“My Funny Valentine” was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the 1937 musical Babes in Arms. It became a jazz ballad staple through Chet Baker’s fragile vocal and trumpet versions and Miles Davis’s dramatic live performances in the 1960s. Few ballads give a soloist as much emotional range.
The tune is usually played in C minor, in an AABA form of 36 bars, with the last A section extended. The A sections start with a minor line cliché: Cm, Cm(maj7), Cm7, Cm6, a descending chromatic line inside the chord. From there the harmony moves to the relative major, Eb, through ii-Vs. The bridge brightens into Eb major territory with a sequence of ii-Vs, and the final A builds to a climax before resolving back to C minor.
For improvisation, bring out the line cliché by including the moving note (C, B, Bb, A) in your phrases. Over the minor chords, C melodic minor gives a sophisticated sound, while C Dorian sounds more modal. In the bridge, use Eb major and outline each ii-V clearly. Miles Davis often played with extreme dynamic contrasts on this tune, whispering one phrase and shouting the next, which is a great model for building an emotional solo.
Practice at ballad tempo, around 55 to 65 BPM. Sing the melody along with Chet Baker’s recording to learn its phrasing. Pianists should practice the line cliché in inner voices while holding the melody on top. Horn players should practice long tones and soft dynamics. Learn the tune in C minor first, then in D minor, a common vocal key.
Using the My Funny Valentine Lead Sheet PDF on gigs: keep a concert-pitch copy and a copy in your instrument’s key, label the intro and ending on the page, and note the tempo and feel the band usually plays. Small notes like these keep you calm when a tune gets called on the spot.
Common mistake: rushing the last A section, which has extra bars. Count it out and mark your lead sheet. Read more about the songwriting team on the Rodgers and Hart Wikipedia page, and find more classic ballads on Minedit.