Sister Moon by Sting

Overview

Key: F♯ minor · Chords used: 22 · Sections: 10

Form: Intro → A Section → B Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → Interlude → Vamp → Vamp → Vamp

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

Intro

• F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×4)
  imaj7 – IV7

A Section 1

• F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×8)
  imaj7 – IV7
• B7/C
  IV7 (bass C)

B Section 1

• C♯7 – D7 – D♯m7♭5 – Aadd9/E – F7♯11
  V7 – bVI7 – viø7 – bIIIadd9 (bass E) – bI7#11
• D♯m7♭5 – Eadd9/G♯ – F♯m/C♯ – F♯sus4/C♯ – F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×2)
  viø7 – bVIIadd9 (bass G♯) – i⁶₄ – Isus4 (bass C♯) – imaj7 – IV7
• F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×2)
  imaj7 – IV7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 2

• C♯7 – D7 – D♯m7♭5 – Aadd9/E – F7♯11
  V7 – bVI7 – viø7 – bIIIadd9 (bass E) – bI7#11
• D♯m7♭5 – Eadd9/G♯ – F♯m/C♯ – F♯sus4/C♯ – F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×2)
  viø7 – bVIIadd9 (bass G♯) – i⁶₄ – Isus4 (bass C♯) – imaj7 – IV7
• F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×3)
  imaj7 – IV7

C Section

• B♭madd9 – Faug7 – B♭m9 – B♭m6/F – B♭m – Faug7 – B♭m9 – B♭m6/F – E♭m7 – Fm7 – G♭maj7 – B – Dmaj7 – Eadd9/G♯ – F♯m/C♯ – F♯sus4/C♯ – D♯m7♭5 – G♯7
  bivadd9 – bI+7 – biv9 – biv6 (bass F) – biv – bI+7 – biv9 – biv6 (bass F) – vi7 – bi7 – Imaj7 – IV – bVImaj7 – bVIIadd9 (bass G♯) – i⁶₄ – Isus4 (bass C♯) – viø7 – II7

Interlude

• Dmaj7 – Eadd9/G♯ – F♯m/C♯ – F♯sus4/C♯
  bVImaj7 – bVIIadd9 (bass G♯) – i⁶₄ – Isus4 (bass C♯)
• F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×2)
  imaj7 – IV7

Vamp 1

• F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×4)
  imaj7 – IV7

Vamp 2

Same chords as Vamp 1.

Vamp 3

• F♯mmaj7 – B7 (×2)
  imaj7 – IV7

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
F♯mmaj7	imaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section, B Section, Interlude, Vamp
B7	IV7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section, B Section, Interlude, Vamp
B7/C	IV7 (bass C)	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
C♯7	V7	In the key	B Section
D7	bVI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
D♯m7♭5	viø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section, C Section
Aadd9/E	bIIIadd9 (bass E)	In the key	B Section
F7♯11	bI7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Eadd9/G♯	bVIIadd9 (bass G♯)	In the key	B Section, C Section, Interlude
F♯m/C♯	i⁶₄	Home chord (tonic)	B Section, C Section, Interlude
F♯sus4/C♯	Isus4 (bass C♯)	In the key	B Section, C Section, Interlude
B♭madd9	bivadd9	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
Faug7	bI+7	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
B♭m9	biv9	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
B♭m6/F	biv6 (bass F)	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
B♭m	biv	Borrowed from F♯ major	C Section
E♭m7	vi7	Borrowed from F♯ major	C Section
Fm7	bi7	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
G♭maj7	Imaj7	Borrowed from F♯ major	C Section
B	IV	Borrowed from F♯ major	C Section
Dmaj7	bVImaj7	In the key	C Section, Interlude
G♯7	II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• B♭m (biv) is borrowed from the parallel key, F♯ major.
• E♭m7 (vi7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F♯ major.
• G♭maj7 (Imaj7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F♯ major.
• B (IV) is borrowed from the parallel key, F♯ major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Sister Moon” (credited “Sting”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart.
• 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 “Sister Moon” (credited “Sting (Gordon Sumner)”, style Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 66%).
• 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.
• 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.
• 7 chords were 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.