Super Freak Part One by Rick James

Overview

Key: A minor · Chords used: 8 · Sections: 11

Form: Intro → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → Interlude → Verse → Chorus → Bridge → Interlude → Verse → Solo

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

• Am/D – Am – G – Am (×4)
  i (bass D) – i – bVII – i

Verse 1

• Am/D – Am – G – Am (×8)
  i (bass D) – i – bVII – i

Chorus 1

• Am/D – Am – G/F – Am (×4)
  i (bass D) – i – bVII (bass F) – i

Bridge 1

• F – G – Am7 (×3)
  bVI – bVII – i7
• Am – Am/F – A/E
  i – i (bass F) – I⁶₄

Interlude 1

• Am/D – Am – G – Am (×4)
  i (bass D) – i – bVII – i

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Bridge 2

Same chords as Bridge 1.

Interlude 2

• Am/D – Am – G – Am (×6)
  i (bass D) – i – bVII – i

Verse 3

• Am/D – Am – G – Am (×4)
  i (bass D) – i – bVII – i

Solo

• Am/D – Am – G/F – Am (×6)
  i (bass D) – i – bVII (bass F) – i

Chord vocabulary

Harmonic highlights

• A/E (I⁶₄) is borrowed from the parallel key, A major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0812, 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.