Tutti Frutti by Little Richard
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 10 steps · 3 unique chords · 1950s
F
Whole song transcribed by
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: F major · Chords used: 3 · Sections: 10
Form: Intro → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus ×3 → Verse → Chorus
Where these chords come from: an expert transcription of the original recording made for the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. 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
- F
I
Chorus 1
- F – B♭ – F – C – B♭ – F
I – IV – I – V – IV – I
Verse 1
- F – B♭ – F
I – IV – I
Chorus 2
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Verse 2
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 3
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Chorus 4
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Chorus 5
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Verse 3
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 6
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | I | Home chord (tonic) | Intro, Chorus, Verse |
| B♭ | IV | In the key | Chorus, Verse |
| C | V | In the key | Chorus |
Sources & accuracy
- Chords and sections: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de Clercq. Expert by-ear harmonic analysis of the original recording, shown on this page.
- Cross-check: the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by David Temperley. Independent by-ear analysis of the same recording. The two analysts agree on the chord (root and major/minor) for 100% of the song.
- Verified: two independent expert transcriptions agree on this song's harmony.
- 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 Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by Trevor de ClercqExpert transcription
Annotated from the original recording by trained musicians for a published research dataset.
Expert by-ear harmonic analysis of the original recording, shown on this page.
- the Rock Corpus RS 200 (de Clercq & Temperley, 2011), analysis by David TemperleyExpert transcription
Annotated from the original recording by trained musicians for a published research dataset.
Independent by-ear analysis of the same recording. The two analysts agree on the chord (root and major/minor) for 100% of the song.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 2 | Chorus 1 | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 3 | Chorus 1 | B♭ | B♭2, F3 | D4, F4, B♭4 | — |
| 4 | Chorus 1 | F | F2, C3 | C4, F4, A4 | — |
| 5 | Chorus 1 | C | C2, G2 | C4, E4, G4 | — |
| 6 | Chorus 1 | B♭ | B♭2, F3 | B♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 7 | Chorus 1 | F | F2, C3 | A3, C4, F4 | — |
| 8 | Verse 1 | F | F2, C3 | A3, C4, F4 | — |
| 9 | Verse 1 | B♭ | B♭2, F3 | B♭3, D4, F4 | — |
| 10 | Verse 1 | F | F2, C3 | A3, C4, F4 | — |