ENDEIT

Standards · 1957

Till There Was You chords & key

Meredith Wilson · Lyrics: Meredith Willson

Key
E♭ major
Form
AABA
Bars
32
Groove
Ballad
Time signature
4/4
Year
1957

“Till There Was You” is a jazz standard by Meredith Wilson from 1957. It is usually played in E♭ major as a ballad, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 5 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 20 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major and A♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 1 album track.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭maj7
Edim7
Fm7
A♭m7D♭7
Gm7G♭dim7
Fm7B♭7
1.
Gm7G♭7
Fm7B♭7
2.
E♭6A♭m6
B♭m7E♭7
B
A♭maj7
Adim7
E♭maj7
C7
Fm7Gm7
Am7♭5
Fm7/B♭
B♭7♯5
A
E♭maj7
Edim7
Fm7
A♭m7D♭9
Gm7G♭dim7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6
Fm7B♭7

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

Harmonic analysis

5Major ii–V–I
0Minor ii–V–i
10ii–V moves
1Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
20Different chords

Most used chords

  • Fm7×9
  • Gm7×5
  • B♭7×5
  • E♭maj7×4
  • Edim7×3
  • A♭m7×3

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major and A♭ major

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

History

"Till There Was You" is a show tune written by Meredith Willson, popularised by his 1957 stage production The Music Man and its 1962 movie musical adaptation, and further popularised by the Beatles’ cover. The song became the first Top 40 hit for Anita Bryant in 1959, prior to being recorded by the Beatles in 1963.

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

Recorded on these albums

1974 Come Live With Me
Ray Charles

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home 24% Hughie Cannon G major ABAC · 32 Medium-up swing
Someday My Prince Will Come 24% Frank Churchill B♭ major ABAC · 32 Jazz waltz
Dancing On The Ceiling 20% Richard Rodgers F major AABA · 32 Ballad
Solitude 20% Duke Ellington E♭ major AABA · 32 Ballad
You Took Advantage Of Me 20% Richard Rodgers E♭ major AABA · 32 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Till There Was You in?

Till There Was You is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Till There Was You?

Till There Was You was written by Meredith Wilson (1957).

What is the form of Till There Was You?

Till There Was You has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Till There Was You played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to Till There Was You?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 | Edim7 | Fm7 | Abm7 Db7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.