Ariana Grande - Beauty And The Beast (feat. John Legend) - Chord

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to Ab or to Fm; 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 Ab major and its relative F minor (4 flats). 24 different chords appear 60 times in total; 10 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Bb7, Bb act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Gb, B, E, A, Gb4, E4, A/E, B4, E/G# are borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

1. Bb7 → Eb AbV7/V → Vsecondary resolution FmIV7 → VII ×2
2. Eb → Ab AbV → Iauthentic cadence FmVII → III ×1
3. Eb → Fm7 AbV → vi7deceptive cadence FmVII → i7Aeolian arrival ×1
4. Db → Fm AbIV → vi FmVI → iVI → i ×1
5. Db7 → Gb AbIV7 → bVIIsecondary resolution FmVI7 → bII ×1
6. Db4 → Eb AbIV → VIV → V FmVI → VIIVI → VII ×1

The move to watch is Bb7 → Eb, heard 2 times. From the Fm side it is IV7 → VII; from the Ab side it reads V7/V → V (secondary resolution: Bb7 resolves a fourth up to Eb). 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 E; the ear learns where home is within a second. Gb, Fm, Eb, B carry the song: bVII–vi–V–bIII relative to Ab, bII–i–VII–#IV relative to Fm. Bb7 adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to Eb. Keep an ear on Bb7 → Eb (V7/V → V in Ab, IV7 → VII in Fm): secondary resolution — Bb7 resolves a fourth up to Eb. It closes on Eb, letting the Ab 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.