Scrapple from the Apple Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis

Chord progression

Analyzed excerpt

Section: A1 · Bars 1–4

F D7 | Gm7 C7 | Am7 D7 | Gm7 C7

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

F major

Tonal center

F

Confidence

Medium

Chords analysed

8

Chord	Roman numeral	Function	What it is doing	Confidence
F	I	Tonic	F is the tonic of F. It is where the progression is at rest.	High
D7	V7/ii	Dominant	D7 is functioning as V7/ii: 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 ii instead.	High
Gm7	ii	Predominant	Gm7 is the ii chord of F: the classic predominant. It prepares the dominant and almost always moves to it.	High
C7	V7	Dominant	C7 is the dominant of F. Its third and seventh form a tritone, and that tritone is what makes the tonic feel due.	High
Am7	ii/ii	Predominant	Am7 is the ii of a secondary ii-V. Together with D7 it prepares G, so the pair tonicizes ii without leaving the key. Also readable as iii.	High
D7	V7/ii	Dominant	D7 is functioning as V7/ii: 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 ii instead.	High
Gm7	ii	Predominant	Gm7 is the ii chord of F: the classic predominant. It prepares the dominant and almost always moves to it.	High
C7	V7	Dominant	C7 is the dominant of F. Its third and seventh form a tritone, and that tritone is what makes the tonic feel due.	High

What the analyzer found in it

ii - V7Gm7 - C7

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

ii/ii - V7/ii - iiAm7 - D7 - Gm7

A complete minor ii-V-i in Gm, with the half-diminished ii and a dominant that borrows its leading tone from harmonic minor.

ii - V7Gm7 - C7

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

half cadenceC7

The progression stops on the dominant of F — a half cadence. It is unfinished on purpose.

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

Numbered against F major, the excerpt is I – V7/ii – ii – V7 – ii/ii. Inside those 8 chords there is a complete ii-V-I and at least one secondary dominant. Take the roots away and keep the third and seventh. In D7 that is Gb and C. Those two notes decide where the progression is going, and hearing them move is worth more than naming the chords. Stella by Starlight, How High the Moon and Ornithology use the same device, which is the argument for learning it once properly rather than three times by accident.

How the rest of Scrapple from the Apple goes

A composite: the A sections take their harmony from Honeysuckle Rose and the bridge takes the standard cycle from rhythm changes. Borrowing from two different sources for one tune was common practice and this is the tidiest example of it. The result is a form where the A sections barely move and the bridge moves constantly, an unusually large contrast that the melody exploits by becoming much more active over the bridge.

Scrapple from the Apple on record

Charlie Parker recorded it in 1947. It is one of his most-played heads among students because the line is idiomatic without being extreme — it sits at a difficulty where a developing player can get it under their fingers and still learn something from every phrase. The title follows the food-and-place pattern of several Parker titles from the period.

Analyze this progression

Open these chords in the analyzer and change them. Move one chord, substitute a dominant, take the ii away — the reading updates and tells you what you just did.

Open in Jazz Harmony Analyzer →

Scrapple from the Apple — 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 Scrapple from the Apple goes

Scrapple from the Apple on record

Analyze this progression

Related

ii-V-I

Secondary dominants

Stella by Starlight

How High the Moon

Ornithology

Jazz chord progressions