Standards · 1935
Summertime chords & key
- Key
- A minor
- Form
- A
- Bars
- 16
- Groove
- Slow swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1935
“Summertime” is a jazz standard by George Gershwin from 1935. It is usually played in A minor as a slow swing, and the 16-bar A form repeats as one section. Harmonically it contains no major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 9 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 18 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — A minor
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Am7×7
- Bm7♭5×5
- E7♭13×5
- A7♭9×1
- Dm7×1
- F7×1
History
"Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics, in two stanzas, are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based. The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote... Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of Black people in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century". Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim characterized Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now" as "the best lyrics in the musical theater". In June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
Transcribed solos on Summertime
| Sidney Bechet soprano saxophone | 84 BPM |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- SUMMERTIME ETHEL WATERS · Reggie Beane · Gershwin · Heyward archive.org ↗
- SUMMERTIME MORRIS LANE and his Combo · D. Heywood · G. Gershwin archive.org ↗
- SUMMERTIME Saunders King · SAUNDERS KING · SAMMY DEANE · EDDIE TAYLOR · JOHNNY… · 1942 archive.org ↗
- SUMMERTIME SAUNDERS KING RHYTHM · SAUNDERS KING · SAMMY DEANE · EDDIE TAYLOR ·… · 1942 archive.org ↗
- SUMMERTIME Saunders King · SAUNDERS KING · SAMMY DEANE · EDDIE TAYLOR · JOHNNY… · 1942 archive.org ↗
- SUMMERTIME CHAUNCEY GRAY · 1942 archive.org ↗
- SUMMERTIME BOYD RAEBURN · JOHNNY BOTHWELL · GERSHWIN · 1945 archive.org ↗
- SUMMERTIME BOYD RAEBURN and his ORCHESTRA · Johnny Bothwell · George Gershwin · 1946 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Chucho 29% | D minor |
| Serenade To A Cuckoo 28% | F minor |
| Bohemia After Dark 24% | G minor |
| Cheese Cake 22% | C minor |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Summertime in?
Summertime is usually played in A minor. For B♭ instruments that is B minor, for E♭ instruments F♯ minor.
Who wrote Summertime?
Summertime was written by George Gershwin (1935).
What is the form of Summertime?
Summertime has 1 sections (A) with 16 bars in total.
How fast is Summertime played?
The usual groove is Slow swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 84 BPM.
What are the chord changes to Summertime?
The opening bars are Am7 | Bm7b5 E7b13 | Am7 | Am7 A7b9. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.