Satin Doll Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis

Chord progression

Analyzed excerpt

Section: A1 · Bars 1–7

Dm7 G7 | Dm7 G7 | Em7 A7 | Em7 A7 | Am7 D7 | Abm7 Db7 | Cmaj7

This is a short excerpt quoted for analysis, not the full chart, and this composition is very likely still in copyright. Published versions and recordings disagree with each other about the rest of the tune, and often about these bars too.

The books behind this page

Every one of these tunes is assembled out of the same handful of harmonic resources. Jazz Harmony is those resources, explained in the order in which they build on each other.

Start here Project 03 · Harmony

Harmonic analysis

Key

C major

Tonal center

C

Confidence

Low

Chords analysed

13

Chord	Roman numeral	Function	What it is doing	Confidence
Dm7	ii	Predominant	Dm7 is the ii chord of C: the classic predominant. It prepares the dominant and almost always moves to it.	High
G7	V7	Dominant	G7 is the dominant of C. Its third and seventh form a tritone, and that tritone is what makes the tonic feel due.	High
Dm7	ii	Predominant	Dm7 is the ii chord of C: the classic predominant. It prepares the dominant and almost always moves to it.	High
G7	V7	Dominant	G7 is the dominant of C. Its third and seventh form a tritone, and that tritone is what makes the tonic feel due.	High
Em7	iii	Tonic	Em7 is the iii chord. It shares three notes with the tonic, so it often works as a softer stand-in for it. Also readable as ii/ii.	Low
A7	V7/ii	Dominant	A7 is functioning as V7/ii: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of D, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at ii instead.	Low
Em7	iii	Tonic	Em7 is the iii chord. It shares three notes with the tonic, so it often works as a softer stand-in for it. Also readable as ii/ii.	Low
A7	V7/ii	Dominant	A7 is functioning as V7/ii: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of D, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at ii instead.	Low
Am7	vi	Tonic	Am7 is the vi chord — the relative minor. It shares three notes with the tonic and often replaces it. Also readable as ii/V.	Medium
D7	V7/V	Dominant	D7 is functioning as V7/V: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of G, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at V instead.	Low
Abm7	bvi	Other	Abm7 does not take a functional role in C. It sits on bVI and is best heard as colour, or as a sign that the tonal center has moved.	Low
Db7	subV7	Dominant	Db7 is a tritone substitute for the dominant. It shares its tritone with G7 and slides down a semitone into C.	High
Cmaj7	I	Tonic	Cmaj7 is the tonic of C. It is where the progression is at rest.	High

What the analyzer found in it

ii - V7Dm7 - G7

A ii-V pointing at C, which never arrives. The preparation is complete, the resolution is not.

ii - V7Dm7 - G7

A ii-V pointing at C, which never arrives. The preparation is complete, the resolution is not.

iii - V7/iiEm7 - A7

A ii-V pointing at D, which never arrives. The preparation is complete, the resolution is not.

iii - V7/iiEm7 - A7

A ii-V pointing at D, which never arrives. The preparation is complete, the resolution is not.

vi - V7/VAm7 - D7

A ii-V pointing at G, which never arrives. The preparation is complete, the resolution is not.

High, medium and low next to each numeral are judgements about musical context, not probabilities. A low rating marks a bar that can honestly be read more than one way. How the ratings are decided →

Why this example matters

Against a tonic of C major the passage numbers as ii – V7 – iii – V7/ii – vi – V7/V – bvi – subV7 – I. Inside those 13 chords there is a ii-V that is left unresolved, at least one secondary dominant and a tritone substitute. Strip it to two notes per chord, the third and the seventh, and play it under tempo. G7 gives you B and F; follow that pair from chord to chord and the voice leading becomes audible in a way the root motion never makes it. Once you can hear it here, it is hard to miss in Autumn Leaves, All The Things You Are and Tune Up.

How the rest of Satin Doll goes

The A sections are built from ii-V pairs that step up by whole tone and never resolve to the key they prepare — each one is abandoned for the next, so the harmony is in constant motion without ever arriving. The bridge finally supplies a resolution. That withheld arrival is the tune’s character, and it is also why the piece can sound bland when played too straight: the effect depends entirely on the listener noticing that nothing is landing.

Satin Doll on record

Credited to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, with a later lyric by Johnny Mercer, and first recorded in 1953. It became Ellington’s standard closing number for the rest of his career. Its ubiquity in teaching materials has made it slightly unfashionable among players, which is a shame given that the unresolved cadence chain is genuinely unusual for a tune this widely known.

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Satin Doll — Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis

Chord progression

The books behind this page

Jazz Harmony

Harmonic Narrative

Jazz Guitar Comping

Harmonic analysis

What the analyzer found in it

Why this example matters

How the rest of Satin Doll goes

Satin Doll on record

Analyze this progression

Related

ii-V-I

Secondary dominants

Tritone substitution

Autumn Leaves

All The Things You Are

Tune Up

Jazz chord progressions