Standards
Butterfly chords & key
“Butterfly” is a jazz standard by Herbie Hancock. Most bands play it in F minor, funk; the tune runs 44 bars in AAB form. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — F minor
In
×2A
×2B
·
×2·
×2·
×2⊕
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
0Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
1ii–V moves
1Tritone substitutions
2Dominant chains
15Different chords
Most used chords
- Fm11×16
- Fm7×14
- B♭13×9
- Am7×7
- Am11×2
- Dm11×2
Recorded on these albums
| 1962 | Rolf Kühn feat. Klaus Doldinger Rolf Kühn feat. Klaus Doldinger |
| 1971 | Beachparty 2 James Last |
| 1972 | Rags To Classics Eubie Blake |
| 1974 | Thrust Herbie Hancock |
| 1974 | Atma Michał Urbaniak |
| 1975 | Flood Herbie Hancock |
| 1975 | Symphonic Soul Henry Mancini |
| 1975 | Urszula Urszula Dudziak |
| 1976 | Hip Walk Peter Herbolzheimer, Rhythm Combination and Brass, Inga Rumpf |
| 1977 | Winter Poem Radka Toneff · “The Butterfly” |
| 1977 | Jazz Gala 77 All Star Big Band Peter Herbolzheimer |
| 1977 | This Is Your Life Norman Connors and the Starship Orchestra |
| 1978 | Fire on Ice Terry Callier |
| 1979 | Butterfly Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock |
| 1979 | Directstep Herbie Hancock |
| 1982 | Fly Dude Jimmy McGriff |
| 1986 | Earth Run Lee Ritenour |
| 1987 | Today Perry Como · “Butterfly (I'll Set You Free)” |
| 1988 | Cinemode Michal Urbaniak |
| 1990 | The Last Butterfly Alex North |
| 1994 | Dis Is da Drum Herbie Hancock |
| 1997 | More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art Carl Craig |
| 1998 | ブレンパワード オリジナルサウンドトラック 菅野よう子 |
| 1998 | Viajando 渡辺貞夫 |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Butterfly in?
Butterfly is usually played in F minor. For B♭ instruments that is G minor, for E♭ instruments D minor.
Who wrote Butterfly?
Butterfly was written by Herbie Hancock.
What is the form of Butterfly?
Butterfly has 3 sections (AAB) with 44 bars in total.
How fast is Butterfly played?
The usual groove is Funk.
What are the chord changes to Butterfly?
The opening bars are Fm7 | Fm7 Am7 | Fm7 | Fm7 Am7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.