Por una Cabeza in G

Carlos Gardel / Alfredo Le Pera(1935)tangoTango lento
Do Re MiC D E
G
Instrument
GuitarUkuleleBassPiano
A
A
B
A
G
D7
G
D7
G
Em
D7
G
G
D7
G
D7
G
Em
D7
G
C
G
Em
B7
Em
Am
D7
G
G
D7
G
D7
G
Em
D7
G

Chord Diagrams — Por una Cabeza in G (Guitar)

Por una Cabeza in G

Carlos Gardel y Alfredo Le Pera compusieron 'Por una Cabeza' en 1935 para la película 'Tango Bar'. Es el tango más reconocible del mundo no rioplatense: 'Scent of a Woman' (Al Pacino, 1992) lo inmortalizó en Hollywood y desde entonces es sinónimo de seducción y elegancia argentina. La melodía en Do mayor, con ese bandoneón que suspira, ha cruzado todos los idiomas y todas las pistas de baile del planeta.

Por una Cabeza in G

G major is the singer-songwriter's key. The open G, B, and D strings spell out the full G major triad with zero fretting. Add the open high E for a Gadd6 shimmer. Nearly every diatonic chord (Em, Am, C, D) has a comfortable open voicing. G is a beginner-level key on guitar because the open G, B, and D strings form a complete G major triad without fretting a single note, and the open low E adds a rich 6th color. Beginners will find this key approachable since most chords use open voicings with minimal stretching.

Voice Leading

The bass line moves through G to D (descending perfect fourth), D to E (ascending whole step), E to C (descending major third), C to B (descending half step), B to A (descending whole step). A half-step bass movement creates a strong leading-tone pull that demands resolution. The predominantly stepwise bass motion creates smooth, connected voice leading. When the progression loops, the bass returns from A to G by whole step.

Scales for Improvisation

G major pentatonic works because every note is either a chord tone or a safe passing tone — there are no avoid notes. For soloing, this means you can play freely without clashing. Over dominant seventh chords, G Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.

tango4/4 · 32 bars · Form: AABA

Chords: G, D7, Em, C, B7, Am.