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People Are Strange by The Doors

Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 31 steps · 12 unique chords

Community chart. These chords come from a chart a musician wrote and shared on the iReal Pro forums, not from a transcription checked against the recording. Charts are sometimes written in a different key or simplified, and no second chart of this song agreed closely enough to mark this page verified. Trust your ears.
A Section, part 1 (×2)Step 1 of 31

Em

LeftE2, B2RightB3, E4, G4
C4E2B2B3E4G4
Left hand Right hand Middle C (C4)

No source cited for this step

Harmonic Analysis & Structure

Overview

Key: E minor · Chords used: 12 · Sections: 2

Form: 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

  • Em – Am (×2)
    i – iv
  • Em – Am6 – B7
    i – iv6 – V7
  • Em – Am (×2)
    i – iv
  • Em – B7 – B
    i – V7 – V
  • G – Am7 – B7 (×2)
    bIII – iv7 – V7

B Section

  • Em – Am (×2)
    i – iv
  • Em – Am6
    i – iv6
  • B7 – Em (×3)
    V7 – i
  • Am – B♭dim – B – Em – Fdim – B – Em – Em7 – D♭dim – C – B7 – Em
    iv – bv° – V – i – bii° – V – i – i7 – vi° – bVI – V7 – i

Chord vocabulary

ChordRoman numeralRoleHeard in
EmiHome chord (tonic)A Section, B Section
AmivIn the keyA Section, B Section
Am6iv6In the keyA Section, B Section
B7V7In the keyA Section, B Section
BVIn the keyA Section, B Section
GbIIIIn the keyA Section
Am7iv7In the keyA Section
B♭dimbv°Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
Fdimbii°Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
Em7i7Home chord (tonic)B Section
D♭dimvi°Outside the key (chromatic)B Section
CbVIIn the keyB Section

Sources & accuracy

  • Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “People Are Strange” (credited “Jim Morrison-Robby Krieger (Doors)”, style Psychedelic Rock) 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).
  • 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.
  • Not verified: only one chart of this song is available, so it hasn't been cross-checked.
  • Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.

Sources & Accuracy

Every chord on this page comes from the community chart listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.

  • Chords from a chart a musician wrote and shared on the iReal Pro forums (archived in the ChoCo research dataset); may be in a different key from the recording, and not checked against it.

    Community chord chart “People Are Strange” (credited “Jim Morrison-Robby Krieger (Doors)”, style Psychedelic Rock) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.

All Piano Voicings

#SectionChordLeft handRight handSources
1A Section, part 1 (×2)EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
2A Section, part 1 (×2)AmA2, E3C4, E4, A4—
3A Section, part 2EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
4A Section, part 2Am6A2, E3C4, E4, F♯4—
5A Section, part 2B7B1, F♯2A3, D♯4, F♯4—
6A Section, part 3 (×2)EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
7A Section, part 3 (×2)AmA2, E3C4, E4, A4—
8A Section, part 4EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
9A Section, part 4B7B1, F♯2A3, D♯4, F♯4—
10A Section, part 4BB1, F♯2B3, D♯4, F♯4—
11A Section, part 5 (×2)GG2, D3B3, D4, G4—
12A Section, part 5 (×2)Am7A2, E3C4, E4, G4—
13A Section, part 5 (×2)B7B1, F♯2A3, D♯4, F♯4—
14B Section, part 1 (×2)EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
15B Section, part 1 (×2)AmA2, E3C4, E4, A4—
16B Section, part 2EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
17B Section, part 2Am6A2, E3C4, E4, F♯4—
18B Section, part 3 (×3)B7B1, F♯2A3, D♯4, F♯4—
19B Section, part 3 (×3)EmE2, B2B3, E4, G4—
20B Section, part 4AmA2, E3C4, E4, A4—
21B Section, part 4B♭dimB♭2, B♭3D♭4, F♭4, B♭4—
22B Section, part 4BB1, F♯2D♯4, F♯4, B4—
23B Section, part 4EmE2, B2E4, G4, B4—
24B Section, part 4FdimF2, F3F4, A♭4, C♭5—
25B Section, part 4BB1, F♯2D♯4, F♯4, B4—
26B Section, part 4EmE2, B2E4, G4, B4—
27B Section, part 4Em7E2, B2D4, G4, B4—
28B Section, part 4D♭dimD♭2, D♭3F♭4, A♭♭4, D♭5—
29B Section, part 4CC2, G2E4, G4, C5—
30B Section, part 4B7B1, F♯2D♯4, F♯4, A4—
31B Section, part 4EmE2, B2E4, G4, B4—