Smile Please by Stevie Wonder

Overview

Key: E major · Chords used: 21 · Sections: 11

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

• Emaj7 – Am/E
  Imaj7 – iv⁶₄

A Section 1

• Emaj7 – Am/E – Emaj7 – D♯m7 – C♯m7 – Dm7/C♯ – C♯m7 – F♯13 – Aadd9 – D9 – G♯m7 – C♯m7 – Gsus4 – G – Dsus4 – D – F♯m7 – G/B – F/B
  Imaj7 – iv⁶₄ – Imaj7 – vii7 – vi7 – bvii7 (bass C♯) – vi7 – II13 – IVadd9 – bVII9 – iii7 – vi7 – bIIIsus4 – bIII – bVIIsus4 – bVII – ii7 – bIII⁶ – bII (bass B)

A Section 2

• Emaj7 – Am/E – Emaj7 – D♯m7 – C♯m7 – Dm7/C♯ – C♯m7 – F♯13 – Aadd9 – D9 – G♯m7 – C♯m7 – Gsus4 – G – Dsus4 – D – Eadd9
  Imaj7 – iv⁶₄ – Imaj7 – vii7 – vi7 – bvii7 (bass C♯) – vi7 – II13 – IVadd9 – bVII9 – iii7 – vi7 – bIIIsus4 – bIII – bVIIsus4 – bVII – Iadd9

B Section 1

• G♯m7 – C♯13 (×2)
  iii7 – VI13
• A♯m7 – D♯13 – Amaj9
  #iv7 – VII13 – IVmaj9

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 2.

Interlude

• G♯m7 – C♯13 (×2)
  iii7 – VI13
• A♯m7 – D♯13
  #iv7 – VII13

Vamp 1

• Amaj9
  IVmaj9

B Section 2

• G♯m7 – C♯13 (×2)
  iii7 – VI13
• A♯m7 – D♯13
  #iv7 – VII13

Vamp 2

Same chords as Vamp 1.

B Section 3

Same chords as B Section 2.

Vamp 3

Same chords as Vamp 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Emaj7	Imaj7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section
Am/E	iv⁶₄	Borrowed from E minor	Intro, A Section
D♯m7	vii7	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
C♯m7	vi7	In the key	A Section
Dm7/C♯	bvii7 (bass C♯)	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
F♯13	II13	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Aadd9	IVadd9	In the key	A Section
D9	bVII9	Borrowed from E minor	A Section
G♯m7	iii7	In the key	A Section, B Section, Interlude
Gsus4	bIIIsus4	Borrowed from E minor	A Section
G	bIII	Borrowed from E minor	A Section
Dsus4	bVIIsus4	Borrowed from E minor	A Section
D	bVII	Borrowed from E minor	A Section
F♯m7	ii7	In the key	A Section
G/B	bIII⁶	Borrowed from E minor	A Section
F/B	bII (bass B)	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
Eadd9	Iadd9	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
C♯13	VI13	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section, Interlude
A♯m7	#iv7	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section, Interlude
D♯13	VII13	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section, Interlude
Amaj9	IVmaj9	In the key	B Section, Vamp

Harmonic highlights

• Am/E (iv⁶₄) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D9 (bVII9) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Gsus4 (bIIIsus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• G (bIII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• Dsus4 (bVIIsus4) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• D (bVII) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.
• G/B (bIII⁶) is borrowed from the parallel key, E minor.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Smile Please” (credited “Wonder Stevie”, style Soul) 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 “Smile Please” (credited “Wonder Stevie”, style Soul) 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 100%).
• 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.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.