Wave

Antonio-Carlos Jobim

Bossa NovaD4/4

82

chords

22

different scales

10

tonal centres

First bars

Dmaj7Bbdim7Am7D7(b9)

Wave has eighty-two chords and forty-six of them are dominants. That's an unusual ratio, and it's what gives the tune its restless forward motion.

The trouble for an improviser is that a dominant has no single answer. Thirty-two of those chords admit more than one defensible reading, and the difference between them isn't theory — it's the sound. Playing Wave on autopilot is the fastest way to make a song full of possibilities come out sounding the same from top to bottom.

The full analysis of this song

  • The scale for every chord
  • The triads
  • The arpeggio
  • The reason behind the choice
  • The player in all 12 keys
  • Thiago's commentary
See plans