Play Bésame Mucho Lead Sheet on Piano
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Would you like to add some variety to your jazz piano repertoire? If so, then we have the perfect Latin jazz standard for your next gig. In today’s Quick Tip, Play Bésame Mucho Lead Sheet on Piano, John Proulx takes us inside the arrangement of one of the most recorded songs in the Spanish language with its haunting melody and beautiful chords. You’ll learn:
- Bésame Mucho: Song Facts
- Bésame Mucho: Song Analysis
- Bésame Mucho Chords
- Bésame Mucho: Recommended Listening
Bésame Mucho: Song Facts
“Bésame Mucho” was composed by Mexican pianist and composer Consuelo Velázquez (1916–2005). Conflicting information surrounds the work’s inception as different sources cite dates ranging from 1932 to 1941.¹ ² Nonetheless, Velázquez composed the romantic love song as young woman, roughly between the ages of 16 to 25. Consuelo’s inspiration for “Bésame Mucho” was a classical piano piece entitled “Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruiseñor,” (“The Maiden and the Nightingale”) by Spanish composer Enrique Granados (1867–1916).
The title of “Bésame Mucho” means “kiss me much” or “kiss me a lot.” However, when lyricist Sunny Skylar crafted English words for the tune, he opted to preserve the title phrase in Spanish each time it occurs in the song.
“Bésame Mucho” is written in the bolero style, a Cuban ballad in 2/4 or 4/4 time that features a distinctive rhythmic embellishment on the upbeat of count one. This embellishment is typically played on a percussionist instrument and can be expressed as two 16th notes, three 16th-note triplets, or four 32nd-notes.
Bésame Mucho: Song Analysis
Song Key
Published lead sheets for “Bésame Mucho” are most often in the key of D minor. However, the song is widely recorded and performed in many different keys by vocalists and instrumentalists alike. For today’s lesson, we’ll be in the key of D minor. In fact, you can download the chord changes for “Bésame Mucho” from the bottom of this page after logging in with your membership. This lesson also includes two backing tracks containing the different chord changes that we’ll discuss shortly. In addition, PWJ members can also easily transpose the chords for “Bésame Mucho” to any key using our Smart Sheet Music. Due to publisher’s restrictions, the lead sheet containing Velázquez’s original melody that appears in John’s tutorial is available via MusicNotes.com.
Song Form
“Bésame Mucho” is composed in ABA form. However, many musicians perform the song in an AABA manner by repeating the first A section before transitioning to bridge, which is the B section. Unlike a typical AABA song structure, each A section of “Bésame Mucho” is 16 measures long. The B section, by contrast, is only 8 bars long.
Bésame Mucho Chords
In this section, we’ll examine the chords for “Bésame Mucho.” Firstly, we’ll look at a lead sheet containing the basic chord changes. Many pop and Latin cover versions of “Bésame Mucho” follow these basic chords. Afterward, we’ll also check out a lead sheet for “Bésame Mucho” that contains more advanced jazz chords. Note, a solid curved arrow in the harmonic analysis indicates a secondary dominant function. Similarly, a dashed curved arrow indicates a tritone substitution.
Let’s start by looking at and listening to the basic “Bésame Mucho” chords first. If you’re a beginner or intermediate player, then this lead sheet is the perfect way to get started playing this popular song.
Lead Sheet with Basic Chords
If you’re a more advanced piano student or you are particularly interested in incorporating some jazz chords into “Bésame Mucho,” then this next lead sheet is for you. In fact, this chart includes all the passing chords and reharmonization techniques that John discusses in today’s featured Quick Tip tutorial.
Lead Sheet with Reharmonization
The first difference that you’ll notice in this advanced lead sheet for “Bésame Mucho” is that John uses F♯º7, a secondary diminished chord, to approach Gm in the 3rd and 11th measures of the A section. Jonny likes to call this technique a “lift-in diminished chord” because the bass note rises into the root of the resolution chord by a half step (F♯→G).
Measure 9 of “Bésame Mucho” is a particular spot where many arrangements incorporate some sort of unique chord substitution. For example, John plays an Am11(♭5) with the major 9th, the note B♮. (Hint: the easiest way to construct this chord is to think of an Am7 open chord shell in the left hand (A–G–C) and a root position E♭▵7♯5 (E♭–G–B–D) in the right hand.) This bright half-diminished chord sound comes from the Locrian ♯2 Scale (A–B–C–D–E♭–F–G), which is the 6th mode of the C melodic minor scale. To learn more about melodic minor modes, check out John’s Quick Tip entitled “Jazz Piano Improv with the Melodic Minor Scale” (Int/Adv). While John’s chord choice in measure 9 is certainly hip, you’ll have to pay close attention to this measure if you are performing “Bésame Mucho” in an jazz combo. Other chords that can appear here include Dm, D13sus4, D7 and Am11.
