Ordinary Pain by Stevie Wonder

Overview

Key: F major · Chords used: 24 · Sections: 10

Form: Intro → A Section → A Section → B Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → Vamp → C 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

• B♭m9 – E♭13 – F – Fmaj7 – F7 – F6 – Faug
  iv9 – bVII13 – I – Imaj7 – I7 – I6 – I+

A Section 1

• F – Fmaj7 – F7 – Cm7 – F9 – B♭m9 – E♭9 – Fmaj9 – C9sus4
  I – Imaj7 – I7 – v7 – I9 – iv9 – bVII9 – Imaj9 – V9sus4

A Section 2

• F – Fmaj7 – F7 – Cm7 – F9 – B♭m9 – E♭9 – Fmaj9 – E♭sus4/F – F9/C – B7♯11
  I – Imaj7 – I7 – v7 – I9 – iv9 – bVII9 – Imaj9 – bVIIsus4 (bass F) – I9 (bass C) – #IV7#11

B Section 1

• B♭m9 – E♭9 – Fmaj9 – C9sus4 – F – Am7/E – Dm7 – Cm9 – F7♯9 – Cm11 – B7♯11/F – B♭m9 – E♭9 – F – Fmaj7
  iv9 – bVII9 – Imaj9 – V9sus4 – I – iii⁴₃ – vi7 – v9 – I7#9 – v11 – #IV7#11 (bass F) – iv9 – bVII9 – I – Imaj7

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 2.

B Section 2

• B♭m9 – E♭9 – Fmaj9 – C9sus4 – F – Am7/E – Dm7 – Cm9 – F7♯9 – Cm11 – B7♯11/F – B♭m9 – E♭9
  iv9 – bVII9 – Imaj9 – V9sus4 – I – iii⁴₃ – vi7 – v9 – I7#9 – v11 – #IV7#11 (bass F) – iv9 – bVII9
• F – Fmaj7 – F7 – F6 – Faug (×3)
  I – Imaj7 – I7 – I6 – I+
• F
  I
• F5 – Fm7/A♭ – B♭ (×4)
  I5 – i⁶₅ – IV

C Section 1

• F5 – Fm7/A♭ – B♭
  I5 – i⁶₅ – IV

Vamp 1

• F5 – Fm7/A♭ – B♭
  I5 – i⁶₅ – IV

C Section 2

Same chords as C Section 1.

Vamp 2

Same chords as Vamp 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
B♭m9	iv9	Borrowed from F minor	Intro, A Section, B Section
E♭13	bVII13	Borrowed from F minor	Intro
F	I	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section, B Section
Fmaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section, B Section
F7	I7	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, A Section, B Section
F6	I6	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section
Faug	I+	Outside the key (chromatic)	Intro, B Section
Cm7	v7	Borrowed from F minor	A Section
F9	I9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
E♭9	bVII9	Borrowed from F minor	A Section, B Section
Fmaj9	Imaj9	Home chord (tonic)	A Section, B Section
C9sus4	V9sus4	In the key	A Section, B Section
E♭sus4/F	bVIIsus4 (bass F)	Borrowed from F minor	A Section
F9/C	I9 (bass C)	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
B7♯11	#IV7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Am7/E	iii⁴₃	In the key	B Section
Dm7	vi7	In the key	B Section
Cm9	v9	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
F7♯9	I7#9	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
Cm11	v11	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
B7♯11/F	#IV7#11 (bass F)	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
F5	I5	Home chord (tonic)	B Section, C Section, Vamp
Fm7/A♭	i⁶₅	Borrowed from F minor	B Section, C Section, Vamp
B♭	IV	In the key	B Section, C Section, Vamp

Harmonic highlights

• B♭m9 (iv9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭13 (bVII13) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• Cm7 (v7) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭9 (bVII9) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• E♭sus4/F (bVIIsus4 (bass F)) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.
• Fm7/A♭ (i⁶₅) is borrowed from the parallel key, F minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Ordinary Pain” (credited “Wonder Stevie”, style R'n'B) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart.
• 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 “Ordinary Pain” (credited “Wonder Stevie”, style Soul Ballad) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Artist as credited on the chart. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 60%).
• 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's D.S./D.C./coda jumps have been written out in playing order.
• 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.
• 2 chords were 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.