ENDEIT

Standards

If I Could Be With You chords & key

James Johnson

Key
E♭ major
Form
AB
Bars
16
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4

“If I Could Be With You” is a jazz standard by James Johnson. It is usually played in E♭ major as a ballad, and the 16-bar AB form has 2 sections. Harmonically it contains 2 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 14 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 2 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

V
E♭maj7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6
E♭6C7
F7
B♭7
B♭G7C7F7
B♭6
F7
B♭7
A
Fm7
B♭7B♭7♯5
E♭6G7
C7
F7
B♭7
E♭6C7
F7B♭7
B
Fm7
B♭7B♭7♯5
E♭6G7
C7
A♭6Adim7
E♭6/B♭C7
F7B♭7
E♭6

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

Harmonic analysis

2Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
4ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
13Dominant chains
14Different chords

Most used chords

  • B♭7×9
  • E♭6×6
  • C7×6
  • F7×6
  • Fm7×4
  • G7×3

Recorded on these albums

1957 New Tricks...
Bing Crosby with Buddy Cole and His Trio · “If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)”
1999 Rhythm Is My Business
Ella Fitzgerald

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • IF I COULD BE WITH YOU BØRGE ROGER HENRICHSEN OG HANS ORKESTER · Freddy Albeck · Creamer &… archive.org ↗
  • If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) Cliff Jackson's Quartet · Creamer · Johnson · Cliff Jackson · Pee… · 1944 archive.org ↗
  • If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) Cliff Jackson's Black & White Stompers · Cliff, Jackson · Pee Wee… · 1944 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home 28% Hughie Cannon G major ABAC · 32 Medium-up swing
Ain't She Sweet 26% Milton Ager E♭ major AABA · 32 Medium-up swing
Perdido 26% Juan Tizol B♭ major AABA · 32 Latin
Who's Sorry Now? 26% Snyder-Kalmar-Ruby C major AB · 32 Ballad
Baby, Won't You Please Come Home 24% Warfield-Williams G major AA · 34 Medium slow
Scrapple From The Apple 24% Charlie Parker F major AABA · 32 Up-tempo swing
Little Peace In C For You 23% Michel Petrucciani C major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Paper Doll 22% Johnny Black F major A · 16 Slow swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is If I Could Be With You in?

If I Could Be With You is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote If I Could Be With You?

If I Could Be With You was written by James Johnson.

What is the form of If I Could Be With You?

If I Could Be With You has 2 sections (AB) with 16 bars in total.

How fast is If I Could Be With You played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to If I Could Be With You?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 Edim7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 Edim7 | Fm7 Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.