Song structure: the whole song on one bar line, as played, wrapping before each Verse. The coloured band is the Section; a pill is a Phrase, in its Phrase family’s colour as in the Phrase overview; a coloured box is a Melody Block, its letter the class of blocks that sound alike; the squares are the bars; the chord row prints every chord change where it falls in the bar. Click anything to hear it, at the toolbar’s tempo and speed; a chord plays without the melody.
VCBSection colours: Verse blue, Chorus orange, Bridge green, others grey. On the harmony panels a Phrase name wears the colour of the Section it falls in.
Phrase structure panel
Phrase overview: every Phrase of the song as a pill under its Section’s name, in playing order, all the same width. The Phrases of one family share a colour; a variant (a primed name, such as P1A’) is paler with a dashed border; a family heard only once is grey. Click a pill to hear that Phrase.
a0Each box is a Melody Block at its true bar and beat; vertical lines are bar starts, and empty space is silence.
One line per Phrase. Melody Blocks that sound alike share a colour; within a colour the most-heard one is plain and the others carry a pattern, listed at the side.
The strongest colours go to the largest groups, so two Melody Blocks never look alike unless they are alike. One heard only once stays grey.
▶Click a row to jump to its strip. Hover a box for its details and its ▶, which plays that Melody Block — the recording on Play audio, the synthesiser on Play synth — while a red line follows it along that Phrase’s row.
Melodic line
Top pitch = the highest melody note sounding in each beat. The band behind it is where the corpus’s first Verses and first Choruses sit (the middle half of songs, their average as a line), stretched over each Verse and Chorus here in the Section’s colour. "Typical range" hides band and line; "In Section colours" hides the band.
Vocal loudness = how loud the singer is, measured on the voice separated out of the recording; Loudness = the whole recording, averaged over one bar. Each lane runs from its quietest 5% at the bottom (silence opening or closing the recording not counted) to its loudest at the top; a gap = no voice there, or a bar the recording does not play. One switch shows or hides both.
Harmony panels
Synth chordsUnder each Phrase name in the Harmonic journey: Synth chords, Synth bass and Synth parts play that Phrase on the synthesiser; Audio chords, Audio bass and Audio parts play the chords or the bass separated out of the recording, or the recording itself (shown only when the song has one). The panel’s PLAYBACK SPEED line sets how fast.
Chord colour on the Harmony map and the Staircase of fifths = how much the chord pulls onward: lightest blue at home, deepest at the dominant. A chord from outside the key wears a dashed edge. The Harmonic journey does not use these colours.
!Badge = a rarer-than-usual chord move; in the Harmonic journey it sits between the two chords it joins. Click it for the numbers.
Bracket under the last chords of a Harmonic journey line = the closing cadence.
Pink and blue brackets = where a secondary dominant builds its tension (pink) and where it lands (blue). The Tension resolution switch shows them in place of the cadence bracket.
Slim bars under a Harmony map row = the sounding bass, drawn higher for a higher note; a gap = no accompaniment there.
Pill under a chord on the Harmony map = how unusual its arrival is: the fuller, the rarer, pink for very rare. Click it for the numbers.
→↷⇝Marks over the Harmony map's chords, in order: an authentic cadence, a secondary dominant arriving, a plain falling fifth. The "Cadence marks" pill on the Harmony map's title line hides them.
Dashed outline on a bar = a later statement of that Phrase reads differently there; both are shown at the foot of the Harmony map.
Pink line under the Staircase of fifths = one run of chords; the arrowhead says which way the root moves.
↕ 3rdGrey dotted double arrow marked "3rd" on the Staircase of fifths = the root moves by a third, so the two chords share two notes.
Score/energy & Performance maps
Map square = the chord the bar ends on, shaded like the harmony panels’ chords: lightest blue at home, deepest at the dominant. Click it to jump to that bar. A small corner square on the Performance map marks a notable chord there.
Thick border on a map bar = a section (Verse, Chorus…) starts here.
→Gold arrow under the map = a Phrase closing on an authentic cadence.
3.4Number after a Section name = how unusual its chord moves are on average, green (ordinary) to red (unusual).
