Standards
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning chords & key
“In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning” is a jazz standard by Mann-Hilliard. It is usually played in C major as a ballad, and the 18-bar AB form has 2 sections. Harmonically it contains 1 major ii–V–I cadence and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 13 different chords and moves between the key centres D minor, E minor and C major. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — C major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Dm7×6
- G7×5
- Cmaj7×4
- A7×4
- C6×3
- Caug×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
D minor, E minor and C major
Recorded on these albums
| 1956 | For You, For Me, Forevermore Morgana King · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1957 | Wonderful! Wonderful! Johnny Mathis · “In the Wee Hours of the Morning” |
| 1957 | ’round Midnight Hazel Scott · “(In the) Wee Small Hours (Of the Morning)” |
| 1959 | Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson Ben Webster & Oscar Peterson · “In the Wee, Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1959 | Get Those Elephants Out'a Here The Mitchells Red, Whitey, and Blue with guest artist, Andre Previn · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1960 | Around Midnight Julie London · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1962 | Soul Trombone Curtis Fuller · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1963 | Sinatra’s Sinatra Frank Sinatra · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1963 | Night Lights Gerry Mulligan · “Wee Small Hours” |
| 1963 | Fusion! Wes Montgomery · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1963 | Shirley Horn With Horns Shirley Horn · “Wee Small Hours” |
| 1965 | A Man and His Music Frank Sinatra · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1966 | A Time for Love Tony Bennett · “In the Wee Small Hours” |
| 1968 | The Warm World of Jack Sheldon Jack Sheldon · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1969 | A Warm Shade of Ivory Henry Mancini · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1969 | Georgie Does His Thing With Strings Georgie Fame · “In the Wee Small Hours” |
| 1970 | I Haven’t Got Anything Better to Do Astrud Gilberto · “Wee Small Hours” |
| 1972 | Help Me Make It Through The Night Hank Crawford |
| 1977 | Live in Tokyo Art Farmer · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1987 | Breakin' Out George Shearing · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1989 | Toots Thielmans in Tokyo Toots Thielemans · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1989 | Triple Treat, Volume 3 Monty Alexander, Ray Brown & Herb Ellis · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1990 | Standard Time, Vol. 3: The Resolution of Romance Wynton Marsalis · “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” |
| 1992 | Virtuoso Live! Joe Pass · “(In the) Wee Small Hours (of the Morning)” |
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Bye Bye Blackbird 33% | F major |
| Come Back To Me 26% | F major |
| Ceora 23% | A♭ major |
| Call Me Irresponsible 22% | F major |
| Pure Imagination 22% | E♭ major |
| Billy Boy 21% | C major |
| In Love In Vain 21% | B♭ major |
| It's Been A Long Long Time 21% | F major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning in?
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.
Who wrote In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning?
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning was written by Mann-Hilliard.
What is the form of In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning?
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning has 2 sections (AB) with 18 bars in total.
How fast is In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning played?
The usual groove is Ballad.
What are the chord changes to In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning?
The opening bars are Cmaj7 C7 | C6 Caug | Cmaj7 Caug | Dm7 G7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.