Standards
Four Brothers chords & key
- Key
- A♭ major
- Form
- AABA
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Up-tempo swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“Four Brothers” is a jazz standard by Jimmy Giuffre. It is usually played in A♭ major as a up-tempo swing, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 9 major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 18 different chords and moves between the key centres A♭ major, B♭ minor, B major, D major, C major and C minor.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — A♭ major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- B♭m7×9
- F7×8
- A♭maj7×4
- Cm7×4
- B♭7×3
- E♭7♯5×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
A♭ major, B♭ minor, B major, D major, C major and C minor
Characteristics
- AABA song form
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- Four Brothers Marion McPartland Quintet · Giuffree · 1951 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| When Lights Are Low 28% | E♭ major |
| Violets For Your Furs 24% | F major |
| Dewey Square 22% | E♭ major |
| What'll I Do 21% | C major |
| On Green Dolphin Street 20% | E♭ major |
| Our Love is Here to Stay 20% | F major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Four Brothers in?
Four Brothers is usually played in A♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is B♭ major, for E♭ instruments F major.
Who wrote Four Brothers?
Four Brothers was written by Jimmy Giuffre.
What is the form of Four Brothers?
Four Brothers has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Four Brothers played?
The usual groove is Up-tempo swing.
What are the chord changes to Four Brothers?
The opening bars are Bb7 | Bbm7 Eb7#5 | Abmaj7 | F7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.