Lanes under the Score/energy map: Descending fifths, the chord root’s distance from home in fifths, one point per beat (Chord tension, Melody tension, Energy and Energy blend are switched off for now); then, under "Recording stats", the recording’s Loudness, Brightness, Low-end weight and Attack rate, each averaged over one bar. Each lane has its own switch above the map.
Fine pink dotted line = a step of the Descending fifths line, carried up to the Phrase blocks above the map; at a Phrase’s start it marks its first downbeat.
Cell focus
same notesCell focus: one strip per family, one frame per occurrence — the engraved notes, the chord(s) under them, and three readings against the family’s first occurrence: pitch (same pitch or moved …), shape (same shape or reshaped), chord (same or new); grey when nothing changes, orange when something does. Opens on the first verse and chorus; "Show relatives" adds the families within the RELATIVES cut. Hover a frame for the transformation notation and its cost.
Engraved strips
a0Band above the staff = one Melody Block, labelled with its Class letter and wearing the colour the Phrase structure panel gives it, so it looks the same wherever the page shows it.
12Light-grey digits at each bar's left edge = the score measure number, in played order.
Translucent wash behind the staff = an out-of-key chord zone; tinted noteheads = its foreign notes.
♪♪CT/NCT shading: orange noteheads = notes outside the sounding chord, blue = chord tones.
Lanes below the staff
VHarmony lane: the degree and chord name of each chord, coloured like the map squares; a chord from outside the key wears a dashed edge. The "Harmony labels" switch chooses which of the two leads here, or shows either one on its own.
→Teal arrow below the harmony lane = authentic cadence arriving on that tonic chord. The "Cadence marks" pill hides all three arrows.
↷Curved gold arrow = a secondary dominant resolving to the chord it points at.
⇝Grey wavy arrow = a plain falling fifth between two chords, with no dominant involved.
Toolbar & playback
▶▶ plays from there, and the red line follows along. The Harmonic journey's ▶ plays the chords without the melody, and stops when pressed again; the buttons under each Phrase name there say what they play.
Play audioPlay synth / Play audio = what the page's ▶s play: the page's synthesiser reading the score, or the song's recording (offered only when the song has one).
×2×1 ×2 ×4 ×8 beside the tempo in the toolbar's PLAYBACK row, and on the Harmonic journey's PLAYBACK SPEED line = how many times faster than that tempo every play on the page runs — the strips, a bar, a Melody Block and the Harmonic journey alike.
What makes timeless pop songs work? The tools below help you listen, visualise and hunt for clues.
How to read this page
Chord names. Chords are named two ways: by letter (Am, E7) and by a Roman numeral giving their place in the song’s key — I is the chord built on the first note of the scale, V on the fifth, and so on; capitals for major chords, lowercase for minor. The numerals are what let you compare songs written in different keys. More: Open Music Theory · Wikipedia.
Harmonic journey — one row per phrase of the song, in the order you hear them. The line traces the harmony from chord to chord; press ▶ to listen to a phrase while you follow it. The pills above highlight what makes the journey interesting: rare chord transitions, how likely each move is, the bass line.
Song structure
Click melody blocks to assess their similarity. Same name or colour means similar or related. Play chords at accelerated speeds using Play synth option to feel the progression.
Height is harmonic function. III / VI sits halfway between subdominant and tonic, on a short hint rather than a line of its own. An applied dominant sits just above the chord it prepares, wears its pink target numeral, and carries a pink arrow onto that chord where it actually arrives. A dashed chord and contour are ahead of the first strong beat. Chromatic notes writes the altered note over each out-of-key chord and turns its box red; off, every box is blue. The SEE/HEAR THE DIFFERENCE pills swap the chosen device chords for the plain diatonic chord on their degree — displayed and heard; a greyed option has nothing to remove in this song.
