A-Z Songbook, Advanced Acoustic, Ballads & First Dances, Blues & Jazz

My Funny Valentine chords by Real Book

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My Funny Valentine | Chords + Lyrics

Verse 1

| Cm | Cmmaj7 | Cm7 | Cm6 |
My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine.
| Abmaj7 | Fm7 | Dm7b5 | G7b9 |
You make me smile with my heart.

Verse 2

| Cm | Cmmaj7 | Cm7 | Cm6 |
Your looks are laughable, un-photographable.
| Abmaj7 | Fm7 | Abm6 | Bb7b9 |
Yet, you’re my favorite work of art.

Bridge 1

Verse 3

My Funny Valentine Chords: Learn the progressions

Chet Baker didn’t write My Funny Valentine, Rogers and Hart did in 1937 for a musical called Babes In Arms.

However, Chet’s version is the one we all know. Since there is mainly bass in that arrangement, and at the end of the day, the version musicians mean is the one found in the Real Book, let’s focus on that version.

At the bottom of the page of the Real Book sheet you can see how it references Miles Davis’s live version (included in the playlist above) this makes little sense to me…

Anyway, let’s focus on the Real Book chords as that’s what everyone knows, and let’s develop a one-guitar arrangement for it so you can play it with a singer or soloist.

Verse 1 is 8 bars long and starts with the descending chromatic Cm extensions, synonymous with this tune.

After the signature opening progression of Cm (chord VI) we go to Abmaj7 (IV), Fm7 (II), before we play a so-called minor II – V. That’s VII – IIIx in the keys of Cm/Eb.

All this means that we are diatonic to Cm in verse 1, apart from the chromatic descending notes over Cm.

I’ve designed some TAB for how you could play this with a singer, it’s very clear in order to make it easy for the singer to follow, once this is established, we can start stretching and varying the concept.

Here’s a link to the TAB lesson: My Funny Valentine – Guitar Lesson with TAB.

In this lesson, let’s stay focused on My Funny Valentine’s chords. Do compare the first four bars with that of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, All In Love Is Fair, and Angel Eyes, they are different but it’s in the same universe.

Verse 2 starts in the same way, although, and this is very important, the melody now starts on the 3rd, not the root. This is perhaps the greatest lesson we learn from My Funny Valentine – doing this draws the listener in.

Anyway, back to the chords, that second line is now:

The last two chords have changed, setting us up for the bridge. Abm6 is chord IVm, Bb7b9 is chord V. Although the b9 is outside of the key. Try an Abdim7 arpeggio over this chord if you solo!

There’s TAB available (link above) for how to play this second verse using a different approach to verse 1. Learn both ways and you can soon blend and develop the concepts.

The bridge is not in Cm anymore, it is in the relative major key of Eb. Compare this to how Summertime used both minor and major.

First, we go up the scale and then down again using chords I – II – III – II, like this:

||: Ebmaj7 (I) Fm7 (II) | Gm7 (III) Fm7 (II) :||

By having two chords per bar, rather than one in the verse, we automatically pick up the pace of the song. Pair this with moving to a major and the change in feel is dramatic.

It’s important to realize that the reason it doesn’t feel strange or uncomfortable is that we haven’t changed the key, just moved to a different tonal centre, Cm and Eb share the same chords.

The final line of the bridge is I – IIIx7 – VI, or Ebmaj7 – G7 – Cm. This sets up the next verse, although there are a few more bars to complete it.

The second half of bar two is a II – V of Ab, although the A7 is a tritone substitution. This brings us to Abmaj7 (IV). Finally, we have another minor II – V, or VII – IIIx. Dm7b5 – G7b9 which takes us back to Cm for the final verse.

There’s TAB for how to play the bridge in a way that will be easy to sing and solo over as well.

Verse 3 is similar to previous verses, but not the same. We start with Cm but then things change:

Line 2 goes to the minor II – V, back to Cm, and then we get another II – V with a tritone substitution as we had in the bridge. Although here we also get an altered chord, dom7b5: Bbm7 – A7b5.

The final line is IV – II – V – I. The Bb7b9 is not diatonic, but it works well. Finish on an Eb6.

Should you want to solo, use a minor II – V (Dm7b5 – G7b9) to start over again from the top.

Having studied my TAB and played along with the “original” recordings, this chord chart is all you’ll need to play My Funny Valentine’s chords.

My Funny Valentine Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro

Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: My Funny Valentine Chord Chart PDF.

This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: My Funny Valentine iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.

My Funny Valentine’s legacy as a jazz standard is immense!

Perhaps the jazz standard of all standards, My Funny Valentine has appeared on over 1300 albums, recorded by more than 600 artists, not to mention the millions of jazz musicians that have played this legendary tune over the years.

600 artists are too many to list here, so I’ve included another six in the playlist above, apart from Chet Baker. They are Sting, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Chaka Khan, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, and my favourite YouTube sax genius, Chad LB.

If you want to really dig deep, and get better at jazz and therefore your instrument, you should work out how these artists change the melody of My Funny Valentine.

You should also look at how they’ve changed My Funny Valentine’s chord progression, and even transcribe the solos.

But before you do that, start with learning how to play this classic using the chords and lyrics above as that’s what you find in the Real Book, which is the common reference point.

Maybe even take it around the twelve keys, that should keep you busy for a couple of weeks!

My Funny Valentine Chords | Related Pages

My Funny Valentine | Guitar Lesson + TAB

In this guitar lesson, you get TAB for how to play My Funny Valentine, supporting a singer or soloist. Learn the different examples before you develop your own version.

| Cm | Cmmaj7 | Cm7 | Cm6 |
My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine…

Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics

When you can play My Funny Valentine's chords, try these five tunes from the songbook.

Chet Baker tunes

Trumpeter, Chet Baker is most famous for singing My Funny Valentine and how his approach to jazz pioneered the style of Cool.

Chet recorded many jazz standards including Autumn Leaves, I Fall In Love Too Easy, Stella By Starlight, and A Foggy Day.

Chet Baker on the web

About me | Dan Lundholm

Dan Lundholm wrote this guitar lesson about My Funny Valentine chords.

This was a guitar lesson about My Funny Valentine chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.

Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.