Standards
Daybreak chords & key
- Key
- E♭ major
- Form
- ABAC
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“Daybreak” is a jazz standard by Adamson-Grofe. Most bands play it in E♭ major, medium swing; the tune runs 32 bars in ABAC form. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 18 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, A♭ major and F minor. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- B♭7×9
- E♭maj7×5
- Fm7×5
- C7×3
- A♭maj7×3
- B7×2
Key centres reached by ii–V
E♭ major, A♭ major and F minor
Characteristics
- ABAC song form
Recorded on these albums
| 1955 | Sings and Plays With Bud Shank, Russ Freeman and Strings Chet Baker |
| 1960 | I Concentrate on You Dinah Washington |
| 1961 | I Remember Tommy Frank Sinatra |
| 1972 | Now Astrud Gilberto · “Daybreak (Walking Out on Yesterday)” |
| 1972 | A Meeting of the Times Rahsaan Roland Kirk & Al Hibbler |
| 1979 | New Chautauqua Pat Metheny |
| 1980 | Aqua Sansa Markus Stockhausen & Jasper van ’t Hof |
| 1982 | Natural Bridge Béla Fleck |
| 1987 | Up From Down Under Tommy Emmanuel |
| 1993 | Chet Baker Chet Baker |
| 1994 | Daybreak Mezzoforte |
| 1995 | Here’s to the Ladies Tony Bennett |
| 1995 | Night Creatures Tom Scott |
| 1996 | After Hours Brian Culbertson |
| 2000 | Sings Salvadore Poe Lisa Ekdahl |
| 2001 | Paradise Tom Harrell |
| 2004 | Chet Baker Sings And Plays (Remastered 2004) Chet Baker · “Daybreak (Vocal)” |
| 2007 | Let's Get Lost - Cool and Iconic Sides Chet Baker |
| 2010 | The Complete Chet Baker Chet Baker |
| 2010 | Sings Sessions Chet Baker |
| 2011 | Blue Thoughts Chet Baker |
| 2018 | Original Jazz Recordings Chet Baker · “Daybreak (remastered)” |
| 2019 | The Hits Chet Baker |
| 2024 | Hit Collection Chet Baker |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- DAYBREAK ROBERTO INGLEZ & HIS ORCHESTRA · Grofé · Inglez archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| The Joker 32% | E♭ major |
| The Lady is a Tramp 31% | C major |
| Dancing On The Ceiling 29% | F major |
| If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 29% | E♭ major |
| I May Be Wrong 27% | E♭ major |
| Why Do I Love You? 27% | A♭ major |
| You've Changed 27% | E♭ major |
| Deed I Do 26% | C major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Daybreak in?
Daybreak is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.
Who wrote Daybreak?
Daybreak was written by Adamson-Grofe.
What is the form of Daybreak?
Daybreak has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Daybreak played?
The usual groove is Medium swing.
What are the chord changes to Daybreak?
The opening bars are Ebmaj7 | Bb7 | Ebmaj7 | C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.