Harmony map
Verse 1
→
P1
44
VGVVGGV
55
ICIICCI
66
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
77
IVFIVIVFFIV
88
VGVVGGV
→
P1'
88
VGVVGGV
99
ICIICCI
1010
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
1111
IVFIVIVFFIV
1212
VGVVGGV
Chorus 1
→
P2
1212
VGVVGGV
1313
ICIICCI
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
1414
IVFIVIVFFIV
VGVVGGV
→
P2'
1414
VGVVGGV
1515
ICIICCI
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
1616
IVFIVIVFFIV
VGVVGGV
Colour = how much the chord demands to continue, graded by its function against the key of its own bar — darker means more: rest (I)partial rest (vi, iii)departure (IV, ii, borrowed)peak (V, vii°, secondary dominants, bVII)…plus an add or sus note. A chord from outside the key wears a dashed edge; it takes a rung like any other rather than sitting off the scale. Pill under a chord = how surprising its arrival is — the fuller, the rarer the move; red when really rare. Click it for the numbers. Grey block = a chord the software read but published no degree for; it prints the best-guess chord name where the shape supports one, else the shape. Only chords we are at least quite sure of are shown. Dashed magenta = a bar where a restatement differs. → authentic cadence ↷ secondary dominant resolving ⇝ plain falling fifth.
Staircase of fifths
Height is the chord root’s distance from home measured in fifths (+4 at the top down to -1 at the bottom). A chain of falling fifths reads as a diagonal staircase. Moving up or down a 3rd can be handy (successive chords then share 2 notes).
Verse 1
P1
44
55
66
77
88
VGVVGGV
ICIICCI
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
IVFIVIVFFIV
VGVVGGV
P1'
88
99
1010
1111
1212
VGVVGGV
ICIICCI
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
IVFIVIVFFIV
VGVVGGV
Chorus 1
P2
1212
1313
1414
VGVVGGV
ICIICCI
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
IVFIVIVFFIV
VGVVGGV
P2'
1414
1515
1616
VGVVGGV
ICIICCI
IIIEIIIIIIEEIII
IVFIVIVFFIV
VGVVGGV
Colour = how much the chord demands to continue, graded by its function against the key of its own bar — darker means more: rest (I)partial rest (vi, iii)departure (IV, ii, borrowed)peak (V, vii°, secondary dominants, bVII)…plus an add or sus note. A chord from outside the key wears a dashed edge; it takes a rung like any other rather than sitting off the scale.
Excerpt only. Full score and lyrics available from official publishers.
CI
Degree I in key of C
The first chord of the song — nothing before it to compare it with.
EIII
Degree III in key of C
I → IIIMove from C to E
How frequent after I?
1.5%
Harmonic surprise
6.1 bits — rare above 4.64
Most frequent after I?
IV (36%)
CI→EIII
FIV
Degree IV in key of C
III → IVMove from E to F
How frequent after III?
26%
Harmonic surprise
1.9 bits
Most frequent after III?
VI (34%)
EIII→FIV
GV
Degree V in key of C
IV → VMove from F to G
How frequent after IV?
25%
Harmonic surprise
2.0 bits
Most frequent after IV?
I (56%)
FIV→GV
CI
Degree I in key of C
V → IMove from G to C
How frequent after V?
53%
Harmonic surprise
0.9 bits
Most frequent after V?
I (53%)
GV→CI
EIII
Degree III in key of C
I → IIIMove from C to E
How frequent after I?
1.5%
Harmonic surprise
6.1 bits — rare above 4.64
Most frequent after I?
IV (36%)
CI→EIII
FIV
Degree IV in key of C
III → IVMove from E to F
How frequent after III?
26%
Harmonic surprise
1.9 bits
Most frequent after III?
VI (34%)
EIII→FIV
GV
Degree V in key of C
IV → VMove from F to G
How frequent after IV?
25%
Harmonic surprise
2.0 bits
Most frequent after IV?
I (56%)
FIV→GV
CI
Degree I in key of C
V → IMove from G to C
How frequent after V?
53%
Harmonic surprise
0.9 bits
Most frequent after V?
I (53%)
GV→CI
EIII
Degree III in key of C
I → IIIMove from C to E
How frequent after I?
1.5%
Harmonic surprise
6.1 bits — rare above 4.64
Most frequent after I?
IV (36%)
CI→EIII
FIV
Degree IV in key of C
III → IVMove from E to F
How frequent after III?
26%
Harmonic surprise
1.9 bits
Most frequent after III?
