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 7 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — C major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- C6×19
- Dm7×19
- G7×13
- C×11
- Cmaj7×9
- Dm7♭5×6
Key centres reached by ii–V
C major, D minor, B♭ major and A♭ major
Recorded on these albums
| 1949 | Bing Crosby Sings Cole Porter Songs Bing Crosby · “Begin the Beguine” |
| 1952 | South of the Border Charlie Parker · “Begin the Beguine” |
| 1953 | Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter Oscar Peterson |
| 1956 | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “Begin the Beguine” |
| 2007 | Sings Cole Porter Ella Fitzgerald · “Begin the Beguine” |
| 2015 | The Complete Hits 1943-62 Frank Sinatra · “Begin the Beguine” |
| — | It’s Easy to Remember Bing Crosby · “Begin the Beguine” |
Transcribed solos on Begin The Beguine
| David Liebman soprano saxophone | 120 BPM |
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 | Key |
|---|---|
| Call Me 24% | G major |
| How High The Moon 21% | G major |
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.