Standards · 1932

Isn't It Romantic? chords & key

Key
E♭ major
Form
ABAC
Bars
32
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1932

“Isn't It Romantic?” is a jazz standard by Richard Rodgers from 1932. It is usually played in E♭ major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 9 major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 26 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, A♭ major and C minor. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭6Cm7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6/GC7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
B
A♭maj7
B♭7G7
CmG7/B
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7C7/G
FmDm7♭5G7
CmF7
B♭7altB♭7
A
E♭6Cm7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7Edim7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6/GC7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7
B♭m7E♭7
C
FmFm/E♭
Dm7♭5G7♭9
CmCm/B♭
Cm/AA♭m6
Gm7G♭7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6A♭m6
E♭6

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

Harmonic analysis

9Major ii–V–I
2Minor ii–V–i
13ii–V moves
1Tritone substitutions
1Dominant chains
26Different chords

Most used chords

  • B♭7×9
  • Fm7×7
  • E♭6×4
  • E♭maj7×4
  • B♭m7×3
  • E♭7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major, A♭ major and C minor

Characteristics

  • ABAC song form

History

"Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900–1950, calls it "a perfect song." It was introduced by Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald in the Paramount film Love Me Tonight (1932). It has since been recorded numerous times, with and without vocals, by many jazz and popular artists. The song has also since been featured in a number of other movies. In Love Me Tonight, the song is used in a sequence in which it is first sung by Maurice Chevalier, a tailor, and then taken up by others (his customer, a cabby, a composer, a troop of soldiers, a band of gypsies) and is finally heard and sung by a princess, played by Jeanette MacDonald. The lyrics in the film are not the same as those in the published version.

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

Recorded on these albums

1954 Oscar Peterson Plays Richard Rodgers
Oscar Peterson · “Isn't It Romantic”
1954 Vibist
Cal Tjader · “Isn’t It Romantic”
1955 It's a Blue World
Mel Tormé
1956 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald · “Isn’t It Romantic”
1956 Intimate Listening
Teddy Wilson
1956 Tal
Tal Farlow · “Isn’t It Romantic”
1956 Jimmy Raney featuring Bob Brookmeyer
Jimmy Raney
1957 Jazz Will-O-The-Wisp
Al Haig · “Isn't It Romantic”
1957 Fielding's Formula
Jerry Fielding · “Isn't It Romantic”
1958 Jazz Lab
Gigi Gryce / Donald Byrd · “Isn't It Romantic”
1958 Swingin' Fling
Alvino Rey · “Isn't It Romantic”
1959 Oscar Peterson Plays the Richard Rodgers Songbook
Oscar Peterson
1959 Book of Ballads
Carmen McRae
1961 More of the Greatest Piano of Them All
Art Tatum · “Isn't It Romantic”
1968 Without Her
Jack Jones · “Isn’t It Romantic?”
1971 Joe Albany at Home
Joe Albany · “Isn't It Romantic”
1976 Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs
Tony Bennett
1976 Because of You
Eiji Kitamura · “Isn't It Romantic”
1979 That Old Feeling
Rita Reys with Pim Jacobs Trio · “Isn't It Romantic”
1987 I Thought About You: Live at Vine Street
Shirley Horn · “Isn’t It Romantic”
1988 Isn't It Romantic
Michael Feinstein · “Isn't It Romantic”
1990 Man Bites Harmonica!
Toots Thielemans · “Isn't It Romantic”
1991 Right Time - Right Place
Gary Burton & Paul Bley
1991 Roll Call
Herb Ellis · “Isn't It Romantic”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Among My Souvenirs 28% Horatio Nicholls E♭ major AABA · 33 Ballad
If There Is Someone Lovelier 27% Dietz-Schwartz C major ABC · 28 Ballad
Bye Bye Baby 26% Jule Styne B♭ major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
Some Enchanted Evening 26% Richard Rodgers C major AABAC · 60 Ballad
For Sentimental Reasons 24% William Best F major AABA · 32 Slow swing
Palo Alto 24% Lee Konitz F major ABA · 32 Up-tempo swing
You Are Too Beautiful 24% Richard Rodgers C major AABA · 32 Ballad
Too Young To Go Steady 23% Jimmy McHugh F major AABA · 32 Ballad

Frequently asked questions

What key is Isn't It Romantic? in?

Isn't It Romantic? is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Isn't It Romantic??

Isn't It Romantic? was written by Richard Rodgers (1932).

What is the form of Isn't It Romantic??

Isn't It Romantic? has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Isn't It Romantic? played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Isn't It Romantic??

The opening bars are Eb6 Cm7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 Edim7 | Fm7 Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.