ENDEIT

Standards · 1946

Groovin' High chords & key

Dizzy Gillespie

Key
E♭ major
Form
AA
Bars
32
Groove
Up-tempo swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1946

“Groovin' High” is a jazz standard by Dizzy Gillespie from 1946. Most bands play it in E♭ major, up-tempo swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AA form. Harmonically it contains 1 major ii–V–I cadence, uses 12 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 4 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭maj7
E♭maj7
Am7
D7
E♭maj7
E♭maj7
Gm7
C7
F7
F7
Fm7
B♭7
1.
Gm7
G♭m7
Fm7
B♭7
2.
Fm7
A♭m7D♭7
E♭6
Fm7B♭7

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

Harmonic analysis

1Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
9ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
2Dominant chains
12Different chords

Most used chords

  • E♭maj7×8
  • Fm7×5
  • F7×4
  • B♭7×4
  • Gm7×3
  • Am7×2

History

"Groovin' High" is a 1945 jazz song by trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie. The song was a bebop mainstay that became a jazz standard, one of Gillespie's best known hits, and according to Bebop: The Music and Its Players author Thomas Owens, it was "the first famous bebop recording". It is a complex musical arrangement based on the chord structure of a 1920 standard originally recorded by Paul Whiteman, "Whispering", composed by Vincent Rose with lyrics by John Schonberger and Richard Coburn. The biography Dizzy characterizes the song as "a pleasant medium-tempo tune" that "demonstrates... [Gillespie's] skill in fashioning interesting textures using only six instruments". It has been used to title many compilation albums and also the 2001 biography Groovin' High: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie.

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

Recorded on these albums

1947 Dizzy Gillespie and His All-Stars
Dizzy Gillespie
1957 Dizzy in Greece
Dizzy Gillespie
1963 Dizzy Gillespie & The Double Six of Paris
Dizzy Gillespie & The Double Six of Paris featuring Bud Powell · “Groovin’ High”
2026 World Tour
Oscar Peterson

Transcribed solos on Groovin' High

Dizzy Gillespie trumpet 182 BPM Db-maj 1945-12-29

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Dream 27% Johnny Mercer B♭ major ABAC · 32 Slow swing
Four 25% Miles Davis E♭ major ABAC · 32 Up-tempo swing
Smile 21% Charles Chaplin F major ABAC · 34 Ballad
You Do Something To Me 21% Cole Porter E♭ major ABC · 32 Medium-up swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Groovin' High in?

Groovin' High is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Groovin' High?

Groovin' High was written by Dizzy Gillespie (1946).

What is the form of Groovin' High?

Groovin' High has 2 sections (AA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Groovin' High played?

The usual groove is Up-tempo swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 182 BPM.

What are the chord changes to Groovin' High?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 | Ebmaj7 | Am7 | D7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.