Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' by Michael Jackson

Overview

Key: D major · Chords used: 2 · Sections: 12

Form: Intro → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Interlude → Verse → Chorus → Interlude → 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

Intro

• D – E/D (×4)
  I – II (bass D)

Chorus 1

• D – E/D (×4)
  I – II (bass D)

Verse 1

• D – E/D (×2)
  I – II (bass D)

Chorus 2

Same chords as Chorus 1.

Verse 2

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 3

• D – E/D (×8)
  I – II (bass D)

Interlude 1

• D – E/D (×2)
  I – II (bass D)

Verse 3

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 4

Same chords as Chorus 3.

Interlude 2

Same chords as Interlude 1.

Verse 4

Same chords as Verse 1.

Chorus 5

• D – E/D (×20)
  I – II (bass D)

Chord vocabulary

Sources & accuracy

• Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0223, 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.