Lionel Richie - Hello - 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). 15 different chords appear 85 times in total; 12 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 E is V/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Am. A7 acts as a secondary dominant, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. Bb is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

1. Fmaj7 → G6 CIVmaj7 → V6IV → V AmVImaj7 → VII6VI → VII ×7
2. Fmaj7 → Am CIVmaj7 → vi AmVImaj7 → iVI → i ×7
3. G → C CV → Iauthentic cadence AmVII → III ×4
4. E → Am CV/vi → vi AmV → iharmonic-minor cadence ×4
5. Dm → G Cii → Vii → V Amiv → VII ×4
6. A7 → Dm CV7/ii → iisecondary resolution AmV7/iv → iv ×2

The move to watch is Fmaj7 → G6, heard 7 times. From the Am side it is VImaj7 → VII6 (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic); from the C side it reads IVmaj7 → V6 (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home). 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 Am lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is Fmaj7, Am, Am7/G, G6 — IVmaj7–vi–vi7–V6 from the C side, VImaj7–i–i7–VII6 from the Am side. E is the interesting twist: in C it is a chromatic chord (V/vi), while in Am it becomes the dominant (V) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on Fmaj7 → G6 (IVmaj7 → V6 in C, VImaj7 → VII6 in Am): VI → VII — the rising step that heads for the tonic. It closes on A7, 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.