ENDEIT

Standards · 1938

Change Partners chords & key

Irving Berlin · Lyrics: Irving Berlin

Key
F major
Form
AABA
Bars
56
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1938

“Change Partners” is a jazz standard by Irving Berlin from 1938. It is usually played in F major as a medium swing, and the 56-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 6 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 14 different chords and moves between the key centres F major and A♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 9 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — F major

A
Fmaj7
Fmaj7
A♭dim7
A♭dim7
Gm7
C7
B♭m7
E♭7
Fmaj7/A
A♭dim7
Gm7
C7
Gm7
C7
1.
F6D7
Gm7C7
2.
F6
B♭m7E♭7
B
A♭maj7
A♭maj7
A♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
A♭maj7
Gm7
C7
A
Fmaj7
Fmaj7
A♭dim7
A♭dim7
Gm7
C7
B♭m7
E♭7
Fmaj7
E7
E♭7♯11
D7♭9
Gm7
C7susC7
F6
Gm7C7

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

Harmonic analysis

6Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
16ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
14Different chords

Most used chords

  • Gm7×11
  • C7×11
  • A♭dim7×8
  • Fmaj7×7
  • B♭m7×5
  • E♭7×5

Key centres reached by ii–V

F major and A♭ major

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

History

"Change Partners" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1938 film Carefree, in which it was introduced by Fred Astaire. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1938, but lost out to "Thanks for the Memory." Hit versions in 1938 included those by Astaire, Ozzie Nelson, Jimmy Dorsey and Lawrence Welk. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's Record Buying Guide. The song has subsequently been recorded by many artists.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recorded on these albums

1953 The Astaire Story
Fred Astaire
1958 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald
1959 Oscar Peterson Plays the Irving Berlin Songbook
Oscar Peterson
1967 Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim
1981 Top Hat (Songs Made Famous By Fred Astaire)
Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli - Arranged And Conducted By Nelson Riddle
1988 Menuhin & Grappelli Play Berlin, Kern, Porter & Rodgers and Hart
Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli
1999 Puttin’ On the Ritz
Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli
2006 Together
Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire
— The Irving Berlin Songbook
Fred Astaire

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
How Little We Know 33% Hoagy Carmichael F major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
That's Amore (That's Love) 31% Warren-Brooks B♭ major AB · 32 Medium swing
Long Ago And Far Away 26% Jerome Kern F major ABAC · 32 Up-tempo swing
On Green Dolphin Street 26% Bronislau Kaper E♭ major BACA · 32 Up-tempo swing
Brazil (Aquarela Do Brasil) 24% Ary Barroso D major ABCD · 58 Samba
If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 24% Jurgens-Howard E♭ major AB · 32 Medium swing
In A Little Spanish Town 24% Wayne-Lewis-Young G major AB · 32 Medium swing
All Of You 23% Cole Porter E♭ major ABAC · 32 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Change Partners in?

Change Partners is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.

Who wrote Change Partners?

Change Partners was written by Irving Berlin (1938).

What is the form of Change Partners?

Change Partners has 4 sections (AABA) with 56 bars in total.

How fast is Change Partners played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Change Partners?

The opening bars are Fmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Abdim7 | Abdim7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.