via ChoCo.
• Not verified: only one expert transcription of this song is available so far.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.