“Skylark” was composed by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Johnny Mercer in 1941. It’s a beautiful, yearning ballad recorded by Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin and many jazz musicians.
The form is a 32-bar AABA, usually in Eb major. The A sections move through ii-V progressions and secondary dominants, and the bridge shifts dramatically to a distant key area, creating one of the most memorable moments in the tune.
Section by section: in the A sections, stay lyrical and outline the ii-Vs with guide tones. In the bridge, mark the key change clearly by targeting the new tonic’s third; the bridge’s melody rises with longing, so match it with your dynamics. In the final A, return to the gentle mood and resolve softly.
Practice at a slow ballad tempo. Learn the melody by singing it.
Transposing tip: Bb instruments read it in F, Eb instruments in C.
Arrangement idea: open with a rubato introduction, then play the A sections softly and let the bridge swell. A quiet ending with a held final note captures the tune’s longing mood.
Getting the most from the Skylark Lead Sheet PDF: start by reading the chord symbols without your instrument and humming the roots. Then circle any chord you can’t yet voice or arpeggiate, and make those your warm-up for the week before you play the whole form.
Using the Skylark 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.
Is it hard to play? It’s intermediate. Recordings to study: Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin. Learn more about the composer on Hoagy Carmichael’s Wikipedia page, and find more jazz ballads on Minedit.