Manhattan Serenade by Louis Alter

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 28 · Sections: 3

Form: A Section → B Section → A 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

• Fmaj7 – B♭7 – Am7 – A♭dim – Gm7 – C7 (×2)
  Imaj7 – IV7 – iii7 – biii° – ii7 – V7

B Section

• Fmaj7 – Cm7 – F7 – B♭maj7 – B♭6 – B♭m7 – E♭7 – Am7 – Em7♭5 – A7 – Dm7 – Dm7/C♯ – F7/C – Bm7♭5 – E7 – Amaj7 – Gm7 – C7
  Imaj7 – v7 – I7 – IVmaj7 – IV6 – iv7 – bVII7 – iii7 – viiø7 – III7 – vi7 – vi7 (bass C♯) – I⁴₃ – #ivø7 – VII7 – IIImaj7 – ii7 – V7

A Section 2

• Fmaj7 – B♭7 – Am7 – A♭dim – Gm7 – C7 (×2)
  Imaj7 – IV7 – iii7 – biii° – ii7 – V7
• Fmaj7 – Fmaj7/E – Dm7 – Dm7/C – Bm7♭5 – B♭m7 – E♭7 – Fmaj7/A – Dm7 – Dm7/C – Bm7♭5 – B♭m7 – E♭7 – Am7 – D7 – Gm7 – C7 – Fmaj7 – A♭7 – Gm7 – G♭7♯11 – Bm7♭5 – B♭m6 – Am7 – A♭7 – Gm7 – G♭7 – Fmaj7
  Imaj7 – Imaj⁴₂ – vi7 – vi⁴₂ – #ivø7 – iv7 – bVII7 – Imaj⁶₅ – vi7 – vi⁴₂ – #ivø7 – iv7 – bVII7 – iii7 – VI7 – ii7 – V7 – Imaj7 – bIII7 – ii7 – bII7#11 – #ivø7 – iv6 – iii7 – bIII7 – ii7 – bII7 – Imaj7

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Fmaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, B Section
B♭7	IV7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Am7	iii7	In the key	A Section, B Section
A♭dim	biii°	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Gm7	ii7	In the key	A Section, B Section
C7	V7	In the key	A Section, B Section
Cm7	v7	Borrowed from F minor	B Section
F7	I7	Secondary dominant (V/IV)	B Section
B♭maj7	IVmaj7	In the key	B Section
B♭6	IV6	In the key	B Section
B♭m7	iv7	Borrowed from F minor	B Section, A Section
E♭7	bVII7	Borrowed from F minor	B Section, A Section
Em7♭5	viiø7	In the key	B Section
A7	III7	Secondary dominant (V/vi)	B Section
Dm7	vi7	In the key	B Section, A Section
Dm7/C♯	vi7 (bass C♯)	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
F7/C	I⁴₃	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Bm7♭5	#ivø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section, A Section
E7	VII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Amaj7	IIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Fmaj7/E	Imaj⁴₂	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Dm7/C	vi⁴₂	In the key	A Section
Fmaj7/A	Imaj⁶₅	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
D7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section
A♭7	bIII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G♭7♯11	bII7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B♭m6	iv6	Borrowed from F minor	A Section
G♭7	bII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section

Harmonic highlights

• Cm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭m7 (iv7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• B♭m6 (iv6) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• F7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to B♭maj7.
• A7 acts as V/vi: it resolves to Dm7.
• D7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Gm7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Manhattan Serenade-Rev JE” (credited “Alter Louis”, style Slow 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 “Manhattan Serenade-Rev JE” (credited “Alter Louis”, style Slow 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 75%).
• 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.
• 1 chord was 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.