Bruno Mars - Talking To The Moon - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords B, A, C#m, E, F#m, G#7, F# Easy key G

Add to Repertoire

No ratings yet

or your user informations

Capo 0

E
 I know you're somewhere out there
G#7
Somewhere far away
  C#m          B
I want you back
  A
I want you back
 
E
 My neighbors think I'm crazy
    G#7
But they don't understand
       C#m      B
You're all I had
       A
You're all I had
 
F#m                  B
 At night when the stars
              F#m
light up my room
            B
I sit by myself

               A  B  C#m
Talking to the mooooooon
              A  B  C#m
Tryna get to yoooouuuu
   A                    B         E       B     C#m
In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too
   B      A              B
Or am I a fool who sits alone
                C#m B
Talking to the moon
  F#
Ohhhh
 
E
 I'm feelin' like I'm famous
    G#7
The talk of the town
         C#m          B
They say I've gone mad
      A
Yeah, I've gone mad
 
E
 But they don't know what I know
      G#7
Cause when the sun goes down
          C#m         B
Someone's talkin' back
              A
Yeah, they're talkin' back, ohhh

F#m                 B
 At night when the stars
              F#m
light up my room
            B
I sit by myself

               A  B  C#m
Talking to the mooooooon
              A  B  C#m
Tryna get to yoooouuuu
   A                    B         E       B     C#m
In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too
   B      A              B
Or am I a fool who sits alone
                C#m B
Talking to the moon
  F#
Ohhhh
 
F#m  E    F#m
 Ahh, ahh, ahh
B
Do you ever hear me calling?
F#m  E    F#m
 Ahh, ahh, ahh

      B                              A  B  C#m
Cause every night I'm talking to the moooooon
                       A  B  C#m
Still tryna to get to yoooouuuu
   A                    B         E       B     C#m
In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too
   B      A              B
Or am I a fool who sits alone
  F#
Ohhhh
 
E
 I know you're somewhere out there
  G#7
Somewhere far away

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - Talking To The Moon Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – Talking To The Moon: key and chord analysis

The song opens on E and ends on G#7. Its chords belong to both E major and C#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

E major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = A (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = B (natural-minor colour)
#7 = B# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C# minor side because it opens on E, C#m is heard 15 times against 10 for E and the major V chord points straight at C#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from E major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to E or to C#m; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	10×
ii	F#m	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	F# · A · C#	8×
V/V	F#	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bsecondary dominant	F# · A# · C#	3×
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
V7/vi	G#7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to C#msecondary dominant	G# · B# · D# · F#	5×
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	16×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	30×
vi	C#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	C# · E · G#	15×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	C#m	Tonic — home	C# · E · G#	15×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	10×
iv	F#m	Subdominant — moves away from home	F# · A · C#	8×
IV	F#	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	F# · A# · C#	3×
v	G#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	G# · B · D#	—
V7	G#7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G# · B# · D# · F#	5×
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	16×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	30×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 7 different chords appear 87 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of C#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from E, the same G#7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for C#m. F# acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

A B EIV → VIV → V C#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×12
B C#m EV → videceptive cadence C#mVII → iAeolian arrival ×11
F#m B Eii → Vii → V C#miv → VII ×6
G#7 C#m EV7/vi → visecondary resolution C#mV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×4
B E EV → Iauthentic cadence C#mVII → III ×3
A E EIV → Iplagal cadence C#mVI → III ×2

The move to watch is A → B, heard 12 times. From the C#m side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic); from the E side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

E major pentatonic and C# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (E – F# – G# – B – C#): start from E for a brighter phrase, from C# for a bluesier one.
Over B, land on B, D#, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C#m, land on C#, E, G# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When G#7 comes, swap the scale's B for B#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With E major shapes

No capo — open E shapes
Capo 2 + D shapes
Capo 4 + C shapes

With C# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

3 semitones up
4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening E lays a solid floor for everything that follows. B, A, C#m, E carry the song: V–IV–vi–I relative to E, VII–VI–i–III relative to C#m. G#7 is the interesting twist: in E it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in C#m it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on A → B (IV → V in E, VI → VII in C#m): VI → VII — the rising step that heads for the tonic. The final chord is G#7; the ear comes to rest in E.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.