Winelight by Grover Washington Jr.

Overview

Key: C minor · Chords used: 19 · Sections: 9

Form: A Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → A Section → B Section → C Section → D Section → D 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

A Section 1

• Cm9 – Fm9 – Cm9 – A♭m9 – Cm9
  i9 – iv9 – i9 – bvi9 – i9

A Section 2

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 1

• E♭maj9 – E♭7sus4 – A♭maj9 – D♭7♯11 – E♭maj9 – E♭7sus4 – A7♯11 – A♭maj9 – D♭13 – B13
  bIIImaj9 – bIII7sus4 – bVImaj9 – bII7#11 – bIIImaj9 – bIII7sus4 – VI7#11 – bVImaj9 – bII13 – VII13

C Section 1

• E♭/B♭ – E♭dim7/B♭ – Fm/B♭
  bIII⁶₄ – biii°7 (bass B♭) – iv (bass B♭)
• G7sus4 – G (×4)
  V7sus4 – V

A Section 3

Same chords as A Section 1.

B Section 2

Same chords as B Section 1.

C Section 2

Same chords as C Section 1.

D Section 1

• Cm7 – Dm7 – E♭maj7 – Dm7 – Cm7 – B♭
  i7 – ii7 – bIIImaj7 – ii7 – i7 – bVII

D Section 2

Same chords as D Section 1.

Chord vocabulary

Chord	Roman numeral	Role	Heard in
Cm9	i9	Home chord (tonic)	A Section
Fm9	iv9	In the key	A Section
A♭m9	bvi9	Outside the key (chromatic)	A Section
E♭maj9	bIIImaj9	In the key	B Section
E♭7sus4	bIII7sus4	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
A♭maj9	bVImaj9	In the key	B Section
D♭7♯11	bII7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
A7♯11	VI7#11	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
D♭13	bII13	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
B13	VII13	Outside the key (chromatic)	B Section
E♭/B♭	bIII⁶₄	In the key	C Section
E♭dim7/B♭	biii°7 (bass B♭)	Outside the key (chromatic)	C Section
Fm/B♭	iv (bass B♭)	In the key	C Section
G7sus4	V7sus4	In the key	C Section
G	V	In the key	C Section
Cm7	i7	Home chord (tonic)	D Section
Dm7	ii7	Borrowed from C major	D Section
E♭maj7	bIIImaj7	In the key	D Section
B♭	bVII	In the key	D Section

Harmonic highlights

• Dm7 (ii7) is borrowed from the parallel key, C major.

Sources & accuracy

• Chords: the iReal Pro forum charts archived in ChoCo (de Berardinis et al., 2023). Community chord chart “Winelight” (credited “Grover Washington”, style Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata.
• 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 “Winelight” (credited “Washington Grover”, style Funk) from the forum file linked here, CC BY 4.0 via ChoCo. Performer/songwriter confirmed from Wikidata. A separately posted chart of the same song; its chords match this page's closely when both are read in the same key (similarity 85%).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.