Standards
The Swinging Shepherd Blues chords & key
- Key
- B♭ major
- Form
- A
- Bars
- 12
- Groove
- Slow swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“The Swinging Shepherd Blues” is a jazz standard by Koffman-Roberts-Jacobson. It is usually played in B♭ major as a slow swing, and the 12-bar A form repeats as one section. Its changes follow the 12-bar blues.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — B♭ major
A
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
0Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
1ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
3Dominant chains
9Different chords
Most used chords
- B♭6×4
- E♭7×3
- B♭7×3
- Cm7×2
- F7×2
- D♭dim×1
Characteristics
- 12-bar blues
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- SWINGING SHEPHERD BLUES JOHNNY PATE QUINTET · Lennie Druss · Moe Koffman · 1958 archive.org ↗
Frequently asked questions
What key is The Swinging Shepherd Blues in?
The Swinging Shepherd Blues is usually played in B♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is C major, for E♭ instruments G major.
Who wrote The Swinging Shepherd Blues?
The Swinging Shepherd Blues was written by Koffman-Roberts-Jacobson.
What is the form of The Swinging Shepherd Blues?
The Swinging Shepherd Blues has 1 sections (A) with 12 bars in total.
How fast is The Swinging Shepherd Blues played?
The usual groove is Slow swing.
What are the chord changes to The Swinging Shepherd Blues?
The opening bars are Bb6 | Bb6 | Bb6 | Bb6. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.