Madonna - Material Girl - Chord

Key C major – A minor Chords Am, C, G, F, Bb, Dm, Bb/C Easy key G (capo 5)

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Capo 0

Bb/C  C

C                    Bb                              Am
Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me, I think they're o.k

     C                    Dm    G        C
If they don't give me proper credit, I just walk away
                      Bb
They can beg and they can plead, but they can't see the
 Am
 Light
  C                        Dm      G
'Cause the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mister
  C
 Right

'Cause we are

 F G          Am           F      G    Am
Living in a material world, and I am a material girl
  Am            F G             Am
You know that we are living in a material world
  F      G    C        Bb  C     Bb            C
And I am a material girl

 C                     Bb
Some boys romance, some boys slow dance, that's all
       Am
Right with me
    C                        Bb    F
If they can't raise my interest, then I have to let
  C
Them be
 C                   Bb
Some boys try and some boys lie, but I don't let them
  Am
Play
 C                     Bb   F       C
Only boys that save their pennies, make my rainy day

'Cause they are

F G          Am           F      G    Am
Living in a material world, and I am a material girl
  Am            F G             Am
You know that we are living in a material world
  F      G    Bb/C
And I am a material girl
F G          Am           F      G    Am
Living in a material world, and I am a material girl
  Am            F G             Am
You know that we are living in a material world
  F      G    Bb/C   C     | Bb/C          C
And I am a material girl

C
Living in a material world
Bb          Am
Living in a material world
C
Living in a material world
Dm          C
Living in a material world

  C                   Bb
Boys may come and boys may go, and that's all right
       Am
You see
   C                Dm    G       C
Experience has made me rich, and now they're after me

'Cause everybody's

F G          Am           F      G    Am
Living in a material world, and I am a material girl
  Am            F G             Am
You know that we are living in a material world
  F      G    Bb/C
And I am a material girl
F G          Am           F      G    Am
Living in a material world, and I am a material girl
  Am            F G             Am
You know that we are living in a material world
  F      G    Bb/C   C     | Bb/C          C
And I am a material girl

C
Living in a material world
Bb          Am
Living in a material world
C
Living in a material world
Dm          C
Living in a material world

End of song Play again?

Madonna - Material Girl Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Madonna – Material Girl: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Bb/C and ends on C. Its chords belong to both C major and Am, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

C major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = B (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = F (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

A minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = F (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = G (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: we can't honestly pick a side here — the song moves freely between C major and A minor because it comes to rest on C and Am is heard 27 times against 24 for C. Try reading the chords both ways and see which feels more like home to you.

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.

Seen from C major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	C	Tonic — home	C · E · G	24×
ii	Dm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D · F · A	5×
iii	Em	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	E · G · B	—
V/vi	E	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Amsecondary dominant	E · G# · B	—
IV	F	Subdominant — moves away from home	F · A · C	20×
V	G	Dominant — strongest pull home	G · B · D	21×
vi	Am	Relative minor — the melancholy side	A · C · E	27×
bVII	Bb	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	Bb · D · F	11×
bVII	Bb/C	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	Bb · D · F	3×
vii°	Bdim	Leading-tone chord — tension	B · D · F	—

Seen from A minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Am	Tonic — home	A · C · E	27×
bII	Bb	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Bb · D · F	11×
bII	Bb/C	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	Bb · D · F	3×
ii°	Bdim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F	—
III	C	Relative major — the bright side	C · E · G	24×
iv	Dm	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F · A	5×
v	Em	Minor dominant — soft pull	E · G · B	—
V	E	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	E · G# · B	—
VI	F	Submediant — warm colour	F · A · C	20×
VII	G	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	G · B · D	21×

Analysis

The key pair is C major and its relative A minor (no sharps or flats). 7 different chords appear 111 times in total; 5 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Bb, Bb/C are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

F G CIV → VIV → V AmVI → VIIVI → VII ×18
G Am CV → videceptive cadence AmVII → iAeolian arrival ×15
G C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×4
Dm G Cii → Vii → V Amiv → VII ×3
F C CIV → Iplagal cadence AmVI → III ×2
Bb C CbVII → IbVII → I AmbII → III ×2

The move to watch is F → G, heard 18 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.

Improvisation tips

C major pentatonic and A minor pentatonic are the same five notes (C – D – E – G – A): start from C for a brighter phrase, from A for a bluesier one.
Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over G, land on G, B, D — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On Bb, follow the chord's notes (Bb · D · F) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

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 C major shapes

No capo — open C shapes
Capo 3 + A shapes
Capo 5 + G shapes

With A minor shapes

No capo — open Am shapes
Capo 5 + Em shapes
Capo 7 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones up

The song's harmonic story

The opening Bb/C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The chords that keep coming back are Am, C, G, F; read them as vi–I–V–IV in C or i–III–VII–VI in Am. Bb briefly darkens the picture: bvii — borrowed (mixolydian / parallel minor). Keep an ear on F → G (IV → V in C, VI → VII in Am): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. It closes on C, letting the C side have the last word.

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.