ENDEIT

Standards · 1950

Mona Lisa chords & key

Livingston-Evans · Lyrics: Ray Evans, Usko Kemppi

Key
E♭ major
Form
ABA
Bars
24
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4
Year
1950

“Mona Lisa” is a jazz standard by Livingston-Evans from 1950. Most bands play it in E♭ major, ballad; the tune runs 24 bars in ABA form. Harmonically it contains 4 major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 13 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, F minor and E♭ minor. In this atlas it appears on 1 album track.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭6
E♭6
E♭maj7C7♭9
Fm7B♭7
Fm7
B♭7
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7B♭7
B
E♭6
E♭6
E♭maj7E♭7
A♭maj7
A♭m7D♭7
E♭maj7C7♭9
Fm7B♭7
E♭maj7E♭7
A♭maj7Adim7
Gm7C7♭9
Fm7B♭7
E♭6Fm7B♭7
A
E♭6
Fm7♭5B♭7♭9
E♭6
E♭6

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

Harmonic analysis

4Major ii–V–I
2Minor ii–V–i
9ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
13Different chords

Most used chords

  • E♭6×8
  • B♭7×7
  • Fm7×6
  • E♭maj7×5
  • C7♭9×3
  • E♭7×2

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major, F minor and E♭ minor

History

"Mona Lisa" is a popular song written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston for the Paramount Pictures film Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1949), in which it was performed by Sergio de Karlo and a recurrent accordion motif. The title and lyrics refer to the renaissance portrait Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1950.

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

Recorded on these albums

1952 Unforgettable
Nat King Cole

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • MONA LISA LYNN HOPE QUINTET · Livingston · Evans · 1950 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
A Tisket A Tasket 34% Traditional E♭ major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Cabaret 33% Kander-Ebb E♭ major AAB · 44 Medium swing
It's Only a Paper Moon 33% Harold Arlen G major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Don't Fence Me In 32% Cole Porter F major ABCD · 32 Medium swing
How Are Things In Glocca Morra 28% Burton Lane F major AAB · 30 Ballad
La Vie En Rose 28% Guglielmi-Piaf-David C major ABC · 20 Ballad
Scrapple From The Apple 28% Charlie Parker F major AABA · 32 Up-tempo swing
You Better Go Now 27% Reichner-Graham E♭ major ABC · 24 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Mona Lisa in?

Mona Lisa is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Mona Lisa?

Mona Lisa was written by Livingston-Evans (1950).

What is the form of Mona Lisa?

Mona Lisa has 3 sections (ABA) with 24 bars in total.

How fast is Mona Lisa played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to Mona Lisa?

The opening bars are Eb6 | Eb6 | Ebmaj7 C7b9 | Fm7 Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.