Smooth Operator by Sade

Overview

Key: D minor · Chords used: 7 · Sections: 24

Form: Intro → Intro → A Section → A Section ×6 → A Section → C Section → C Section ×2 → C Section → B Section → B Section → A Section ×3 → A Section → C Section ×3 → 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 1

• Dm7 – Dm9 – Gm7 – Am7
  i7 – i9 – iv7 – v7

Intro 2

Same chords as Intro 1.

A Section 1

• Dm7 – Am7 – Gm7 – Am7
  i7 – v7 – iv7 – 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.

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

• Dm7
  i7
• Am7 – Gm7 (×2)
  v7 – iv7
• Am7 – Dm – Dm7 – Am – Gm7 – Am7 – Dm – Dm7 – Gm7 – Am7 – Dm
  v7 – i – i7 – v – iv7 – v7 – i – i7 – iv7 – v7 – i

C Section 1

• Dm7 – Am7 – Gm7 – Am7
  i7 – v7 – iv7 – v7

C Section 2

Same chords as C Section 1.

C Section 3

Same chords as C Section 1.

C Section 4

• Dm7 – Am7 – Gm7 – Am7 (×5)
  i7 – v7 – iv7 – v7

B Section 1

• Dm7 – Dm9 – Gm7 – Am7
  i7 – i9 – iv7 – v7

B Section 2

• Dm7 – Dm9
  i7 – i9
• Gm7 – Am7 – Dm7 – C (×4)
  iv7 – v7 – i7 – bVII
• Gm7 – Am7
  iv7 – v7

A Section 9

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 10

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 11

Same chords as A Section 1.

A Section 12

Same chords as A Section 8.

C Section 5

Same chords as C Section 1.

C Section 6

Same chords as C Section 1.

C Section 7

Same chords as C Section 1.

C Section 8

Same chords as C Section 4.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Dm7	i7	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, A Section, C Section, B Section
Dm9	i9	Home chord (tonic)	Intro, B Section
Gm7	iv7	In the key	Intro, A Section, C Section, B Section
Am7	v7	In the key	Intro, A Section, C Section, B Section
Dm	i	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Am	v	In the key	A Section
C	bVII	In the key	B Section

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Smooth Operator - Jazzcaz Version” (credited “Sade”, style Bossa Nova) 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 “Smooth Operator” (credited “Sade”, style Medium Pop) 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 68%).
• 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.
• Rhythm and chord durations aren't shown; each step is one chord change.