Major view
F major
Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)
Characteristic notes
- 7 = E (leading tone, pulls home)
- 4 = Bb (the note that leans on the 3rd)
Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful - Chord
Key F major – D minor Chords F, Am, Dm, C, Gm, A#, A7 Easy key C (capo 5)
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Key: F | Dm
Capo: 0
F Am Dm Am
I see trees of green, red roses too
Gm F A7 Dm
I see them bloom, for me and you,
A# Gm C F C
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world.
F Am Dm Am
I see skies of blue and clouds of white,
Gm F A7 Dm
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night,
A# Gm C F
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
C F
The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,
C F
Are also on the faces of people going by
Dm Am Dm Am
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
Dm Am Gm F C
They’re really saying I love you.
F Am Dm Am
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
Gm F A7 Dm
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know,
A# C F
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
A# Gm C F
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
End of song Play again?
Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful Tabs
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Harmony analysis
Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful: key and chord analysis
The song opens on F and ends on F. Its chords belong to both F major and Dm, so every chord below is read both ways.
Minor view
D minor
Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)
Characteristic notes
- b6 = Bb (the minor's melancholy)
- b7 = C (natural-minor colour)
- #7 = C# (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 F major side because it both starts and finishes on F, F is heard 13 times against 9 for Dm and the major V chord points straight at Dm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from D minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.
Chord degrees: major and relative minor
Show the degrees above the chords — relative to F or to Dm; 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.
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | F | Tonic — home | F · A · C | 13× |
| ii | Gm | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | G · Bb · D | 7× |
| iii | Am | Mediant — a tonic-family shade | A · C · E | 9× |
| V7/vi | A7 | Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Dmsecondary dominant | A · C# · E · G | 3× |
| IV | A# | Subdominant — moves away from home | A# · D · E# | 4× |
| V | C | Dominant — strongest pull home | C · E · G | 8× |
| vi | Dm | Relative minor — the melancholy side | D · F · A | 9× |
| vii° | Edim | Leading-tone chord — tension | E · G · Bb | — |
| Degree | Chord | Role | Notes | In song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| i | Dm | Tonic — home | D · F · A | 9× |
| ii° | Edim | Supertonic — prepares the dominant | E · G · Bb | — |
| III | F | Relative major — the bright side | F · A · C | 13× |
| iv | Gm | Subdominant — moves away from home | G · Bb · D | 7× |
| v | Am | Minor dominant — soft pull | A · C · E | 9× |
| V7 | A7 | Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor | A · C# · E · G | 3× |
| VI | A# | Submediant — warm colour | A# · D · E# | 4× |
| VII | C | Subtonic — steps back to the tonic | C · E · G | 8× |
Analysis
The key pair is F major and its relative D minor (1 flat). 7 different chords appear 53 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. The major V of Dm brings the harmonic-minor leading tone, giving the minor side a sharper, more dramatic pull; seen from F, the same A7 is V7/vi, a secondary dominant heading for Dm.
Chord movement
- C F FV → Iauthentic cadence DmVII → III ×8
- Am Dm Fiii → vi Dmv → inatural-minor cadence ×5
- A7 Dm FV7/vi → visecondary resolution DmV7 → iharmonic-minor cadence ×3
- Gm C Fii → Vii → V Dmiv → VII ×3
- A# C FIV → VIV → V DmVI → VIIVI → VII ×1
The move to watch is C → F, heard 8 times. From the F side it reads V → I (authentic cadence: the strongest arrival home); from the Dm side it is VII → III. Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.
Improvisation tips
- F major pentatonic and D minor pentatonic are the same five notes (F – G – A – C – D): start from F for a brighter phrase, from D for a bluesier one.
- Over F, land on F, A, C — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Am, land on A, C, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- Over Dm, land on D, F, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
- When A7 comes, swap the scale's C for C#: 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 F major shapes
- Capo 1 + E shapes
- Capo 3 + D shapes
- Capo 5 + C shapes
With D minor shapes
- No capo — open Dm shapes
- Capo 5 + Am shapes
Easiest keys on guitar
- 5 semitones down · capo 5 keeps the original pitch
- 2 semitones up
The song's harmonic story
The first chord is F; the ear learns where home is within a second. The chords that keep coming back are F, Am, Dm, C; read them as I–iii–vi–V in F or III–v–i–VII in Dm. A7 is the interesting twist: in F it is a chromatic chord (V7/vi), while in Dm it becomes the dominant (V7) that makes the minor side sound so determined. Keep an ear on C → F (V → I in F, VII → III in Dm): authentic cadence — the strongest arrival home. The final chord is F; the ear comes to rest in F.
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.
Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful 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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