ENDEIT

Standards · 1959

Take Five chords & key

Paul Desmond

Key
E♭ minor
Form
ABA
Bars
24
Groove
Medium-up swing
Time signature
5/4
Year
1959

“Take Five” is a jazz standard by Paul Desmond from 1959. It is usually played in E♭ minor as a medium-up swing, and the 24-bar ABA form has 3 sections. Harmonically it contains 1 major ii–V–I cadence and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 10 different chords and moves between the key centres F♯ major and E♭ minor. In this atlas it appears on 3 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ minor

A
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
B
Bmaj7A♭m6
B♭m7E♭m7
A♭m7D♭7
G♭maj7
Bmaj7A♭m6
B♭m7E♭m7
A♭m7D♭7
Fm7♭5B♭7♭9
A
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7
E♭mB♭m7

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

Harmonic analysis

1Major ii–V–I
1Minor ii–V–i
3ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
10Different chords

Most used chords

  • B♭m7×18
  • E♭m×16
  • Bmaj7×2
  • A♭m6×2
  • E♭m7×2
  • A♭m7×2

Key centres reached by ii–V

F♯ major and E♭ minor

History

"Take Five" is a jazz standard composed by Paul Desmond and originally recorded in 1959 by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for their album Time Out. Written in quintuple time (54), the composition is built around a distinctive blues-scale melody in E♭ minor and a recurring two-chord vamp. It became the third track on Time Out, which was released by Columbia Records later that year. The track emerged after Quartet drummer Joe Morello challenged Desmond to compose a piece in 54. Brubeck arranged Desmond’s melodies around Morello’s rhythmic ideas, creating a work in ABA ternary form. Its title refers both to the quintuple meter and the colloquial expression "take five," meaning to take a short break. Released as a promotional single in September 1959, "Take Five" initially charted modestly but became a sleeper hit in 1961, eventually rising to international popularity.

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

Recorded on these albums

1963 Plays Hip Hits
Quincy Jones
2002 Merry Old Man
Quincy Jones
2010 Take 5
Quincy Jones

Frequently asked questions

What key is Take Five in?

Take Five is usually played in E♭ minor. For B♭ instruments that is F minor, for E♭ instruments C minor.

Who wrote Take Five?

Take Five was written by Paul Desmond (1959).

What is the form of Take Five?

Take Five has 3 sections (ABA) with 24 bars in total.

How fast is Take Five played?

The usual groove is Medium-up swing.

What are the chord changes to Take Five?

The opening bars are Ebm Bbm7 | Ebm Bbm7 | Ebm Bbm7 | Ebm Bbm7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.