“Cheek to Cheek” was written by Irving Berlin for the 1935 film Top Hat, where Fred Astaire sang it to Ginger Rogers before their famous dance. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s duet version is a jazz classic, and the song remains popular with singers and swing bands.
The tune is often played in C major or other singer-friendly keys, and its form is much longer than the typical 32-bar standard, running to around 72 bars with repeated sections and a contrasting minor-key passage. The A sections use the I, ii and V chords with a bright, cheerful feel. The contrasting section shifts to a minor key, adding drama before the return of the main theme.
For improvisation, the long form means you need a clear map. Mark each section on your lead sheet. Use the major scale and bebop ideas over the bright sections and harmonic minor over the minor passage. Ella and Louis’s version shows how to keep the energy light and playful while swinging hard.
Practice the form with a play-along until you can feel the sections without counting. Learn the melody from the Fred Astaire or Ella and Louis recording, then play it in a singer’s key.
Memorizing the Cheek to Cheek Lead Sheet PDF: learn the form in sections, not all at once. Play the first eight bars until you can do them with your eyes closed, then add the next section. Within a week or two you won’t need the page at all, which is the real goal of any lead sheet.
Ear training with the Cheek to Cheek Lead Sheet PDF: before reading along, listen to two different recordings and try to hear where each section starts. Then follow the lead sheet while listening. Connecting what you see to what you hear is how lead sheets turn into tunes you truly know.
Is it hard to play? The harmony is easy, but the long form takes focus. Recordings to study: Fred Astaire’s original and Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s duet. Learn more about the composer on Irving Berlin’s Wikipedia page, and find more swing standards on Minedit.