Let's Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire

Overview

Key: E minor · Chords used: 11 · Sections: 25

Form: Intro → Intro → B Section → B Section ×3 → A Section → A Section ×3 → B Section ×2 → A Section ×4 → B Section ×4 → C Section → D Section → Vamp → D Section → Vamp

Where these chords come from: a chord chart of this song written by a musician and shared on the iReal Pro forums, archived in the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). It's one musician's reading of the song, not a transcription checked against the recording. This page shows that chart as-is: the analysis below is generated directly from it by code, not written by AI. Consecutive repeats of a chord are shown once, and the piano voicings are our playable arrangement of each chord symbol, not a note-for-note transcription.

Section by section

Intro 1

• Em7 – Em7/A – Em7/G – F♯m7 – Bm7 (×2)
  i7 – i7 (bass A) – i⁶₅ – ii7 – v7

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

B Section 1

• Em7 – Em7/A – Em7/G – F♯m7 – Bm7 (×2)
  i7 – i7 (bass A) – i⁶₅ – ii7 – v7

B Section 2

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 3

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 4

Same chords as B Section 1.

A Section 1

• Em7 – Em7/A – Em7/G – F♯m7 – Bm7 (×2)
  i7 – i7 (bass A) – i⁶₅ – ii7 – v7

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 4

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 5

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 6

Same chords as B Section 1.

A Section 5

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 6

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 7

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 8

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 7

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 8

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 9

Same chords as B Section 1.

B Section 10

Same chords as B Section 1.

C Section

• Am7 – Bm7 – Em7 (×2)
  iv7 – v7 – i7
• Cm7 – Dm7 – Gm7 – F♯7♯9 – B7♯9
  bvi7 – bvii7 – biii7 – II7#9 – V7#9

D Section 1

• Em7 – Em7/A – Em7/G – F♯m7 – Bm7
  i7 – i7 (bass A) – i⁶₅ – ii7 – v7

Vamp 1

• Em7 – Em7/A – Em7/G – F♯m7 – Bm7
  i7 – i7 (bass A) – i⁶₅ – ii7 – v7

D Section 2

Same chords as D Section 1.

Vamp 2

Same chords as Vamp 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Em7	i7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section, A Section, C Section, D Section, Vamp
Em7/A	i7 (bass A)	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section, A Section, D Section, Vamp
Em7/G	i⁶₅	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section, A Section, D Section, Vamp
F♯m7	ii7	Borrowed from E major	Intro, B Section, A Section, D Section, Vamp
Bm7	v7	In the key	Intro, B Section, A Section, C Section, D Section, Vamp
Am7	iv7	In the key	C Section
Cm7	bvi7	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
Dm7	bvii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
Gm7	biii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
F♯7♯9	II7#9	Secondary dominant (V/V)	C Section
B7♯9	V7#9	In the key	C Section

Harmonic highlights

• F♯m7 (ii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, E major.
• F♯7♯9 acts as V/V: it resolves to B7♯9.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Let's Groove” (credited “Earth, Wind and Fire (White, Vaughn)”, style Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts.
• Section names: from the chart's own markings: section names written on the chart (Intro, Verse, Chorus…) are kept, and rehearsal letters are shown as “A Section”, “B Section” and so on (the B of an AABA song is called the Bridge).
• Cross-check: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Let's Groove” (credited “White-Vaughn (Earth, Wind & Fire)”, style Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 95%).
• Chord charts are often written in a key that suits a particular singer or band, so this may not be the key of the original recording.
• About the song: Wikipedia.
• Verified: two community charts of this song, posted in different forum threads, agree on its harmony. They're still charts, not transcriptions checked against the recording.
• 1 chord was simplified to the closest symbol our player supports (for example, an unusual added tone dropped).
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.