Standards · 1951
My Little Suede Shoes chords & key
“My Little Suede Shoes” is a jazz standard by Charlie Parker from 1951. Most bands play it in E♭ major, latin; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 11 major ii–V–I cadences and 5 minor ii–V–i, uses 6 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major and F minor. In this atlas it appears on 22 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Fm7×14
- B♭7×14
- E♭maj7×11
- Gm7×5
- C7×5
- A♭maj7×2
Key centres reached by ii–V
E♭ major and F minor
Characteristics
- AABA song form
Recorded on these albums
| 1952 | South of the Border Charlie Parker |
| 1955 | East Coast Jazz/4 Herbie Mann |
| 1956 | Herbie Mann Plays Herbie Mann |
| 1963 | The Latin Bit Grant Green |
| 1963 | Bill's Bag Billy May |
| 1964 | Stitt Plays Bird Sonny Stitt |
| 1965 | J.J.! J.J. Johnson |
| 1974 | Duo 2 Kenny Drew & Niels‐Henning Ørsted Pedersen |
| 1978 | Bird Watching Roland Hanna |
| 1979 | Bird Lives! Joe Albany · “Little Suede Shoes” |
| 1980 | Lazy Bird Sadik Hakim |
| 1981 | I Giganti Del Jazz Vol. 61 Sonny Stitt, Gerald Price, Don Mosley, Bobby Durham |
| 1982 | Live 2 Toots Thielemans |
| 1989 | Bird Tracks - Remembering Charlie Parker Roland Hanna |
| 1995 | Sentimental Journey Lou Donaldson |
| 1997 | Thru My Eyes Michel Camilo |
| 2006 | Indestructible! Anita O’Day |
| 2007 | Praise Roy Haynes |
| 2011 | MY N.Y. Jon Batiste & Stay Human · “My Little Suede Shoes (live)” |
| 2018 | Ornithology Sonny Stitt |
| 2024 | Artform Revisited Louis Hayes |
| — | Back to My Own Home Town Sonny Stitt |
Transcribed solos on My Little Suede Shoes
| Charlie Parker alto saxophone | 146 BPM |
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Get Me To The Church On Time 40% | G major |
| Let There Be Love 36% | E♭ major |
| Just Squeeze Me 35% | F major |
| Little Willie Leaps 35% | F major |
| The Rainbow Connection 35% | G major |
| Sometimes I'm Happy 35% | F major |
| Stars Fell On Alabama 35% | C major |
| Del Sasser 33% | E♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is My Little Suede Shoes in?
My Little Suede Shoes is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.
Who wrote My Little Suede Shoes?
My Little Suede Shoes was written by Charlie Parker (1951).
What is the form of My Little Suede Shoes?
My Little Suede Shoes has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is My Little Suede Shoes played?
The usual groove is Latin. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 146 BPM.
What are the chord changes to My Little Suede Shoes?
The opening bars are Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.