Pensativa by Clare Fischer

Overview

Key: G♭ major · Chords used: 25 · Sections: 5

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

• G♭maj7 – G7♯11 (×2)
  Imaj7 – #I7#11
• G♭maj7 – E♭7♯9 – Dmaj7 – A♭7 – Gmaj7♯11 – F♯m7 – B7 – Em7 – A7 – Dmaj7 – A♭m7 – G7 – G♭maj7 – F7
  Imaj7 – VI7#9 – #Vmaj7 – II7 – #Imaj7#11 – #vii7 – #III7 – #vi7 – #II7 – #Vmaj7 – ii7 – #I7 – Imaj7 – VII7

A Section 2

• G♭maj7 – G7♯11 (×2)
  Imaj7 – #I7#11
• G♭maj7 – E♭7♯9 – Dmaj7 – A♭7 – Gmaj7♯11 – F♯m7 – B7 – Em7 – A7 – Dmaj7 – A♭m7 – G7 – G♭maj7 – D♭m7 – G♭7
  Imaj7 – VI7#9 – #Vmaj7 – II7 – #Imaj7#11 – #vii7 – #III7 – #vi7 – #II7 – #Vmaj7 – ii7 – #I7 – Imaj7 – v7 – I7

B Section 1

• Cmaj7 – Am7 – Fmaj7 – E7♯9 – Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 – Bm7 – B♭7 – Amaj7 – Amaj7/G♯ – F♯m7 – Bm7 – E7♭9 – Amaj7 – Dm7
  #IVmaj7 – #ii7 – VIImaj7 – #VI7#9 – #v7 – #I7 – #IVmaj7 – #iii7 – III7 – #IImaj7 – #IImaj⁴₂ – #vii7 – #iii7 – #VI7b9 – #IImaj7 – #v7

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 2.

B Section 2

• Cmaj7 – Am7 – Fmaj7 – E7♯9 – Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 – Bm7 – B♭7 – Amaj7 – Amaj7/G♯ – F♯m7 – Bm7 – E7♭9 – Amaj7 – Dm7 – G7
  #IVmaj7 – #ii7 – VIImaj7 – #VI7#9 – #v7 – #I7 – #IVmaj7 – #iii7 – III7 – #IImaj7 – #IImaj⁴₂ – #vii7 – #iii7 – #VI7b9 – #IImaj7 – #v7 – #I7

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
G♭maj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
G7♯11	#I7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
E♭7♯9	VI7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Dmaj7	#Vmaj7	Borrowed from G♭ minor	A Section
A♭7	II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Gmaj7♯11	#Imaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
F♯m7	#vii7	Borrowed from G♭ minor	A Section, B Section
B7	#III7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Em7	#vi7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A7	#II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A♭m7	ii7	In the key	A Section
G7	#I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section, B Section
F7	VII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D♭m7	v7	Borrowed from G♭ minor	A Section
G♭7	I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Cmaj7	#IVmaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Am7	#ii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Fmaj7	VIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
E7♯9	#VI7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Dm7	#v7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Bm7	#iii7	Borrowed from G♭ minor	B Section
B♭7	III7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Amaj7	#IImaj7	Borrowed from G♭ minor	B Section
Amaj7/G♯	#IImaj⁴₂	Borrowed from G♭ minor	B Section
E7♭9	#VI7b9	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section

Harmonic highlights

• Dmaj7 (#Vmaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♭ minor.
• F♯m7 (#vii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♭ minor.
• D♭m7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♭ minor.
• Bm7 (#iii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♭ minor.
• Amaj7 (#IImaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♭ minor.
• Amaj7/G♯ (#IImaj⁴₂) is borrowed from the parallel key, G♭ minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Pensativa” (credited “Fischer Clare”, style Bossa Nova) 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 “Pensativa” (credited “Fischer Clare”, style Bossa Nova) 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 94%).
• 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.
• The chart's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
• 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.