Michael Jackson - Thriller - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords Gb7, Dbm7, Dbm, Gb, E, A, B, Gbm7 … Easy key G

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Capo 0

It's close to midnight
     Dbm7 
And something evil's
                    Gb7
Lurking in the dark
                          Dbm7
Under the moonlight, you see a sight

That almost stops your heart
              Gb
You try to scream, but terror takes the sound
            Dbm
Before you make it
               Gb7
You start to freeze
                                      Dbm
As horror looks you right between the eyes

You're paralyzed

                Dbm E   
'Cos this is Thriiller
   E  Gb  Dbm
Thriller Night
     Gb7
And no one's gonna save
              Gbm7
You from the beast about to strike
                  Dbm E   
You know it's; Thriiller
   E  Gb  Dbm
Thriller night
        Gb7
You're fighting for your life
         A7        Gb7   
Inside a    killer
             Dbm7
Thriller, tonight

You hear the door slam
                                        Gb7
And realise there's nowhere left to run
              Dbm7
You feel the cold hand

And wonder if you'll ever see the sun
               Gb7  
You close your eyes
                                 Dbm7
And hope that this is just imagination
              Gb7   
But all the while
                                     Dbm
You hear the creature creepin' up behind
               Gb
You're out of time

                 Dbm E         Gb  Dbm
'Cos this is; Thriiller, thriller night
      Gb7                    
There ain't no second chance
              Gbm7
Yo kill the thing with forty eyes, girl
   Dbm E         Gb  Dbm
Thriiller, thriller night
        Gb7
You're fighting for your life
         A7        Gb7   
Inside a    killer
             Dbm7
Thriller, tonight

Gb7                                
    Night creatures call and the dead
                        A         B
Start to walk in their masquerade
  Dbm7
There's no escapin' the jaws of the alien
      Bb7
This time
  A                      Ab7 
This is the end of your life

Dbm7                     
     They're out to get you
                                        Gb7
There's demons closing in on every side
              Dbm7
They will possess you

Unless you change the number on your dial
            Gb7  
Now is the time
                                 Dbm7
For you and I to cuddle close together
                 Gb7   
All through the night
                                        Dbm7
I'll save you from the terror on the screen
               Gb7
I'll make you see

                 Dbm E  
That this is, Thriiller
      Gb  Dbm
Thriller Night
     Gb7                   
'Cos I can thrill you more
           Gbm7
Than any ghost would dare try
   Dbm E         Gb  Dbm
Thriiller, thriller Night
    Gb7                  
So let me hold you tight
             A7
And share a     killer
Gb7        A/B         Dbm7
    Diller,    chiller
                 B7
Thriller here tonight

                 Dbm  E    
That this is; Thriiiller
      Gb  Dbm
Thriller night
     Gb7
'Cos I can thrill you more than
      Gbm7
Any ghost would dare try
   Dbm  E         Gb  Dbm
Thriiiller, thriller Night
    Gb7                   
So let me hold you tight
            A7        Gb7           Dbm7
And share a    killer     thriller, ow

Dbm7
     I'm gonna thrill you tonight
      A                     B
 Darkness falls across the land
              Gb
The midnight hour is close at hand
Dbm7                 A                  B 
     Creatures crawl in search of blood
                   Gb
To terrorise your neighbourhood
Dbm7                         A     
     And whosoever shall be found
             B                Gb
Without the soul for getting down
           Dbm7                    A         
Must stand and face the Hounds of Hell
     B                      Gb
And rot inside a corpse's shell

              B                    
The foulest stench is in the air
     Gb                      Dbm7
The funk of forty thousand years
             A                      
And grizzy ghouls from every tomb
B                 Gb
  Are closing in to seal your doom
Dbm7                      A             
     And though you fight   to stay alive
 B                    Gb
Your body starts to shiver
     Dbm7           A          
For no mere mortal can resist
      B            Gb
The evil of The thriller

End of song Play again?

Michael Jackson - Thriller Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Michael Jackson – Thriller: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Dbm7 and ends on Gb. Its chords belong to both E major and C#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

E major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = D# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = A (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

C# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = A (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = B (natural-minor colour)
#7 = B# (harmonic-minor leading tone from the V chord)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the C# minor side because it opens on C#m, C#m is heard 39 times against 10 for E and the major V chord points straight at C#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — the same chords are just as valid seen from E major, and switching between the two views is exactly where the practice value lies.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to E or to C#m; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from E major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	E	Tonic — home	E · G# · B	10×
ii7	Gbm7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Gb · A · Db · Fb	4×
V7/V	Gb7	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	22×
V/V	Gb	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	18×
iii	G#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	G# · B · D#	—
V7/vi	Ab7	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	Ab · C · Eb · Gb	1×
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	9×
IV	A/B	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	1×
IV7	A7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E · G	4×
#IV7	Bb7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · D · F · Ab	1×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	9×
V7	B7	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F# · A	1×
vi7	Dbm7	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Db · Fb · Ab · Cb	20×
vi	Dbm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Db · Fb · Ab	19×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i7	Dbm7	Tonic — home	Db · Fb · Ab · Cb	20×
i	Dbm	Tonic — home	Db · Fb · Ab	19×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	10×
iv7	Gbm7	Subdominant — moves away from home	Gb · A · Db · Fb	4×
IV7	Gb7	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	22×
IV	Gb	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Gb · Bb · Db	18×
v	G#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	G# · B · D#	—
V7	Ab7	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	Ab · C · Eb · Gb	1×
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	9×
VI	A/B	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	1×
VI7	A7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	A · C# · E · G	4×
#VI7	Bb7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Bb · D · F · Ab	1×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	9×
VII7	B7	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F# · A	1×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 13 different chords appear 119 times in total; 8 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of C#m brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from E, the same Ab7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for C#m. Gb7, Gb act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key.

Chord movement

A B EIV → VIV → V C#mVI → VIIVI → VII ×8
Gbm7 Dbm Eii7 → vi C#miv7 → iminor plagal ×4
Ab7 Dbm7 EV7/vi → vi7secondary resolution C#mV7 → i7harmonic-minor cadence ×1
B Dbm7 EV → vi7deceptive cadence C#mVII → i7Aeolian arrival ×1
B7 Dbm EV7 → videceptive cadence C#mVII7 → iAeolian arrival ×1
A/B Dbm7 EIV → vi7 C#mVI → i7VI → i ×1

The move to watch is A → B, heard 8 times. From the C#m side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic); from the E side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

E major pentatonic and C# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (E – F# – G# – B – C#): start from E for a brighter phrase, from C# for a bluesier one.
Over Gb7, land on Gb, Bb, Db — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dbm7, land on Db, Fb, Ab — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dbm, land on Db, Fb, Ab — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
When Ab7 comes, swap the scale's B for B#: that single note is the harmonic-minor sound of the chord.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With E major shapes

No capo — open E shapes
Capo 2 + D shapes
Capo 4 + C shapes

With C# minor shapes

Capo 4 + Am shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

3 semitones up
4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The first chord is Dbm7; the ear learns where home is within a second. Gb7, Dbm7, Dbm, Gb carry the song: V7/V–vi7–vi–V/V relative to E, IV7–i7–i–IV relative to C#m. A7 is the interesting twist: in E it is a chromatic chord (IV7), while in C#m it becomes the dominant (VI7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on A → B (IV → V in E, VI → VII in C#m): VI → VII — the rising step that heads for the tonic. Ending on Gb, the song seals E as home.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.