John’s arrangement also includes some clever chord substitutions in measures 33 to 37. Specifically, the bass line here uses stepwise motion to descend from E♭▵7 down to D/A.
Bésame Mucho: Recommended Listening
For over eight decades, “Bésame Mucho” has been a massive hit throughout the world. Writing for The New York Times, Margalit Fox said, “‘Bésame Mucho’ is not so much an enduring standard as a global phenomenon. Translated into dozens of languages and performed by hundreds of artists, the song has been an emblem of Latin identity, an anthem of lovers separated by World War II and perennial grist for lounge singers everywhere.”³
“‘Bésame Mucho’ is not so much an enduring standard as a global phenomenon.”
—Margalit Fox, Journalist for The New York Times
Fox’s conclusion about the song is hardly an overstatement. Indeed, “Bésame Mucho” has been recorded by a wide range of artists that includes Andy Russell (1940), Frank Sinatra (1954), The Coasters (1960), The Beatles (1962), Dalida (1976), Plácido Domingo (1983), Andrea Bocelli (2006), Harry Connick, Jr. (2009), Zoé (2011) and Diana Krall (2021).
In this section, we’ll cover some of the earliest recordings of “Bésame Mucho” as well as same outstanding jazz and Latin jazz recordings. In addition, we’ve included some fantastic jazz piano recordings.
Early Recordings
The earliest known recording of “Bésame Mucho” is from 1940 by Los Cadetes del Swing,⁴ a jazz band founded by Mexican drummer Tino Contreras when he was 15 years old.⁵ Spanish-Mexican actor Emilio Tuero is credited with the first performance of “Bésame Mucho” in 1941.⁶ In 1944, a vocal duet version in English featuring Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen with Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra hit #1 in the United States.
Los Cadetes del Swing
“Bésame Mucho” (1940)
Emilio Tuero
“Bésame Mucho” (1941)
Bob Eberly & Kitty Kallen
“Bésame Mucho” (1944)
Jazz & Latin Jazz Recordings
If you’re looking for a “Bésame Mucho” lead sheet in your fake book, you probably won’t find it there—unless, of course, you own The Real Book-Vol. III, The Real Vocal Book-Vol. II, The Real Latin Book or The Latin Real Book. Unfortunately, “Bésame Mucho” is absent from the most popular jazz fake books. This is perhaps some indication that “Bésame Mucho” is not “as standard” as other Latin jazz standards. Nonetheless, jazz musicians began performing and recording the song in the 1950s, including Artie Shaw (1954), The Art Pepper Quartet (1956), Gene Harris’ The 3 Sounds (1959) and Grant Green (1962) to name a few.
Wes Montgomery
“Bésame Mucho” (1963)
João Gilberto
“Bésame Mucho” (1977)
Diane Schuur
“Bésame Mucho” (2001)
The recordings above reflect three different jazz interpretations of “Bésame Mucho.” For example, American guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded the tune as a snappy jazz waltz in 3/4 time. On the other hand, Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto interpreted the song with a relaxed bossa nova feel. Moreover, jazz vocalist Diane Shuur recorded the tune in a 6/8 Afro-Cuban style with Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau big band. Be sure to listen until the end to catch the hip montuno section.
Piano Recordings
The following versions of “Bésame Mucho” have been selected with jazz piano students in mind. Firstly, we have Dave Brubeck’s 1967 recording which moves at a medium swing tempo that will be accessible to most students. Afterward, we have a passionate solo piano performance by French jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani from 1998. Lastly, we have a jazz samba interpretation by the Alfredo Rodríguez Trio from the 2018 Montreux Jazz Festival.
Dave Brubeck
“Bésame Mucho” (1967)
Michel Petrucciani
“Bésame Mucho” (1998)
Alfredo Rodríguez
“Bésame Mucho” (2018)
Conclusion
Congratulations, you’ve completed today’s lesson on Play Bésame Mucho Lead Sheet on Piano. Now it’s time to hit the practice room and find your own voice on this romantic Latin ballad.
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¹ Donovan, Thom. “Meaning behind ‘Bésame Mucho’ by Consuelo Velázquez.” American Songwriter, 6 Mar. 2024.
² Fox, Margalit. “Consuelo Velázquez Dies; Wrote ‘Bésame Mucho.’” The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2005.
³ Ibid.
⁴ “Bésame Mucho.” SecondHandSongs.com.
⁵ “Tino Contreras.” Wikipedia.com, Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 7 Mar. 2024.
⁶ “Bésame Mucho.” SecondHandSongs.com.
Writer
Michael LaDisa
Michael LaDisa graduated from the University of North Texas with a major in Music Theory & Composition. He lives in Chicago where he operates a private teaching studio and performs regularly as a solo pianist. His educational work with students has been featured on WGN-TV Evening News, Fox 32 Good Day,...
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