Oh Happy Day by Edwin Hawkins Singers
Piano chords, voicings & structure breakdown · 44 steps · 7 unique chords · 1960s
B♭m7
No source cited for this step
Harmonic Analysis & Structure
Overview
Key: A♭ major · Chords used: 7 · Sections: 9
Form: Intro → A Section → A Section → B Section → A Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → C Section
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
- B♭m7 – E♭7 (×3)
ii7 – V7 - A♭ – D♭/A♭ (×2)
I – IV⁶₄
A Section 1
- A♭ – D♭/A♭ – A♭ – F7
I – IV⁶₄ – I – VI7 - B♭m7 – E♭7 (×3)
ii7 – V7 - A♭ – D♭/A♭ (×2)
I – IV⁶₄
A Section 2
- A♭ – D♭/A♭ – A♭ – F7
I – IV⁶₄ – I – VI7 - B♭m7 – E♭7 (×3)
ii7 – V7 - A♭ – D♭/A♭ – A♭
I – IV⁶₄ – I
B Section 1
- E♭7
V7 - A♭ – D♭/A♭ (×3)
I – IV⁶₄ - A♭
I
A Section 3
Same chords as A Section 2.
A Section 4
- A♭ – D♭/A♭ – A♭ – F7
I – IV⁶₄ – I – VI7 - B♭m7 – E♭7 (×3)
ii7 – V7 - A♭ – D♭/A♭
I – IV⁶₄
B Section 2
- E♭7
V7 - A♭ – D♭/A♭ (×3)
I – IV⁶₄ - A♭ – E♭7 – A♭
I – V7 – I
C Section 1
- A♭ – D♭7 (×2)
I – IV7
C Section 2
- A♭ – D♭7 (×2)
I – IV7 - A♭7
I7
Chord vocabulary
| Chord | Roman numeral | Role | Heard in |
|---|---|---|---|
| B♭m7 | ii7 | In the key | Intro, A Section |
| E♭7 | V7 | In the key | Intro, A Section, B Section |
| A♭ | I | Home chord (tonic) | Intro, A Section, B Section, C Section |
| D♭/A♭ | IV⁶₄ | In the key | Intro, A Section, B Section |
| F7 | VI7 | Secondary dominant (V/ii) | A Section |
| D♭7 | IV7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | C Section |
| A♭7 | I7 | Outside the key (chromatic) | C Section |
Harmonic highlights
- F7 acts as V/ii: it resolves to B♭m7.
Sources & accuracy
- Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Oh Happy Day! - Edwin Hawkins Version” (credited “Hawkins Edwin”, style Medium Rock) 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).
- 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.
- The chart has D.S./D.C. jump markings that couldn't be followed reliably, so it's shown in written order; part of the song may be played more times than shown.
- Not verified: only one chart of this song is available, so it hasn't been cross-checked.
- Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.
Sources & Accuracy
Every chord on this page comes from the community chart listed first below. Piano voicings are our arrangement of the reported chord symbols, not a note-for-note transcription.
Chords from a chart a musician wrote and shared on the iReal Pro forums (archived in the ChoCo research dataset); may be in a different key from the recording, and not checked against it.
Community chord chart “Oh Happy Day! - Edwin Hawkins Version” (credited “Hawkins Edwin”, style Medium Rock) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer confirmed from the Billboard year-end charts.
All Piano Voicings
| # | Section | Chord | Left hand | Right hand | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intro, part 1 (×3) | B♭m7 | B♭2, F3 | D♭4, F4, A♭4 | — |
| 2 | Intro, part 1 (×3) | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | D♭4, G4, B♭4 | — |
| 3 | Intro, part 2 (×2) | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 4 | Intro, part 2 (×2) | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 5 | A Section 1, part 1 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 6 | A Section 1, part 1 | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 7 | A Section 1, part 1 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 8 | A Section 1, part 1 | F7 | F2, C3 | E♭4, A4, C5 | — |
| 9 | A Section 1, part 2 (×3) | B♭m7 | B♭2, F3 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 10 | A Section 1, part 2 (×3) | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | G4, B♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 11 | A Section 1, part 3 (×2) | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | A♭4, C5, E♭5 | — |
| 12 | A Section 1, part 3 (×2) | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 13 | A Section 2, part 1 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 14 | A Section 2, part 1 | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 15 | A Section 2, part 1 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 16 | A Section 2, part 1 | F7 | F2, C3 | E♭4, A4, C5 | — |
| 17 | A Section 2, part 2 (×3) | B♭m7 | B♭2, F3 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 18 | A Section 2, part 2 (×3) | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | G4, B♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 19 | A Section 2, part 3 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | A♭4, C5, E♭5 | — |
| 20 | A Section 2, part 3 | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 21 | A Section 2, part 3 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 22 | B Section 1, part 1 | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | D♭4, G4, B♭4 | — |
| 23 | B Section 1, part 2 (×3) | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 24 | B Section 1, part 2 (×3) | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 25 | B Section 1, part 3 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 26 | A Section 4, part 1 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 27 | A Section 4, part 1 | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 28 | A Section 4, part 1 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 29 | A Section 4, part 1 | F7 | F2, C3 | E♭4, A4, C5 | — |
| 30 | A Section 4, part 2 (×3) | B♭m7 | B♭2, F3 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 31 | A Section 4, part 2 (×3) | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | G4, B♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 32 | A Section 4, part 3 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | A♭4, C5, E♭5 | — |
| 33 | A Section 4, part 3 | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 34 | B Section 2, part 1 | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | G4, B♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 35 | B Section 2, part 2 (×3) | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | A♭4, C5, E♭5 | — |
| 36 | B Section 2, part 2 (×3) | D♭/A♭ | A♭2 | F4, A♭4, D♭5 | — |
| 37 | B Section 2, part 3 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 38 | B Section 2, part 3 | E♭7 | E♭2, B♭2 | D♭4, G4, B♭4 | — |
| 39 | B Section 2, part 3 | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 40 | C Section 1 (×2) | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 41 | C Section 1 (×2) | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | F4, A♭4, C♭5 | — |
| 42 | C Section 2, part 1 (×2) | A♭ | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, A♭4, C5 | — |
| 43 | C Section 2, part 1 (×2) | D♭7 | D♭2, A♭2 | F4, A♭4, C♭5 | — |
| 44 | C Section 2, part 2 | A♭7 | A♭2, E♭3 | E♭4, G♭4, C5 | — |