Ariana Grande - Imperfect For You - Chord

Key E major – C# minor Chords E, A, Gb, F, Abm, Dbm, Gb7, Gbm … Easy key G

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Capo 0

E                    Gb
My boy, come take my hand
               A                          E         F
Throw your guitar and your clothes in the back seat
    E                      Gb
My love, they don't understand
                    A                      E       Abm
But I'll hold your hurt in the box here beside me
Dbm
How could we know
Gb7                     A        E  Abm
We'd rearrange all the cosmos? Mmm
Dbm
We crashed and we burned
Gb7                           A
Now I just can't go where you don't go
    Gbm     B
And usually I'm

E                 Gb
Fucked up, anxious, too much
              A                    E
But I'll love you like you need me to
   F          E
Imperfect for you
             Gb
Messy, completely distressed
        A                     E
But I'm not like that since I met you
   F          E
Imperfect for you

            Gb
Let's go tonight
                      A                       E      F
'Causе there's just a few sеconds left till tomorrow
   E                Gb
We have all that we need
                A                       E      Abm
Let's leave our baggage and wine at the table 
     Dbm
Mmm, how could we know
     Gb7                A        E  Abm
That this was a happy disaster? Mmm     
         Dbm
I'm glad we crashed and burned 
     Gb7                   A
I'll never forget when you told me
          Gbm     B
You said: Usually I'm

E                 Gb
Fucked up, anxious, too much
              A                    E
But I'll love you like you need me to
F             E
Imperfect for you
            Gb
Messy, completely distressed 
        A                     E       Abm
But I'm not like that since I met you

     Dbm
Mmm, how could we know
Gb7                         A        E  Abm
We'd make the bad stuff delightful? Mmm
         Dbm
I'm glad we crashed and burned
  Gb7                      A
I know we'll be there for each other
     Gbm    B
When we're feeling

E                 Gb
Fucked up, anxious, too much
              A                    E
But I'll love you like you need me to
   F          E
Imperfect for you
             Gb
Messy, completely distressed
        A                     E
But I'm not like that since I met you
   F          E
Imperfect for you

E                 Gb
Fucked up, anxious, too much
A                    E
    Like you need me to
   F          E
Imperfect for you
             Gb
Messy, completely distressed
A                      E
    Like that since I met you
   F           E
Imperfect for you

End of song Play again?

Ariana Grande - Imperfect For You Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Ariana Grande – Imperfect For You: key and chord analysis

The song opens on E and ends on E. 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)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the E major side because it both starts and finishes on E and E is heard 29 times against 6 for C#m. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from C# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

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	29×
bII	F	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	F · A · C	9×
ii	Gbm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	Gb · A · Db	3×
V/V	Gb	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db	12×
V7/V	Gb7	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Bsecondary dominant	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	6×
iii	Abm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Ab · Cb · Eb	6×
V/vi	G#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dbmsecondary dominant	G# · B# · D#	—
IV	A	Subdominant — moves away from home	A · C# · E	18×
V	B	Dominant — strongest pull home	B · D# · F#	3×
vi	Dbm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	Db · Fb · Ab	6×
vii°	D#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	D# · F# · A	—

Seen from C# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Dbm	Tonic — home	Db · Fb · Ab	6×
ii°	D#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	D# · F# · A	—
III	E	Relative major — the bright side	E · G# · B	29×
#III	F	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	F · A · C	9×
iv	Gbm	Subdominant — moves away from home	Gb · A · Db	3×
IV	Gb	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Gb · Bb · Db	12×
IV7	Gb7	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	Gb · Bb · Db · Fb	6×
v	Abm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Ab · Cb · Eb	6×
V	G#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	G# · B# · D#	—
VI	A	Submediant — warm colour	A · C# · E	18×
VII	B	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	B · D# · F#	3×

Analysis

The key pair is E major and its relative C# minor (4 sharps). 9 different chords appear 92 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Gb, Gb7 act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. F is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

A E EIV → Iplagal cadence C#mVI → III ×15
Abm Dbm Eiii → vi C#mv → inatural-minor cadence ×6
B E EV → Iauthentic cadence C#mVII → III ×3
Gbm B Eii → Vii → V C#miv → VII ×3

The move to watch is A → E, heard 15 times. From the E side it reads IV → I (plagal cadence: the soft 'amen' ending); from the C#m side it is VI → III. 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 E, land on E, G#, B — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Gb, land on Gb, Bb, Db — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On F, follow the chord's notes (F · A · C) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

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 opening E lays a solid floor for everything that follows. E, A, Gb, F carry the song: I–IV–V/V–bII relative to E, III–VI–IV–#III relative to C#m. Gb adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to B. Keep an ear on A → E (IV → I in E, VI → III in C#m): plagal cadence — the soft 'amen' ending. Ending on E, 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.

Ariana Grande - Imperfect For You Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano

Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.

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