Standards · 1947
Autumn Leaves chords & key
- Key
- G minor
- Form
- AABC
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1947
“Autumn Leaves” is a jazz standard by Joseph Kosma from 1947. Most bands play it in G minor, medium swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AABC form. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 5 minor ii–V–i, uses 11 different chords and moves between the key centres G minor and B♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 14 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — G minor
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Gm6×8
- Am7♭5×5
- D7♭13×5
- Cm7×3
- F7×3
- B♭maj7×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
G minor and B♭ major
History
"Autumn Leaves" is the English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song "Les Feuilles mortes" ("The Dead Leaves") composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945. The original lyrics were written by Jacques Prévert in French, and in 1950 Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyrics. An instrumental recording by pianist Roger Williams topped the US Billboard charts of 1955. Since its introduction, "Autumn Leaves" has become a jazz standard, and it is one of the most recorded songs by jazz musicians. More than a thousand commercial recordings are known to have been released by mainstream jazz and pop musicians.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- Autumn Leaves Stan Getz · Prevert · Kosma · Mercer · 1952 archive.org ↗
- Autumn Leaves The Buddy De Franco Quartet · Buddy De Franco · Sonny Clark · Gene… · 1954 archive.org ↗
- Autumn Leaves The Buddy De Franco Quartet · Buddy De Franco · Sonny Clark · Gene… · 1954 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Serenade To A Cuckoo 41% | F minor |
| Don't Explain 35% | D minor |
| Manha De Carnaval (Black Orpheus) 32% | A minor |
| Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise 32% | C minor |
| The Kicker 31% | B♭ major |
| You Don't Know What Love Is 23% | F minor |
| Road Song 22% | G minor |
| Here's To Life 21% | C minor |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Autumn Leaves in?
Autumn Leaves is usually played in G minor. For B♭ instruments that is A minor, for E♭ instruments E minor.
Who wrote Autumn Leaves?
Autumn Leaves was written by Joseph Kosma (1947).
What is the form of Autumn Leaves?
Autumn Leaves has 4 sections (AABC) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Autumn Leaves played?
The usual groove is Medium swing.
What are the chord changes to Autumn Leaves?
The opening bars are Cm7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | Ebmaj7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.