Standards · 1952

Lullaby Of Birdland chords & key

George Shearing · Lyrics: George David Weiss

Key: A♭ major
Form: AABA
Bars: 32
Groove: Medium swing
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1952

“Lullaby Of Birdland” is a jazz standard by George Shearing from 1952. It is usually played in A♭ major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 5 major ii–V–I cadences and 3 minor ii–V–i, uses 15 different chords and moves between the key centres A♭ major, B♭ minor and F minor. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — A♭ major

F^mD^m7♭5

G⁷C⁷

F^m

B♭^m7E♭⁷

C^m7F^m7

B♭^m7E♭⁷

A♭^maj7

G^m7♭5C^7♭9

A♭^maj7E♭⁷

A♭⁶

C^m7♭5F^7♭9

B♭^m7

B♭^m7E♭^7♭9

A♭^maj7

C^m7♭5F^7♭9

B♭^m7

B♭^m7E♭^7♭9

A♭^maj7C^7♭9

F^mD^m7♭5

G⁷C⁷

F^m

B♭^m7E♭⁷

C^m7F^m7

B♭^m7E♭⁷

A♭^maj7E♭⁷

A♭⁶G^m7♭5C⁷

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

Harmonic analysis

5Major ii–V–I

3Minor ii–V–i

15ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

3Dominant chains

15Different chords

Most used chords

B♭^m7×10
E♭⁷×8
F^m×6
A♭^maj7×5
C⁷×4
D^m7♭5×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

A♭ major, B♭ minor and F minor

Characteristics

AABA song form

History

"Lullaby of Birdland" is a jazz standard and popular song composed by George Shearing with lyrics by George David Weiss (under the pseudonym "B. Y. Forster").

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

Recorded on these albums

1951	Presenting Jimmy Raney Jimmy Raney · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1954	Barney Kessel Barney Kessel · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1955	Lullabies of Birdland Ella Fitzgerald · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1955	Sarah Vaughan Sarah Vaughan · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1955	At Birdland Wild Bill Davis · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1956	Erroll Garner Erroll Garner · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1956	Mel Tormé with The Marty Paich Dek-Tette Mel Tormé with The Marty Paich Dek‐Tette · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1956	Cross Section Billy Taylor · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1956	Barney Kessel, Volume 1: Easy Like Barney Kessel · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1956	Sings Lullabys of Birdland Chris Connor · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1956	Jazz at Cal-Tech Bud Shank · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1958	El Tigre Barney Kessel - Harold Land · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1958	'S Awful Nice Ray Conniff · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1958	Swingin’ Dixie, Volume 3 Al Hirt · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1959	Le Dernier Message de Lester Young Lester Young · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1960	And Then They Wrote... Teddy Wilson · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1960	The Greatest Songs Ever Swung Morgana King · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1961	Chet Atkins’ Workshop Chet Atkins · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1961	The Swingin’s Mutual! The George Shearing Quintet & Nancy Wilson · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1962	Pretty Is the Only Way to Fly Red Norvo · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1963	Uniquely Mancini Henry Mancini · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1964	Sings Sunday in New York & Other Songs About New York Mel Tormé · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1964	Dolce, Discreto Moderno..Ma Non Troppo Helmut Zacharias · “Lullaby of Birdland”
1964	The New Palladium Performances Ted Heath and His Music · “Lullaby of Birdland”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Love Me Or Leave Me 29%	Walter Donaldson	A♭ major	AABA · 32	Medium swing
Where Or When 28%	Richard Rodgers	E♭ major	AABA · 40	Medium swing
By Myself 27%	Arthur Schwartz	F major	AAB · 48	Medium swing
I'll Be Seeing You 27%	Sammy Fain	E♭ major	AB · 32	Medium swing
Fly Me To The Moon 26%	Bart Howard	C major	AB · 32	Medium swing
If I Were A Bell 26%	Frank Loesser	F major	ABAC · 32	Medium-up swing
I Got Rhythm 25%	George Gershwin	B♭ major	AABA · 32	Up-tempo swing
A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening 24%	Jimmy McHugh	F major	AABA · 32	Ballad

Frequently asked questions

What key is Lullaby Of Birdland in?

Lullaby Of Birdland is usually played in A♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is B♭ major, for E♭ instruments F major.

Who wrote Lullaby Of Birdland?

Lullaby Of Birdland was written by George Shearing (1952).

What is the form of Lullaby Of Birdland?

Lullaby Of Birdland has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Lullaby Of Birdland played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Lullaby Of Birdland?

The opening bars are Fm Dm7b5 | G7 C7 | Fm | Bbm7 Eb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.