“Over the Rainbow” was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where Judy Garland sang it. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and is often ranked among the greatest songs of the 20th century. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s ukulele medley introduced it to a new generation.
The form is a 32-bar AABA, commonly in Eb major. The melody opens with its famous octave leap. The harmony moves through the I, vi, ii and V chords with secondary dominants and passing chords, and the bridge has a playful, rising melody before the return to the main theme.
For improvisation, stay close to the melody and use its octave leap as a motif. Outline the secondary dominants with their thirds. As a ballad, focus on tone and phrasing; as a medium swing, add relaxed bebop lines.
Practice by singing the melody, then playing it in Eb and other singer-friendly keys. Pianists should practice warm voicings with added ninths.
Arrangement idea: open with a rubato statement of the melody on piano or guitar, then bring in the band at a slow ballad tempo. For a lighter version, try a gentle ukulele-style strum and a straight-eighth groove inspired by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s medley.
Using the Somewhere Over the Rainbow 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 beginner to intermediate. Recordings to study: Judy Garland’s original, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s ukulele version and jazz versions by pianists and saxophonists. Learn more about the composer on Harold Arlen’s Wikipedia page, and find more film-song lead sheets on Minedit.