Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter

Overview

Key: C minor · Chords used: 15 · Sections: 4

Form: A Section → A Section → Bridge → 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

• Cm7 – D♭maj7 (×4)
  i7 – bIImaj7
• E♭m7 – Em7 – Cm7 – Dm7
  biii7 – iii7 – i7 – ii7
• B♭m7 – A7♯9 (×2)
  bvii7 – VI7#9
• B♭m7
  bvii7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

Bridge

• Am7♭5 – A♭7 – Gm7 – G♭7♯11 – Fm7 – B♭7♯11 – D/E♭ – D♭maj7♯11
  viø7 – bVI7 – v7 – bV7#11 – iv7 – bVII7#11 – II (bass E♭) – bIImaj7#11

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Cm7	i7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
D♭maj7	bIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
E♭m7	biii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Em7	iii7	Borrowed from C major	A Section
Dm7	ii7	Borrowed from C major	A Section
B♭m7	bvii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
A7♯9	VI7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Am7♭5	viø7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
A♭7	bVI7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Gm7	v7	In the key	Bridge
G♭7♯11	bV7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
Fm7	iv7	In the key	Bridge
B♭7♯11	bVII7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
D/E♭	II (bass E♭)	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge
D♭maj7♯11	bIImaj7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	Bridge

Harmonic highlights

• Em7 (iii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C major.
• Dm7 (ii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Speak No Evil” (credited “Shorter Wayne”, style Medium 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 “Speak No Evil” (credited “Shorter Wayne”, style Medium 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 82%).
• 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.
• 4 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.