You Are Reading the First 6 FREE Chapters (470 pages)

"The Girl From Ipanema" Chords: How the Chord Progression Works

The chords to "The Girl From Ipanema" change sequentially with the melodic line. (The chord map below shows the Frank Sinatra key, F major. Astrud Gilberto's version is in the key of C♯ major.)

Here is the sequence of key transitions (it’s actually pretty logical):

F major (original)
F♯ major
F♯ minor
G minor
F major

The chord map below uses five circular harmonic scale diagrams to map everything out.

Chord progression Chase chart for the 1963 hit song The Girl from Ipanema, recorded by Astrud Gilberto and written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius De Moreas, and Norman Gimbel.

FIGURE 116: Chord Map of “The Girl From Ipanema” (Portuguese Words by Vinicius De Moreas, English Words by Norman Gimbel, Music by Antonio Carlos Jobim, 1963)

Not counting the chords used in the transient modulation sequences, the song only uses one chromatic chord, G♭7, and only for one bar per verse.

< Previous Next >