War by Edwin Starr
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 3 steps · 2 unique chords · 1970s
E♭m
Whole song transcribed by
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: E♭ minor · Chords used: 2 · Sections: 9
Form: Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Verse → 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♭m – G♭ (×6)
i – bIII
Verse 1
- E♭m
i
Chorus 2
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Verse 2
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 3
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Verse 3
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 4
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Verse 4
Same chords as Verse 1.
Chorus 5
Same chords as Chorus 1.
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| E♭m | i | Home chord (tonic) | Chorus, Verse |
| G♭ | bIII | In the key | Chorus |
Sources & accuracy
- Chords and sections: the McGill Billboard Project (Burgoyne, Wild & Fujinaga, 2011). Expert transcription by trained musicians (song 0893, 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 0893, CC0), via ChoCo.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chorus 1 (×6) | E♭m | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, E♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 2 | Chorus 1 (×6) | G♭ | G♭2, D♭3 | B♭3, D♭4, G♭4 | — |
| 3 | Verse 1 | E♭m | E♭2, B♭2 | B♭3, E♭4, G♭4 | — |