Standards
Dancing On The Ceiling chords & key
“Dancing On The Ceiling” is a jazz standard by Richard Rodgers. It is usually played in F major as a ballad, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 7 major ii–V–I cadences and 3 minor ii–V–i, uses 12 different chords and moves between the key centres B♭ major, G minor and F major. In this atlas it appears on 3 album tracks.
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
- Gm7×7
- C7×7
- D7×6
- F7×5
- B♭6×5
- Fmaj7×4
Key centres reached by ii–V
B♭ major, G minor and F major
Characteristics
- AABA song form
Recorded on these albums
| 1955 | In the Wee Small Hours Frank Sinatra · “Dancing on the Ceiling” |
| 1956 | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “Dancing on the Ceiling” |
| 1970 | Tracks Oscar Peterson · “Dancing on the Ceiling” |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- DANCING ON THE CEILING JOE BUSHKIN · Rodgers · Hart · 1950 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Sometimes I'm Happy 43% | F major |
| Again 37% | G major |
| Cabaret 37% | E♭ major |
| I May Be Wrong 35% | E♭ major |
| The Joker 34% | E♭ major |
| You Are Too Beautiful 33% | C major |
| Old Cape Cod 32% | E♭ major |
| Deed I Do 31% | C major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Dancing On The Ceiling in?
Dancing On The Ceiling is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote Dancing On The Ceiling?
Dancing On The Ceiling was written by Richard Rodgers.
What is the form of Dancing On The Ceiling?
Dancing On The Ceiling has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Dancing On The Ceiling played?
The usual groove is Ballad.
What are the chord changes to Dancing On The Ceiling?
The opening bars are Fmaj7 | Cm7 F7 | Bb6 Bdim7 | Fmaj7/C D7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.