Elton John - Can You Feel The Love Tonight - Chord

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to Bb or to Gm; 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 Bb major and its relative G minor (2 flats). 14 different chords appear 136 times in total; 11 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. C/E, C4 act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Ab is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

1. Eb → Bb/D BbIV → Iplagal cadence GmVI → III ×17
2. F → Bb BbV → Iauthentic cadence GmVII → III ×4
3. F/A → Gm BbV → videceptive cadence GmVII → iAeolian arrival ×4
4. Eb → Bb BbIV → Iplagal cadence GmVI → III ×4
5. F → Bb4 BbV → Iauthentic cadence GmVII → III ×3
6. Eb → F BbIV → VIV → V GmVI → VIIVI → VII ×3

The move to watch is Eb → Bb/D, heard 17 times. From the Bb side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the Gm side it is VI → III. 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 opening Bb lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is Eb, Bb/D, Bb, F — IV–I–I–V from the Bb side, VI–III–III–VII from the Gm side. C/E adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to F. Keep an ear on Eb → Bb/D (IV → I in Bb, VI → III in Gm): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. It closes on Bb, letting the Bb 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.