Copacabana (at the copa) chords
by Barry ManilowSong Key: Bb Major
Key Signature: 2 flats (Bb, Eb)
Time Signature: 4/4 (♩)
Tempo: 122 bpm (Moderately with a latin feel)
Vocal Range: A3 - A5
Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Intermediate
Guitar Chords: Fm7, Bb11, Ebmaj7, Am7b5, D7, Dm, GmM7, Gm7, Gm6, Cdim7, D7b9, Cm7, Gm, D7/F#, Bb7/F, C11, C7, C9, Abm9, Am9, Bbm9, Bm9, Cm9, Dbm9, Dm9, Fm9, F#m9, Gm9, Bb7
Extra: Easy way to determine and play the numerous amounts of m9 chords
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
Copacabana
Intro: 4/4
| Percussion | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 |
Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9
Timing: | 1&2&3&4 & | 1&2&3&4 & | 1&2&3&4 & | 1&2&3&4 & |
Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9
| 1&2&3&4 & | 1&2&3&4 & | 1&2&3&4 & | 1& 2 & 3 & 4 & |
(Her name was)
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
1. Her name was Lo-la She was a show-girl
Am7b5 D7 GmM7 Gm7 Gm6
With yellow feath-ers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
She would mer-en-gue And do the Cha - Cha
Am7b5 D7 Gm7
And while she tried to be a star To-ny al-ways tend-ed bar
Cdim7 Gm Cdim7 D7b9 Gm
A-cross the crowd-ed floor, they worked from eight to four
Cm7 D7 Gm D7/F# Bb7/F
They were young and they had each oth-er Who could ask for more?
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
C11 C7 Fm7 Bb11 C11 C7
At the Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na
Fm7 Bb7 Cm7 C9
Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
Fm7 D7b9 Gm9 F#m9
At the Co - pa.... they fell in | love (Co-pa) |
Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9
| Co-pa-ca - | ba - na | (His name was) |
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
2. His name was Ri-co He wore a dia-mond
Am7b5 D7 GmM7 Gm7 Gm6
He was es-cort-ed to his chair, he saw Lo-la danc-ing there
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
And when she fin-ished He called her o-ver
Am7b5 D7 Gm7
But Ri-co went a bit too far To-ny sailed a-cross the bar
Cdim7 Gm Cdim7 D7b9 Gm
And then the punch-es flew and chairs were smashed in two
Cm7 D7 Gm D7/F# Bb7/F
There was blood and a single gun shot But just who shot who?
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
C11 C7 Fm7 Bb11 C11 C7
At the Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na
Fm7 Bb7 Cm7 C9
Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
Fm7 D7b9 Gm9 F#m9
At the Co - pa.... she lost her | love (Co-pa) |
Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9
| Co-pa-ca - | ba - na | |
Gm9 Abm9 Am9 Bbm9
Interlude: Co-pa Co - pa - ca - ba - na
Bm9 Cm9 Dbm9
Co - pa - ca - | ba - na |
Dbm9 Cm9 Bm9 Bbm9 Am9 Abm9 Gm9 F#m9
| Mu-sic and | pas-sion | Al-ways in | fash - ion...|
Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9
Instr: | - | - | - | |
(Her name is)
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
3. Her name is Lo-la She was a show-girl,
Am7b5 D7 GmM7 Gm7 Gm6
But that was thir-ty years a-go, when they used to have a show
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
Now it's a dis-co But not for Lo - la,
Am7b5 D7 Gm7
Still in dress she used to wear Fad-ed feath-ers in her hair
Cdim7 Gm Cdim7 D7b9 Gm
She sits there so re - fined, and drinks her-self half - blind
Cm7 D7 Gm D7/F# Bb7/F
She lost her youth and she lost her To-ny Now she's lost her mind
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
C11 C7 Fm7 Bb11 C11 C7
At the Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na
Fm7 Bb7 Cm7 C9
Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
Fm7 D7b9 | Gm9 F#m9 |
At the Co - pa.... don't fall in love (Co-pa)
Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9
| Co-pa-ca - | ba - na | |
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
C11 C7 Fm7 Bb11 C11 C7
At the Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na
Fm7 Bb7 Cm7 C9
Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
Fm7 D7b9
At the Co - pa....
