Stop This Game by Cheap Trick

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 10 · Sections: 13

Form: Intro → Transition → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → Transition → Chorus ×4 → 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

Intro

• E
  I

Transition 1

• Em – G – Em – C
  i – bIII – i – bVI

Verse 1

• E – C (×2)
  I – bVI
• Am – B
  iv – V

Chorus 1

• E – E7/D – E6/C♯ – C (×2)
  I – I⁴₂ – I6 (bass C♯) – bVI

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge

• A – D (×2)
  IV – bVII
• B – D – B
  V – bVII – V

Transition 2

Same chords as Transition 1.

Chorus 3

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 5

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 6

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Chorus 7

• E – E7/D – E6/C♯ – C (×2)
  I – I⁴₂ – I6 (bass C♯) – bVI
• E
  I

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• Em (i) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• G (bIII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• C (bVI) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Am (iv) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0539, 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.