ENDEIT

Standards

Try A Little Tenderness chords & key

Harry Woods

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

“Try A Little Tenderness” is a jazz standard by Harry Woods. It is usually played in E♭ major as a ballad, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 6 major ii–V–I cadences and 3 minor ii–V–i, uses 14 different chords and moves between the key centres E♭ major, F minor, A♭ major and C minor. In this atlas it appears on 4 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — E♭ major

A
E♭maj7Cm7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6Gm7♭5/D♭
C7
F7
B♭7
1.
Gm7C7
Fm7B♭7
2.
E♭6
B♭m7E♭7
B
A♭maj7
Dm7♭5G7♭9
Cm7
F7
Fm7
Gm7C7
Fm7
B♭7
A
E♭maj7Cm7
Fm7B♭7
E♭6Gm7♭5/D♭
C7
F7
B♭7
E♭6
Fm7B♭7

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

Harmonic analysis

6Major ii–V–I
3Minor ii–V–i
14ii–V moves
0Tritone substitutions
6Dominant chains
14Different chords

Most used chords

  • B♭7×9
  • Fm7×7
  • E♭6×5
  • C7×5
  • Cm7×4
  • F7×4

Key centres reached by ii–V

E♭ major, F minor, A♭ major and C minor

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

Recorded on these albums

1946 The Voice of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra · “Try a Little Tenderness”
1955 The Voice
Frank Sinatra · “Try a Little Tenderness”
1960 Nice ’n’ Easy
Frank Sinatra · “Try a Little Tenderness”
2026 Too Marvelous For Words
Peggy Lee · “Try a Little Tenderness”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
One Morning In May 37% Hoagy Carmichael G major AAB · 48 Up-tempo swing
You Are Too Beautiful 37% Richard Rodgers C major AABA · 32 Ballad
If There Is Someone Lovelier 35% Dietz-Schwartz C major ABC · 28 Ballad
Moonlight Becomes You 35% Jimmy Van-Heusen F major AABA · 34 Ballad
I've Never Been In Love Before 34% Frank Loesser B♭ major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Oh, Lady Be Good 34% George Gershwin G major AABA · 32 Medium-up swing
In Love In Vain 33% Leo Robin Jerome Kern B♭ major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
The Party's Over 33% Styne-Comden-Green E♭ major AB · 36 Ballad

Frequently asked questions

What key is Try A Little Tenderness in?

Try A Little Tenderness is usually played in E♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is F major, for E♭ instruments C major.

Who wrote Try A Little Tenderness?

Try A Little Tenderness was written by Harry Woods.

What is the form of Try A Little Tenderness?

Try A Little Tenderness has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Try A Little Tenderness played?

The usual groove is Ballad.

What are the chord changes to Try A Little Tenderness?

The opening bars are Ebmaj7 Cm7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Eb6 Gm7b5/Db | C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.