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
Chorus: At the Co - pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na (Copacabana)
Fm7 Bb11 Ebmaj7
The hot-test spot north of Ha - va - na (here)
C11 C7 Fm7 Bb11 C11 C7
At the Co-pa (Co!) Co - pa - ca - ba - na
Fm7 Bb7 Cm7 C9
Mu-sic and pas-sion were al-ways in fash-ion
Fm7 D7b9 Gm9 F#m9
At the Co - pa.... don't fall in | love (Co-pa) |
Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9
| Don't fall in | love |
Fm9 F#m9 Gm9 F#m9 Fm9 F#m9 Gm9
| (Co - pa - ca - | ba - na) | 𝄐 |All m9 chords are the same shape, and are determined by the root note on the 6th string.
(Root-Note)
Right Handers Fret Chord Left Handers
e |-1-|---|-4-| 1 Fm9 |-4-|---|-1-| e
B |-1-|---|---| 2 F#m9 |---|---|-1-| B
G |-1-|---|---| 3 Gm9 |---|---|-1-| G
D |-1-|---|---| 4 Abm9 |---|---|-1-| D
A |-1-|---|-3-| 5 Am9 |-3-|---|-1-| A
E |-1-|---|---| 6 Bbm9 |---|---|-1-| E
Root 7 Bm9 Root
Note 8 Cm9 Note
Fret 9 Dbm9 Fret
If you play this shape starting on fret 5, you will be playing Am9 (String 6 on the 5th fret is 'A'). If you start on fret 2, F#m9 (String 6 on the 2nd fret is F#), and so on.
Notes:
This song is very 'chord heavy', but don't be put off. Once you learn them, you will see certain patterns emerging making the process a whole lot easier.
- Level: Intermediate - Fairly testing chords at a brisk pace.
- The m9 chords all share the same barre chord shape... the 6th string under the barre finger is the root note, e.g. if you are playing Gm9, you barre the 3rd fret - the 6th string on the 3rd fret is G. The same principle applies to all the m9 chords here. There are 9 x minor 9th chords in total - once you can play one, you can play them all... see chord charts.
- The transition from GmM7 → Gm7 → Gm6 is very easy with the same barre position on the 3rd fret with simple alterations on the other strings. GmM7 can also be written as Gm(maj7).
- Am7b5 is a half diminished 7th chord (formula 1-♭3-♭5-♭7). In this song the transition is always Am7b5 to D7. An easy way to remember the Am7b5, is to think of the D7 shape and play it with fingers 2, 3 and 4, except you will slide your pinkie (4th finger) on the 3rd fret (instead of 2nd fret) and add your first finger to the 4th string - first fret. When you play the D7 after it, you simply slide your pinkie back to the 2nd fret and take your 1st finger off the 4th string - and there you have it - D7. Try it... very easy. 😕
- The 11th chords are very easy. B♭11 can be played exactly the same way as C11 except on a different fret, although the alternative option for B♭11 (x11114) is effective... the choice is yours.
- The Gm (355333) → D7/F# (xx4535) → Bb7/F (xx3334) transition at the end of each verse is very easy. Simply hold the barre in place on the 3rd fret for all 3 chords. Play Gm then make the necessary adjustments for the other 2 chords making sure you don't hit the bottom 2 strings when you play D7/F# and Bb7/F.
- dim7 chords are very easy to play. The shape stays the same - you just have to know which fret to start on... in this case, the Cdim7 is played on the 1st fret, although you can play it in many different positions. With this shape, as long as one of your 4 fingers is playing a C note, you are playing a Cdim7. It can also be played starting on the 4th, 8th and 10th frets. So why the 1st fret?
- The transition from Cdim7 starting on the 1st fret → D7b9 starting on the 4th fret is more in keeping with the dynamics of the song. If you were to play the Cdim7 starting on the 4th fret, it is almost the same as D7b9 with the addition of 1 note (sounding almost identical)... there needs to be a more significant change in the sound between the 2 chords, hence playing the Cdim7 starting on the 1st fret. If you do find the transition a little difficult, you can play both these chords as a Cdim7 starting on the 4th fret.
- The video fades out towards the end. I have included an ending just in case.
- If you take the time to master this song, you'll be glad you did. It will unlock a new set of chords, elevate your playing to the next level, and you'll have a lot of fun in the process.
- Take it slow. Begin by breaking the song up into sections untill and learn each set of chords accordingly. Slowly piece the sections together until you can play along with the video effortlessly... when you can do that, you need to give yourself a big pat on the back because this song is fairly 'trying' to say the least... good luck.