VI (34%)
EIII→FIV
GV
Degree V in key of C
IV → VMove from F to G
How frequent after IV?
25%
Harmonic surprise
2.0 bits
Most frequent after IV?
I (56%)
FIV→GV
CI
Degree I in key of C
V → IMove from G to C
How frequent after V?
53%
Harmonic surprise
0.9 bits
Most frequent after V?
I (53%)
GV→CI
EIII
Degree III in key of C
I → IIIMove from C to E
How frequent after I?
1.5%
Harmonic surprise
6.1 bits — rare above 4.64
Most frequent after I?
IV (36%)
CI→EIII
FIV
Degree IV in key of C
III → IVMove from E to F
How frequent after III?
26%
Harmonic surprise
1.9 bits
Most frequent after III?
VI (34%)
EIII→FIV
GV
Degree V in key of C
IV → VMove from F to G
How frequent after IV?
25%
Harmonic surprise
2.0 bits
Most frequent after IV?
I (56%)
FIV→GV
CI
Degree I in key of C
V → IMove from G to C
How frequent after V?
53%
Harmonic surprise
0.9 bits
Most frequent after V?
I (53%)
GV→CI
EIII
Degree III in key of C
I → IIIMove from C to E
How frequent after I?
1.5%
Harmonic surprise
6.1 bits — rare above 4.64
Most frequent after I?
IV (36%)
CI→EIII
FIV
Degree IV in key of C
III → IVMove from E to F
How frequent after III?
26%
Harmonic surprise
1.9 bits
Most frequent after III?
VI (34%)
EIII→FIV
GV
Degree V in key of C
IV → VMove from F to G
How frequent after IV?
25%
Harmonic surprise
2.0 bits
Most frequent after IV?
I (56%)
FIV→GV
Background & Context
"Aline" was written and performed by Christophe (born Daniel Bevilacqua, 1945-2020), released in 1965. The song was famously composed in just 15 minutes on guitar at his grandmother's house. The name "Aline" came from his dentist's assistant.
The song became a massive international hit, reaching #1 in France, Spain, Belgium, Israel, Turkey, and Brazil, selling over 3.5 million copies worldwide. It was Christophe's breakthrough single and remained his signature song throughout his career.
Christophe was a singular figure in French pop — influenced by American blues and rock'n'roll, he brought a raw emotional intensity to the chanson francaise tradition. His other hits include "Les Mots bleus" (1974) and "Les Paradis perdus" (1974).
Arranger: Jacques Denjean, who crafted the lush orchestral arrangement that complemented Christophe's raw vocal delivery.
12/8 compound-meter siciliana / lullaby lineage: pastoral / lullaby coding from baroque practice (Pergolesi Stabat Mater opening, Bach's pastoral movements; doo-wop ballads adopted the meter for emotional address).
Strophic-with-intensification: "the vocal builds in intensity through repetition rather than melodic variation." The listener experiences development through accumulation, not through harmonic motion.
Cell & motif repetition by harmonic context: Aline draws its material from a small repertory of melodic figures stated over an invariant four-chord ostinato; variation resides in the melody itself, whose recurring figures are inflected at each return to accommodate a different chord of the cycle. The chorus restates figures drawn from the verse while the harmonic rhythm doubles beneath them.
Postponed V/vi resolution = persistent yearning: the harmonic tension never resolves. The lyric ("Aline... reviens") is a love-declaration to someone absent. Form embodies content — the song is musically waiting.
Classical composer devices illustrated:
Cell and motif reinterpretation: The same note sequence appears in different sections and different harmonic contexts, at the start of the verse, the start of the chorus, and slightly transformed in several phrases of the verse
Indefinitely-postponed deceptive cadence: V/vi (E7) appears repeatedly without resolution to vi (Am). Suspended chromatic tension — listener expectation set up but never satisfied. Romantic-era device (Wagner's Tristan und Isolde uses similar deferred-resolution as a defining feature).
Strict 4-chord vocabulary: minimal harmonic content (one chromatic chord, three diatonic). The chorus uses the same chords as the verse, but the harmonic rhythm is twice as fast. The song's emotion carries entirely on the unresolved tension.