Standards

All By Myself chords & key

Key: C major
Form: ABAC
Bars: 32
Groove: Medium swing
Time signature: 4/4

“All By Myself” is a jazz standard by Irving Berlin. It is usually played in C major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 2 major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 14 different chords and moves between the key centres C major and D minor. In this atlas it appears on 4 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — C major

C^maj7

D⁷

G⁷

E^m7A⁷

D^m7G⁷

C^maj7

G♭^m7♭5B⁷

E⁷

A^m7

D⁷

D^m7

G⁷

C^maj7

D⁷

G⁷

E⁷

F^maj7

G♭^dim7

C^maj7_/G

A⁷

D⁷

G⁷

C⁶A^m7

D^m7G⁷

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

2Major ii–V–I

1Minor ii–V–i

6ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

5Dominant chains

14Different chords

Most used chords

G⁷×8
C^maj7×6
D⁷×6
D^m7×3
E⁷×3
A⁷×2

Key centres reached by ii–V

C major and D minor

Characteristics

ABAC song form

Recorded on these albums

1946	Blue Skies Bing Crosby · “All by Myself”
1958	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “All by Myself”
1959	Hometown, My Town Tony Bennett · “All by Myself”
1962	Dear Lonely Hearts Nat King Cole · “All by Myself”

Historic 78 rpm recordings

ALL BY MYSELF MORTON DOWNEY · Irving Berlin archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Too Young To Go Steady 34%	Jimmy McHugh	F major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Try A Little Tenderness 32%	Harry Woods	E♭ major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Cotton Tail 29%	Duke Ellington	B♭ major	AABA · 32	Up-tempo swing
Don't Be That Way 28%	Edgar Sampson	D♭ major	AABA · 32	Medium swing
My One And Only Love 28%	Wood-Mellin	C major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Rosetta 28%	Earl Hines	F major	AABA · 32	Medium-up swing
This Is All I Ask 28%	Gordon Jenkins	F major	ABAC · 32	Ballad
For Sentimental Reasons 27%	William Best	F major	AABA · 32	Slow swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is All By Myself in?

All By Myself is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.

Who wrote All By Myself?

All By Myself was written by Irving Berlin.

What is the form of All By Myself?

All By Myself has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is All By Myself played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to All By Myself?

The opening bars are Cmaj7 | Cmaj7 | D7 | D7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.