Standards

Begin The Beguine chords & key

Key: C major
Form: AABACC
Bars: 100
Groove: Medium swing
Time signature: 4/4

“Begin The Beguine” is a jazz standard by Cole Porter. Most bands play it in C major, medium swing; the tune runs 100 bars in AABACC form. Harmonically it contains 8 major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 21 different chords and moves between the key centres C major, D minor, B♭ major and A♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — C major

×2

C⁶

C^maj7

C⁶

C⁶D♭^dim

D^m7

G⁷

D^m7

G⁷

C^maj7

C⁶

C^m7

F⁷

B♭⁶

B♭^m7

E♭⁷

A♭^maj7

A♭⁶

A^dim7

G⁶

A♭⁷

G⁶

A♭⁷

D^m7

G⁷

C⁶

C^maj7

C⁶

C⁷

D^m7

G⁷

D^m7♭5

D^m7

G⁷

C^maj7

C⁶

C^maj7

C⁶

G⁷

F^maj7

E^m7

A⁷

D^m7

G⁷

C^maj7

C⁶

D^m7

D^m7♭5

D^m7

G⁷

C⁶

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

Harmonic analysis

8Major ii–V–I

2Minor ii–V–i

13ii–V moves

1Tritone substitutions

0Dominant chains

21Different chords

Most used chords

C⁶×19
D^m7×19
G⁷×13
C×11
C^maj7×9
D^m7♭5×6

Key centres reached by ii–V

C major, D minor, B♭ major and A♭ major

Recorded on these albums

1947	A Collection of Tropical Songs Andrews Sisters · “Begin the Beguine”
1949	Bing Crosby Sings Cole Porter Songs Bing Crosby · “Begin the Beguine”
1950	Piano Solos Vol. 2 Art Tatum
1952	South of the Border Charlie Parker · “Begin the Beguine”
1953	Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter Oscar Peterson
1954	The Genius of Art Tatum Art Tatum · “Begin the Beguine”
1955	Mambo Moves Garner Erroll Garner · “Begin the Beguine”
1955	Sweet Georgia Brown Billy Tipton Trio · “Begin the Beguine”
1955	Basses Loaded! Milt Hinton / Wendell Marshall / Bull Ruther
1956	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “Begin the Beguine”
1956	The Andrews Sisters in Hi-Fi The Andrews Sisters · “Begin the Beguine”
1957	Sammy Swings Sammy Davis Jr. · “Begin the Beguine”
1957	Billy Tipton Plays Hi-Fi On Piano Billy Tipton · “Begin the Beguine”
1958	Plays Cole Porter Wilbur De Paris · “Begin the Beguine”
1959	Como Swings Perry Como
1959	Harmonica Virtuoso with Piano, Trumpet, Bass, Guitar and Drums Larry Adler · “Begin the Beguine”
1959	Launching A New Band Terry Gibbs · “Begin the Beguine”
1960	The Other Chet Atkins Chet Atkins · “Begin the Beguine”
1960	Together Louis Prima & Keely Smith · “Begin the Beguine”
1960	The Steve Lawrence Sound Steve Lawrence · “Begin the Beguine”
1960	Pete Fountain Salutes the Great Clarinetists Pete Fountain · “Begin the Beguine”
1961	The Greatest Horn in the World Al Hirt · “Begin the Beguine”
1962	Hollywood & Broadway Tony Bennett
1962	What Kind of Fool Am I: And Other Show‐Stoppers Sammy Davis Jr. · “Begin the Beguine”

Transcribed solos on Begin The Beguine

David Liebman soprano saxophone

120 BPM

Bb-maj

1988

Historic 78 rpm recordings

Begin The Beguine Ray Bloch and his TV Orchestra · Cole Porter archive.org ↗
BEGIN THE BEGUINE AL HIRT · HORACE HEIDT and His Musical Knights · Cole Porter archive.org ↗
Begin the beguine Göte Wilhelmssons sextet · Göte Wilhelmsson · Gunnar Nilsson · Lasse… archive.org ↗
Begin the Beguine Charles Magnante · Cole Porter · 1945 archive.org ↗
BEGIN THE BEGUINE MAURICE ROCCO AND HIS ROCKIN' RHYTHM · COSY COLE AND BILLY TAYLOR ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
Begin the Beguine Clifford Lang's Symphonic Jazz Orchestra · Cole Porter · 1946 archive.org ↗
Begin The Beguine Clifford Lang's Symphonic Jazz Orchestra · Cole Porter · 1946 archive.org ↗
Begin The Beguine DELTA RHYTHM BOYS · Metronome All-Stars · Cole Porter · 1950 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Call Me 24%	Tony Hatch	G major	AABA · 56	Bossa nova
How High The Moon 21%	Morgan Lewis	G major	ABAC · 32	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Begin The Beguine in?

Begin The Beguine is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.

Who wrote Begin The Beguine?

Begin The Beguine was written by Cole Porter.

What is the form of Begin The Beguine?

Begin The Beguine has 6 sections (AABACC) with 100 bars in total.

How fast is Begin The Beguine played?

The usual groove is Medium swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 120 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Begin The Beguine?

The opening bars are C | C6 | Cmaj7 | C6. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.