“My Funny Valentine” Vocal Arrangement
Welcome to this vocal piano tutorial on “My Funny Valentine” – a very popular standard, not only in the jazz world, but all genres.
Many different artist have taken this show tune and made it their own, but today we are going to discuss it as a jazz vocal piece, either for the singing pianist, or those accompanying a singer.
Simple Voicings, Fills, & Extensions
We are going to look at simple voicings that leave room for the voice, as well as fills and extensions that you might want to place in the moment.
Played In The Key Of C Minor
We are in the key of C Minor which is 3 flats. C Minor is the relative minor to Eb Major – so if you know your Eb Major Scale, we are playing the Eb Major scale from C to C giving us that dark and moody minor sound of b3, b6, b7.
Start By Singing The Melody
Many people already know this melody but it’s still a good exercise to play through with just the melody on the piano and sing the lyrics with our voice.
This is a great way to familiarise yourself with the melodic contours and particularly the melodic leaps in the B Section. Use the piano as your aid.
Related Lessons
The minor 251 progression in the final measures of the bridge is a nice place to add some altered voicings and upper structure triads.
My Funny Valentine is a difficult standard to learn. In this lesson we breakdown the complicated chord changes and build a solo arrangement.
In this lesson we explore how you can navigate over the minor line cliché using bass lines, two-handed chords and left hand voicings.
Practice Tips
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There is a very popular verse that can be used as a great intro, you can find a link for that tutorial above in the related lessons.
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Remember the unusual form. The tune follows an AABC form but the C Section is 12 measures instead of 8.
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Start simple with octave bass, and right hand triads, then gradually layer in the complexity.
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When playing with a singer, the instrumental solo will typically be over first 2 A Sections and then the singer pics up again at bridge with scat and loosely interpreted C Section.
Wow. I can listen to that over again. Lyndol – that was beautifully sung and tastefully played! I’m having an idea now of how different it will be to sing and accompany yourself in jazz compared to playing it as a piano solo which is equally challenging/difficult. Mind blown here. I hope I get to learn this and accompany my singing too. This was inspiring. Thanks for the wonderful lesson.
Hi Tina,
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the lesson and are feeling inspired.
There really are so many ways to interpret a song, so I hope this helps you to take steps to finding your way.
I’d love to hear how it progresses for you! Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions/concerns.
Happy Practicing!!!
– Lyndol