Standards · 1960
Corcovado chords & key
- Key
- C major
- Form
- ABAC
- Bars
- 34
- Groove
- Bossa nova
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1960
“Corcovado” is a jazz standard by Antonio-Carlos Jobim from 1960. It is usually played in C major as a bossa nova, and the 34-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 1 major ii–V–I cadence and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 16 different chords and moves between the key centres D minor and C major. In this atlas it appears on 2 album tracks.
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
- A♭dim7×5
- D7/A×4
- Fmaj7×4
- Em7×3
- Dm7×3
- Gm7×2
Key centres reached by ii–V
D minor and C major
Characteristics
- ABAC song form
History
"Corcovado" (known in English as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars") is a bossa nova song and jazz standard written by Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1960. English lyrics were later written by Gene Lees. The Portuguese title refers to the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro. Tony Bennett recorded the first popular English cover of "Quiet Nights" with new lyrics by Buddy Kaye in 1963. Numerous English cover recordings then followed, sometimes credited to Lees and/or Kaye and Lees, including the Andy Williams recording of the song with English lyrics, reaching number 92 in the Billboard Hot 100 and number 18 in the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in 1965. Also receiving air-play, contemporaneously with Andy Williams' recording of "Quiet Nights," was Kitty Kallen's version. Her album, titled "Quiet Nights," was released by 20th Century-Fox Records in 1964.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| This Time The Dream's On Me 23% | G major |
| Freight Train 22% | A♭ major |
| Get Me To The Church On Time 22% | G major |
| A Fine Romance 21% | C major |
| Bossa Antigua 21% | A♭ major |
| Line For Lyons 21% | G major |
| The Rainbow Connection 21% | G major |
| Misty 20% | E♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Corcovado in?
Corcovado is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.
Who wrote Corcovado?
Corcovado was written by Antonio-Carlos Jobim (1960).
What is the form of Corcovado?
Corcovado has 4 sections (ABAC) with 34 bars in total.
How fast is Corcovado played?
The usual groove is Bossa nova.
What are the chord changes to Corcovado?
The opening bars are D7/A | D7/A | Abdim7 | Abdim7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.