“Almost Like Being in Love” was written by Frederick Loewe with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner for the 1947 musical Brigadoon. Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and many jazz musicians have recorded swinging versions.
The form is a 32-bar ABAC, usually in F major. The harmony uses ii-V progressions and secondary dominants with a bright, happy feel.
For improvisation, use bebop lines and guide tones. Keep the joyful mood.
Practice at medium-up swing.
Section by section: in the first A, lean on the major third and sixth of the tonic chord to match the song’s bright character, then aim for the seventh of each ii chord as it resolves down a half step to the third of the V. In the B section, the secondary dominants are your chance to add tension with a flat nine before resolving. In the C section, save your strongest idea for the final turnaround, and consider quoting the opening melody right before the head returns. Singers often take this tune at a bright tempo, so practice your lines at 180 BPM once they feel solid at 140, and learn the melody in F and in a second singer-friendly key such as G or Eb.
A good exercise: improvise one chorus using only quarter notes, then one in eighth notes, then mix them. The contrast teaches you rhythmic variety, which is what makes a medium-up swing solo exciting rather than a wall of notes.
How to use this Almost Like Being in Love Lead Sheet PDF: print it or keep it on a tablet, mark the form sections and key centers in pencil, and write the guide tones you want to target above the tricky bars. Revisit those notes after each practice session so the tune gets easier every week.
Is it hard to play? It’s beginner to intermediate. Recordings to study: Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. Learn more about the composer on Frederick Loewe’s Wikipedia page, and find more Broadway standards on Minedit.