Triste by Antônio Carlos Jobim

Overview

Key: A major · Chords used: 21 · Sections: 3

Form: Intro → A Section → B 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

Intro

• C♯m7 – F♯7 – B7 – Bm7 – E7
  iii7 – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7

A Section

• Amaj7 – Fmaj7♯11 – Amaj7 – C♯m7 – F♯7♭9 – Bm7 – G♯m7♭5 – C♯7♭9 – F♯m7 – G♯7♯9 – C♯maj7 – D♯m7 – G♯7 – C♯maj7 – F♯7 – Bm7 – E7
  Imaj7 – bVImaj7#11 – Imaj7 – iii7 – VI7b9 – ii7 – viiø7 – III7b9 – vi7 – VII7#9 – IIImaj7 – #iv7 – VII7 – IIImaj7 – VI7 – ii7 – V7

B Section

• Amaj7 – Am7 – D7 – Amaj7 – Em7 – A7 – Dmaj7 – G7 – C♯m7 – F♯7 – B7 – Bm7 – E7
  Imaj7 – i7 – IV7 – Imaj7 – v7 – I7 – IVmaj7 – bVII7 – iii7 – VI7 – II7 – ii7 – V7
• Am7 – D7 (×4)
  i7 – IV7

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
C♯m7	iii7	In the key	Intro, A Section, B Section
F♯7	VI7	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section, B Section
B7	II7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, B Section
Bm7	ii7	In the key	Intro, A Section, B Section
E7	V7	In the key	Intro, A Section, B Section
Amaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, B Section
Fmaj7♯11	bVImaj7#11	Borrowed from A minor	A Section
F♯7♭9	VI7b9	Secondary dominant (V/ii)	A Section
G♯m7♭5	viiø7	In the key	A Section
C♯7♭9	III7b9	Secondary dominant (V/vi)	A Section
F♯m7	vi7	In the key	A Section
G♯7♯9	VII7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
C♯maj7	IIImaj7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
D♯m7	#iv7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
G♯7	VII7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Am7	i7	Borrowed from A minor	B Section
D7	IV7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Em7	v7	Borrowed from A minor	B Section
A7	I7	Secondary dominant (V/IV)	B Section
Dmaj7	IVmaj7	In the key	B Section
G7	bVII7	Borrowed from A minor	B Section

Harmonic highlights

• Fmaj7♯11 (bVImaj7#11) is borrowed from the parallel key, A minor.
• Am7 (i7) is borrowed from the parallel key, A minor.
• Em7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, A minor.
• G7 (bVII7) is borrowed from the parallel key, A minor.
• F♯7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Bm7.
• F♯7♭9 acts as V/ii: it resolves to Bm7.
• C♯7♭9 acts as V/vi: it resolves to F♯m7.
• A7 acts as V/IV: it resolves to Dmaj7.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Triste” (credited “Jobim Antonio-Carlos”, style Bossa Nova) 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 “Triste” (credited “Jobim Antonio-Carlos”, style Bossa Nova) 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 100%).
• 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.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.