Standards · 1945
Billie's Bounce chords & key
- Key
- F major
- Form
- A
- Bars
- 12
- Groove
- Medium-up swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1945
“Billie's Bounce” is a jazz standard by Charlie Parker from 1945. Most bands play it in F major, medium-up swing; the tune runs 12 bars in A form. Harmonically it contains no major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 8 different chords. Its changes follow the 12-bar blues. In this atlas it appears on 3 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — F major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- F7×5
- B♭7×2
- D7×2
- Gm7×2
- C7×2
- Cm7×1
Characteristics
- 12-bar blues
History
"Billie's Bounce" (also known as "Bill's Bounce") is a jazz composition written in 1945 by Charlie Parker in the form of a 12 bar F blues. Some sources claim that the song was dedicated to Dizzy Gillespie's agent, Billy Shaw, although according to Ross Russell, Shaw's "name was misspelled" accidentally. However, others claim that the song was in fact dedicated to Shaw's secretary, who was called Billie. The original recording by Charlie Parker and His Re-Boppers was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. Originally an instrumental, lyrics were added later by Jon Hendricks and by Eddie Jefferson.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
| 1956 | The Charlie Parker Story Charlie Parker · “Billie's Bounce (take 1)” |
| 2026 | World Tour Oscar Peterson |
| 2026 | It's A Mystery, Charlie Brown Vince Guaraldi · “Billie's Bounce (Take 2)” |
Transcribed solos on Billie's Bounce
| Charlie Parker alto saxophone | 159 BPM |
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Au Privave 100% | F major |
| Now's The Time 100% | F major |
| Pfrancing (No Blues) 100% | F major |
| Walkin' 100% | F major |
| Barbados 71% | F major |
| Route 66 71% | F major |
| Bags' Groove 47% | F major |
| Sandu 47% | E♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Billie's Bounce in?
Billie's Bounce is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote Billie's Bounce?
Billie's Bounce was written by Charlie Parker (1945).
What is the form of Billie's Bounce?
Billie's Bounce has 1 sections (A) with 12 bars in total.
How fast is Billie's Bounce played?
The usual groove is Medium-up swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 159 BPM.
What are the chord changes to Billie's Bounce?
The opening bars are F7 | Bb7 | F7 | Cm7 F7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.