Think by James Brown
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 15 steps · 5 unique chords · 1970s
E♭7♯9
Whole song transcribed by
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: E♭ major · Chords used: 5 · Sections: 7
Form: Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Solo → Chorus → Verse → 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
- E♭7♯9 – B♭7 – A♭7 – E♭7 – B♭7/F
I7#9 – V7 – IV7 – I7 – V⁴₃
Verse 1
- E♭7 – B♭7
I7 – V7
Chorus 2
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Solo
- E♭7 – B♭7
I7 – V7
Chorus 3
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Verse 2
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 4
- E♭7♯9
I7#9 - B♭7 – A♭7 – E♭7 – B♭7/F (×3)
V7 – IV7 – I7 – V⁴₃ - E♭7
I7
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| E♭7♯9 | I7#9 | Outside the key (chromatic) | Chorus |
| B♭7 | V7 | In the key | Chorus, Verse, Solo |
| A♭7 | IV7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | Chorus |
| E♭7 | I7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | Chorus, Verse, Solo |
| B♭7/F | V⁴₃ | In the key | Chorus |
Sources & accuracy
- Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0640, 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.
Sources & Accuracy
Every chord on this page comes from the expert transcription listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.
- the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011)Expert transcription
Annotated from the original recording by trained musicians for a published research dataset.
Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0640, CC0), via ChoCo.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chorus 1 | E♭7♯9 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, F♯4, G4 | — |
| 2 | Chorus 1 | B♭7 | B♭2, F3 | D4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 3 | Chorus 1 | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | C4, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 4 | Chorus 1 | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, G4 | — |
| 5 | Chorus 1 | B♭7/F | F2 | B♭3, D4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 6 | Verse 1 | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, G4 | — |
| 7 | Verse 1 | B♭7 | B♭2, F3 | A♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 8 | Solo | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, G4 | — |
| 9 | Solo | B♭7 | B♭2, F3 | A♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 10 | Chorus 4, part 1 | E♭7♯9 | E♭2, B♭2 | G3, B♭3, D♭4, F♯4 | — |
| 11 | Chorus 4, part 2 (×3) | B♭7 | B♭2, F3 | A♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 12 | Chorus 4, part 2 (×3) | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | C4, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 13 | Chorus 4, part 2 (×3) | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, G4 | — |
| 14 | Chorus 4, part 2 (×3) | B♭7/F | F2 | B♭3, D4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 15 | Chorus 4, part 3 | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, D♭4, G4 | — |