Standards · 1944
How Little We Know chords & key
- Key
- F major
- Form
- ABAC
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1944
“How Little We Know” is a jazz standard by Hoagy Carmichael from 1944. It is usually played in F major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 6 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 17 different chords and moves between the key centres F major and B♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 14 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
- Fmaj7×10
- Gm7×6
- C7×5
- E♭7×3
- B♭m7×2
- Am7×2
Key centres reached by ii–V
F major and B♭ major
Characteristics
- ABAC song form
History
"How Little We Know" is a song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer for the 1944 film To Have and Have Not, where it is performed by the character "Slim" played by Lauren Bacall. A young Andy Williams recorded the song for the film as a possible alternative track to dub Bacall's low voice; however, Bacall claimed that they used her singing. After the film's release, it was a hit recording sung by Judy Johnson. Nick Perito and his orchestra recorded an instrumental cover of the song for Muzak's Stimulus Progression program in the 1970s. In 1948, a recording of "How Little We Know" by British singer Steve Conway was released by Columbia. It has been covered periodically, most recently in 1999 by Michael Feinstein with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band for the album Big City Rhythms.
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Recorded on these albums
| 1959 | Witchcraft Chris Connor |
| 1960 | Something to Swing About Carmen McRae · “(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know” |
| 1960 | Transfiguration of Hiram Brown Mose Allison |
| 1963 | Sinatra’s Sinatra Frank Sinatra · “How Little It Matters, How Little We Know” |
| 1965 | A Man and His Music Frank Sinatra |
| 1973 | Listen Easy Tony Bennett |
| 1988 | Love Being Here With You Chris Connor |
| 1992 | Here to Stay Carmen McRae |
| 1995 | The Street of Dreams Joey DeFrancesco |
| 1999 | Big City Rhythms Michael Feinstein |
| 2007 | The Baddest B-3 Burner in the Business: The Street of Dreams Joey DeFrancesco |
| 2018 | Jazz Goes to the Movies Ann Hampton Callaway |
| 2019 | The Complete Atlantic and FM Albums Chris Connor · “(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know” |
| 2021 | Quartet (Standards) 2020 Anthony Braxton · “(How Little It Matters) How Little We Know” |
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Change Partners 33% | F major |
| Sometimes I'm Happy 30% | F major |
| Long Ago And Far Away 29% | F major |
| If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) 27% | E♭ major |
| Why Do I Love You? 25% | A♭ major |
| I'm An Old Cowhand 24% | E♭ major |
| What'll I Do 24% | C major |
| I've Got You Under My Skin 23% | E♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is How Little We Know in?
How Little We Know is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote How Little We Know?
How Little We Know was written by Hoagy Carmichael (1944).
What is the form of How Little We Know?
How Little We Know has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is How Little We Know played?
The usual groove is Medium swing.
What are the chord changes to How Little We Know?
The opening bars are Fmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Gm7 | C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.