ENDEIT

Standards · 1925

Dinah chords & key

Harry Akst

Key
G major
Form
BBA
Bars
24
Groove
Medium-up swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1925

“Dinah” is a jazz standard by Harry Akst from 1925. It is usually played in G major as a medium-up swing, and the 24-bar BBA form has 3 sections. Harmonically it contains 8 major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 15 different chords and moves between the key centres G major and E minor. In this atlas it appears on 7 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — G major

B
Gmaj7Em7
Am7D7
Gmaj7Cmaj7
G/BEm7
Am7
D7
1.
G6A♯dim7
Am7D7
2.
G6
F♯m7♭5B7♭9
A
Em
Em/D♯
Em/D
A7/C♯
Em7
A7
Am7
D7
V
Gmaj7Em7
Am7D7
Gmaj7Cmaj7
G/BEm7
Am7
D7
G6
Am7D7

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

Harmonic analysis

8Major ii–V–I
1Minor ii–V–i
12ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
15Different chords

Most used chords

  • Am7×9
  • D7×9
  • Em7×7
  • Gmaj7×6
  • Cmaj7×3
  • G/B×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

G major and E minor

History

"Dinah" is a popular song published in 1925 and introduced by Ethel Waters at the Plantation Club on Broadway. It was integrated into the show Kid Boots. The music was written by Harry Akst and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. Hit versions in 1926 were by Ethel Waters, The Revelers, Red Pepper Sam, Cliff Edwards, and Fletcher Henderson. One singer, Fanny Rose Shore, became so identified with the song that DJ Martin Block called her "Dinah Shore", which then stuck as her stage name for the next 50 years.

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

Recorded on these albums

1955 Swingin’ Down Yonder
Dean Martin
1982 The Girl's Suite and The Perfume Suite
Duke Ellington · “The Girl's Suite: Dinah”
2000 Don't Fence Me In
Bing Crosby
2002 It’s Easy to Remember
Bing Crosby
2014 Some Fine Old Chestnuts
Bing Crosby with Buddy Cole & His Trio
2023 Ellington In Order, Volume 4 (1932)
Duke Ellington
— Strictly for the Birds
Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli

Transcribed solos on Dinah

Lionel Hampton vibraphone 200 BPM Ab-maj 1939-12-21

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • DINAH The Raymond Scott Quintet · Dorothy Collins · Raymond Scott archive.org ↗
  • Dinah Duke Ellington and His Cotton Club Orchestra · Lewis · Young · Akst · 1932 archive.org ↗
  • DINAH MUGGSY SPANIER AND HIS RAGTIME BAND · Lewis · Young · Akst · 1940 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Falling In Love With Love 43% Richard Rodgers B♭ major AA · 64 Jazz waltz
Blue Champagne 39% Watts-Ryerson-Eaton F major AABA · 32 Medium swing
In Love In Vain 39% Leo Robin Jerome Kern B♭ major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
Nevertheless 37% Kalmar-Ruby B♭ major AABA · 32 Ballad
Alone Too Long 36% Arthur Schwartz G major AABA · 32 Ballad
My Shining Hour 36% Harold Arlen C major AB · 32 Medium swing
The Blue Room 32% Richard Rodgers F major AABC · 32 Medium swing
The Good Life 31% Sacha Distel A♭ major AB · 32 Ballad

Frequently asked questions

What key is Dinah in?

Dinah is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.

Who wrote Dinah?

Dinah was written by Harry Akst (1925).

What is the form of Dinah?

Dinah has 3 sections (BBA) with 24 bars in total.

How fast is Dinah played?

The usual groove is Medium-up swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 200 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Dinah?

The opening bars are Gmaj7 Em7 | Am7 D7 | Gmaj7 Cmaj7 | G/B Em7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.