Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are - Chord

Key F major – D minor Chords C, Am7, F5 Easy key C (capo 5)

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Capo 0

C   
  Oh her eyes, her eyes

Make the stars look like they're 

Not shining
Am7
    Her hair, her hair

Falls perfectly without her trying
F5
         She's so beautiful
                   C
And I tell her every day

Yeah I know, I know

When I compliment her she 

Won't believe me
Am7
    And it's so, it's so

Sad to think that she don't 

See what I see
F5                                                
         But every time she asks me 
                     C
"Do I look okay?" I say..

C
  When I see your face
                Am7
There's not a thing that I would change
               F5
Cause you're amazing
                 C
Just the way you are

And when you smile,
                  Am7
The whole world stops 

And stares for a while
                    F5
Cause girl you're amazing
                 C
Just the way you are

C
  Her lips, her lips

I could kiss them all day 

If she'd let me
Am7
    Her laugh, her laugh

She hates but I think it's so sexy
F5
         She's so beautiful
                   C
And I tell her every day

Oh you know, you know, you know

I'd never ask you to change
    Am7
If perfect is what you're searching for

Then just stay the same
 F5
So don't even bother asking 

If you look okay
            C
You know I say

                 C
When I see your face
                Am7
There's not a thing that I would change
               F5
Cause you're amazing
                 C
Just the way you are

And when you smile,
                  Am7
The whole world stops 

And stares for a while
                    F5
Cause girl you're amazing
                 C
Just the way you are

The way you are
            Am7
The way you are
              F5
Girl you're amazing
                 C
Just the way you are

When I see your face
                Am7
There's not a thing that I would change
               F5
Cause you're amazing
                 C
Just the way you are

And when you smile,
                  Am7
The whole world stops 

And stares for a while
                    F5
Cause girl you're amazing
                 C
Just the way you are

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are Tabs

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Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are: key and chord analysis

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

Major view

F major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

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

Minor view

D minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = C (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the F major side because F is heard 11 times while Dm never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from D minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to F or to Dm; 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 F major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	F5	Tonic — home	F · C	11×
I	F	Tonic — home	F · A · C	—
ii	Gm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G · Bb · D	—
iii7	Am7	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	A · C · E · G	11×
III	A	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E	—
IV	Bb	Subdominant — moves away from home	Bb · D · F	—
V	C	Dominant — strongest pull home	C · E · G	15×
vi	Dm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	D · F · A	—
vii°	Edim	Leading-tone chord — tension	E · G · Bb	—

Seen from D minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dm	Tonic — home	D · F · A	—
ii°	Edim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · Bb	—
III	F5	Relative major — the bright side	F · C	11×
III	F	Relative major — the bright side	F · A · C	—
iv	Gm	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · Bb · D	—
v7	Am7	Minor dominant — soft pull	A · C · E · G	11×
V	A	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	A · C# · E	—
VI	Bb	Submediant — warm colour	Bb · D · F	—
VII	C	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	C · E · G	15×

Analysis

The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 3 different chords appear 37 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Everything stays inside one scale, which is why the song is easy to follow by ear.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
Over C, land on C, E, G — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Am7, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over F5, land on F, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

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 F major shapes

Capo 1 + E shapes
Capo 3 + D shapes
Capo 5 + C shapes

With D minor shapes

No capo — open Dm shapes
Capo 5 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening C lays a solid floor for everything that follows. C, Am7, F5 carry the song: V–iii7–I relative to F, VII–v7–III relative to Dm. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. It closes on C, letting the F 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.