Standing in the Shadows of Love by Four Tops

Overview

Key: B♭ minor · Chords used: 12 · Sections: 9

Form: Chorus → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Verse → Pre-Chorus → Chorus

Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). This page shows that transcription 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

Chorus 1

• B♭m – B♭7sus4/A♭ – G♭maj7 – F7sus4 – F7 (×2)
  i – I7sus4 (bass A♭) – bVImaj7 – V7sus4 – V7

Verse 1

• G♭ – A♭m7 – D♭ (×4)
  bVI – bvii7 – bIII

Pre-Chorus 1

• E♭7sus4 – E♭m – B♭ – Bdim
  IV7sus4 – iv – I – #i°

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 2

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Pre-Chorus 3

Same chords as Pre-Chorus 1.

Chorus 3

• B♭m – B♭7sus4/A♭ – G♭maj7 – F7sus4 – F7 (×3)
  i – I7sus4 (bass A♭) – bVImaj7 – V7sus4 – V7

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• B♭ (I) is borrowed from the parallel key, B♭ major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 1192, CC0), via ChoCo.
• Not verified: only one expert transcription of this song is available so far.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.