ENDEIT

Standards

Tea For Two chords & key

Vincent Youmans

Key
A♭ major
Form
ABAC
Bars
32
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4

“Tea For Two” is a jazz standard by Vincent Youmans. Most bands play it in A♭ major, medium swing; the tune runs 32 bars in ABAC form. Harmonically it contains 6 major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 19 different chords and moves between the key centres A♭ major, B♭ minor, C major and D minor. In this atlas it appears on 11 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — A♭ major

A
B♭m7E♭7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7D♭7
Cm7F7
B♭m7E♭7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7
A♭maj7
B
Dm7G7
Dm7G7
Cmaj7F7
Em7A7
Dm7G7
Dm7G7
Cmaj7
E♭7
A
B♭m7E♭7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭maj7D♭7
Cm7F7
B♭m7E♭7
B♭m7E♭7
Cm7♭5
F7♭9
C
B♭m7Cdim7
D♭maj7Cdim7
B♭m7B♭m7/A♭
G♭7
Cm7Bdim7
B♭m7E♭7
A♭6
Cm7♭5F7♭9

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

Harmonic analysis

6Major ii–V–I
4Minor ii–V–i
18ii–V moves
3Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
19Different chords

Most used chords

  • B♭m7×11
  • E♭7×10
  • A♭maj7×4
  • Dm7×4
  • G7×4
  • Cm7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

A♭ major, B♭ minor, C major and D minor

Characteristics

  • ABAC song form

Recorded on these albums

1952 Bing and Connee
Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell · “Tea for Two”
1963 Ella and Basie!
Ella Fitzgerald & The Count Basie Orchestra · “Tea for Two”
1968 The Piano Soul of Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
1971 Love Story
Tony Bennett · “Tea for Two”
1974 Meets The Master Saxes - Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Illinois Jacquet
Nat Cole · “Tea for Two”
1978 Tea for Two
Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli · “Tea for Two”
1988 Menuhin and Grappelli Play “Jealousy” and Other Great Standards
Yehudi Menuhin & Stéphane Grappelli · “Tea for Two”
1996 One O'Clock Jump
Duke Ellington · “Tea for Two”
1999 Legends of the 20th Century: Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin · “Tea for Two”
2002 It’s Easy to Remember
Bing Crosby · “Tea for Two”
2012 I Get a Kick out of You
Frank Sinatra · “Tea for Two”

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • Tea for Two Max Miller Trio · Max Miller · Parke Hill · Ernest Shephard ·… archive.org ↗
  • TEA FOR TWO Illinois Jacquet; Jack McVea · J. J. Johnson · Les Paul · "Shorty… archive.org ↗
  • Tea for two Johnny Hodges and his All-Stars orchestra · Johnny Hodges · Jimmy… archive.org ↗
  • TEA FOR TWO Ingelise Rune · Soft-bar-kvintet · Youmans · Caesar · Hans Schreiber archive.org ↗
  • TEA FOR TWO Illinois Jacquet · Jack McVea · J. J. Johnson · Les Paul · "Shorty… archive.org ↗
  • TEA FOR TWO Norman Granz' JAZZ AT THE PHILHARMONIC · Illinois Jacquet · Jack… archive.org ↗
  • TEA FOR TWO Illinois Jacquet, Jack McVea · J. J. Johnson · Les Paul · "Shorty… archive.org ↗
  • Tea For Two Bud Powell Trio · Bud Powell · Buddy Rich · Ray Brown · Norman Granz… archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Gone With The Wind 31% Allie Wrubel E♭ major AB · 32 Medium swing
Shiny Stockings 29% Frank Foster F major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
If Ever I Would Leave You 26% Frederick Loewe B♭ major AABA · 56 Medium swing
The Cool One 24% Benny Golson G major AABA · 32 Medium swing
St. Thomas 23% Sonny Rollins C major A · 16 Latin
Billy Boy 22% Traditional C major AABA · 56 Medium-up swing
Diane 22% Rapee-pollack E♭ major ABAB · 32 Medium swing
Easy To Love 21% Cole Porter G major ABAC · 32 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Tea For Two in?

Tea For Two is usually played in A♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is B♭ major, for E♭ instruments F major.

Who wrote Tea For Two?

Tea For Two was written by Vincent Youmans.

What is the form of Tea For Two?

Tea For Two has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Tea For Two played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Tea For Two?

The opening bars are Bbm7 Eb7 | Bbm7 Eb7 | Abmaj7 Db7 | Cm7 F7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.