The Sheik of Araby: chords & grille (gypsy jazz)
The Sheik of Araby by Ted Snyder, Harry B. Smith & Francis Wheeler, key of B♭ (swing), form A. Below is the full chord grid; on Haute Gitanerie you can play along with a scrolling chord ribbon, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and switch on a rhythm backing (la pompe) to practise your solos over the changes.
About
Written in 1921 by Ted Snyder with lyricists Harry B. Smith and Francis Wheeler, The Sheik of Araby rode the craze for the Rudolph Valentino film The Sheik; early jazz bands turned it into a standard, and it became a manouche jam favourite.
The sound: a bright, up-tempo swing whose A section rides a chain of dominant sevenths spiralling round the cycle of fifths (D7–G7–C7–F7) home to the major tonic.
Practising it: this one is a lesson in dominant motion. Arpeggiate each 7th chord and connect them chromatically through their 3rds and 7ths. Start moderate, then push the tempo as the changes lock in.
The Sheik of Araby chords: the grille
A : | B♭ | B♭ B° | Cm | F7 | Cm | F7 | B♭ | B♭ | B♭/D | D♭° | Cm | F7 | Cm | F7 | B♭ B° | Cm7 F7 | B♭ | B♭ B° | Cm | F7 | Cm | F7 E♭7 | D7 | D7 | G7 | G7 | C7 | C7 | F7 | F7 | B♭ B° | Cm7 F7 |
Chords used
B♭ · B° · Cm · F7 · D♭° · Cm7 · E♭7 · D7 · G7 · C7
Play along
Open the interactive grille for The Sheik of Araby: loop any section, transpose to any key, set the tempo, and play over a rhythm accompaniment, with a real recorded pompe on featured tunes. In the browser, free.