ENDEIT

Standards

Blame It On My Youth chords & key

Oscar Levant

Key
E♭ major
Form
ABAC
Bars
32
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4

“Blame It On My Youth” is a jazz standard by Oscar Levant. It is usually played in E♭ major as a ballad, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 5 major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 15 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, C minor and A♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 1 album track.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭maj7Fm7
Gm7Cm7
Fm7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
Fm7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
Gm7Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7E♭7
B
A♭maj7B♭7
Gm7Cm7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7
Dm7♭5G7♭13
Cm7
Fm7
B♭7
A
E♭maj7Fm7
Gm7Cm7
Fm7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
Fm7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
Gm7Fm7B♭7
B♭m7E♭7
C
A♭maj7B♭7
Gm7Cm7
Fm7Fm7/E♭
D♭7C7♭13
Fm7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6Cm7
Fm7B♭7

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

Harmonic analysis

5Major ii–V–I
1Minor ii–V–i
12ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
15Different chords

Most used chords

  • Fm7×18
  • B♭7×12
  • Gm7×6
  • Cm7×6
  • Edim7×5
  • E♭maj7×4

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major, C minor and A♭ major

Characteristics

  • ABAC song form

Recorded on these albums

1957 Close to You
Frank Sinatra · “Blame It on My Youth”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Falling In Love With Love 33% Richard Rodgers B♭ major AA · 64 Jazz waltz
If There Is Someone Lovelier 27% Dietz-Schwartz C major ABC · 28 Ballad
Why Do I Love You? 27% Jerome Kern A♭ major AA · 32 Medium swing
A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening 24% Jimmy McHugh F major AABA · 32 Ballad
The Blue Room 24% Richard Rodgers F major AABC · 32 Medium swing
Love Is The Sweetest Thing 23% Ray Noble D major AABA · 32 Medium swing
You Make Me Feel So Young 23% Josef Myrow B♭ major AABC · 40 Medium swing
Alone Too Long 22% Arthur Schwartz G major AABA · 32 Ballad

Frequently asked questions

What key is Blame It On My Youth in?

Blame It On My Youth is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Blame It On My Youth?

Blame It On My Youth was written by Oscar Levant.

What is the form of Blame It On My Youth?

Blame It On My Youth has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Blame It On My Youth played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to Blame It On My Youth?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 Fm7 | Gm7 Cm7 | Fm7 Edim7 | Fm7 Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.