Standards · 1949

My Foolish Heart chords & key

Victor Young · Lyrics: Ned Washington

Key: B♭ major
Form: ABAC
Bars: 32
Groove: Ballad
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1949

“My Foolish Heart” is a jazz standard by Victor Young from 1949. It is usually played in B♭ major as a ballad, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 23 different chords and moves between the key centres C minor, B♭ major, G minor and E♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 3 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — B♭ major

B♭^maj7E♭^maj7

D^m7G⁷

C^m7

E^m7A^7♭9

B♭^maj7D^7♯9

G^m7D♭⁷

C^m7

C^m7F^7♭9

B♭^maj7

F^m7B♭⁷

E♭⁶

A^m7♭5D^7♭9

G^m7D^7♭13

G^m7C⁷

C^m7G⁷

C^m7F⁷

B♭^maj7E♭^maj7

D^m7G⁷

C^m7

E^m7A^7♭9

B♭^maj7D^7♭9

G^m7D♭⁷

C^m7C^m7_/B♭

A^m7♭5D^7♭9

G^m7

E♭^m7A♭⁷

B♭^maj7E♭^maj7

A♭⁷G⁷

C^m7G⁷

C⁷F⁷

B♭^maj7G⁷

C^m7F^7sus

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

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I

4Minor ii–V–i

12ii–V moves

2Tritone substitutions

2Dominant chains

23Different chords

Most used chords

C^m7×9
B♭^maj7×7
G⁷×6
G^m7×5
E♭^maj7×3
D^7♭9×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

C minor, B♭ major, G minor and E♭ major

Characteristics

ABAC song form

History

"My Foolish Heart" is a popular song and jazz standard that was published in 1949. In the UK, the song reached No. 1 in the chart based on sales of sheet music, staying at the top spot for 11 weeks in 1950.

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

Recorded on these albums

1958	Long Ago and Far Away Tony Bennett with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra
1963	Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle Oscar Peterson
1975	The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album Tony Bennett and Bill Evans

Historic 78 rpm recordings

MY FOOLISH HEART JIMMY BARRY · Ray Arthur Quartet · Washington · Young archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Try A Little Tenderness 25%	Harry Woods	E♭ major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Moonlight Becomes You 23%	Jimmy Van-Heusen	F major	AABA · 34	Ballad
After You've Gone 22%	Henry Creamer	B♭ major	ABAC · 40	Up-tempo swing
Elora 22%	J.J. Johnson	B♭ major	AABA · 32	Medium swing
Isn't It Romantic? 22%	Richard Rodgers	E♭ major	ABAC · 32	Medium swing
You Are Too Beautiful 22%	Richard Rodgers	C major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Ballade 21%	Charlie Parker	F major	AABA · 32	Ballad
The Lady is a Tramp 21%	Richard Rodgers	C major	AABC · 48	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is My Foolish Heart in?

My Foolish Heart is usually played in B♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is C major, for E♭ instruments G major.

Who wrote My Foolish Heart?

My Foolish Heart was written by Victor Young (1949).

What is the form of My Foolish Heart?

My Foolish Heart has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is My Foolish Heart played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to My Foolish Heart?

The opening bars are Bbmaj7 Ebmaj7 | Dm7 G7 | Cm7 | Em7 A7b9. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.