Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal - Chord

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to C or to Am; 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.

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 6 different chords appear 58 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Am brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from C, the same E7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am.

Chord movement

1. F → G CIV → VIV → V AmVI → VIIVI → VII ×10
2. F → Am CIV → vi AmVI → iVI → i ×2

The move to watch is F → G, heard 10 times. From the C side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home); from the Am side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Capo and easier keys

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Am; the ear learns where home is within a second. The backbone is C/B, F, G, Am — I–IV–V–vi from the C side, III–VI–VII–i from the Am side. E7 is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on F → G (IV → V in C, VI → VII in Am): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. The final chord is C/B; the ear comes to rest in C.

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.