Waltz for Debby Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis

Chord progression

Analyzed excerpt

Section: A1 · Bars 1–8

Fmaj7 | Dm7 | Gm7 | C7 | A7/G | D7/F# | G7/F | C7/E

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.

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Start here Project 03 · Harmony

Play Waltz for Debby in JamShed

The whole form, not just these bars: JamShed’s trio — double bass, drums and piano — plays it with you at the tempo and in the key you choose. Loop the bars that trip you up, mute the instrument you play, share the link.

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Harmonic analysis

Key

F major

Tonal center

F

Confidence

Medium

Chords analysed

8

Chord	Roman numeral	Function	What it is doing	Confidence
Fmaj7	I	Tonic	Fmaj7 is the tonic of F. It is where the progression is at rest.	High
Dm7	vi	Tonic	Dm7 is the vi chord — the relative minor. It shares three notes with the tonic and often replaces it.	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
A7/G	V7/vi	Dominant	A7/G is functioning as V7/vi: 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 vi instead.	High
D7/F#	V7/ii	Dominant	D7/F# 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
G7/F	V7/V	Dominant	G7/F is functioning as V7/V: a secondary dominant. It is the dominant of C, not of the home key, so it borrows the pull of a V-I and points it at V instead.	High
C7/E	V7	Dominant	C7/E 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

I - vi - ii - VFmaj7 - Dm7 - Gm7 - C7

A I-vi-ii-V turnaround: the four-chord loop that sends a section back to its beginning.

ii - V7Gm7 - C7

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

half cadenceC7/E

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 →

The complete analysis of Waltz for Debby — every chord of the whole form, with its Roman numeral and its ii–V–Is marked on the chart — is in JamShed with the Practice Pass, ready to print. Open it in JamShed →

Why this example matters

Read in F major, these bars come out as I – vi – ii – V7 – V7/vi – V7/ii – V7/V. Inside those 8 chords there is a ii-V that is left unresolved, at least one secondary dominant and a turnaround. The shortest way in is a two-voice reduction: third and seventh only, slowly. C7 contributes E and Bb, and where that pair resolves is the whole story of the passage. You will meet the same move again in Stella by Starlight, How High the Moon and Ornithology, transposed and at a different pace.

How the rest of Waltz for Debby goes

A long jazz waltz, usually introduced by a rubato statement of the melody before the trio sets the tempo. The A sections are the excerpt’s secondary dominants in inversion over a stepwise bass, then a modulation to A major; the bridge moves through ii–Vs toward A♭ and D♭ before returning. The bass line is as composed as the melody, and the tune loses much of its character if it is played in root position.

Waltz for Debby on record

Bill Evans wrote it for his niece, Debby, and first recorded it as a short solo piece on New Jazz Conceptions (1956). The trio version recorded live at the Village Vanguard in 1961, with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian, gave its name to one of the most celebrated albums in jazz. Gene Lees later wrote a lyric.

Analyze this progression

The excerpt is loaded and editable. Swap a chord for its tritone substitute, delete the preparation, borrow one from the parallel minor, and watch which numerals change and which do not.

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Waltz for Debby — Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis

Chord progression

The books behind this page

Jazz Harmony

The Jazz Guitar Shortcut

Harmonic Narrative

The Jazz Roadmap Lite

Play Waltz for Debby in JamShed

Harmonic analysis

What the analyzer found in it

Why this example matters

How the rest of Waltz for Debby goes

Waltz for Debby on record

Analyze this progression

Related

ii-V-I

Secondary dominants

Stella by Starlight

How High the Moon

Ornithology

Jazz chord progressions