Antônio Carlos Jobim, music · Vinícius de Moraes, Portuguese lyrics · Norman Gimbel, English lyrics · First commercial recording by Pery Ribeiro
The Girl from Ipanema
The Girl from Ipanema is a bossa nova song by Antônio Carlos Jobim, written in 1962. Players love its 16-bar bridge, which moves through three keys without playing the home chord of any. It is believed to be the second most recorded pop song in history and turns up in many films.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Stan Getz & João Gilberto✓
- 2 Hear the composer's version Antônio Carlos Jobim✓
- 3 Hear it live Herbie Mann✓
- 4 Hear a jazz trio Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 5 Hear a classic pop singer Nat King Cole✓
- 6 Hear Getz with an orchestra Stan Getz with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra✓
- 7 Hear a pop singer Frank Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim✓
- 8 Hear a solo guitar Pat Metheny✓
How the tune works
The tune runs 40 bars: two 8-bar A sections, a 16-bar bridge and a final A, longer than the usual 32. The A sections stay in F. They move from Fmaj7 to G7, then Gm7 slides down to G♭7 and back to Fmaj7, and the first and last A end on a G♭7 that turns the music around. The second A stays on Fmaj7 instead, so the bridge arrives with a jolt. The bridge opens a half step up on G♭maj7, a chord from D♭ major, and B7 follows. F♯m7 and D7 lean toward E major. Gm7 then brings the harmony back to F, and Am7 D7 Gm7 C7 lead into the last A. Brazilian players often use D♭ for the whole tune, and most American players use F.
One published harmonic analysis in F major: 40 bars in lines of four. Two 8-bar A sections and a final A frame a 16-bar bridge that starts a half step above the home key. Key tags mark where the bridge passes through D♭ major, E major and back to F.
Taken from an online harmonic analysis, not a printed lead sheet. The source names the G7 and G♭7 chords of the A section as G7♯11 and G♭7♯11, gives the bridge's second chord as C♭7 or B7 and says the two altered dominants at the end of the bridge can be played as 7♯5 chords. It states the order of the chords and the section lengths; two bars per chord in the bridge follows from its 16 bars. The first and last A end on G♭7, and the second A stays on Fmaj7. Piano With Jonny and Jazzadvice agree on the 40 bars, the 16-bar bridge and its path through D♭ major, E major and F. The Getz/Gilberto album track is in D♭ major, so a chart in F needs transposing to follow it. Compare the chart with the one you play from and with the recording.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗Eight versions that start with the record that made the song famous and the composer's own instrumental. Next come a live flute band, a piano trio, Nat King Cole, Getz with an orchestra, Sinatra with Jobim and a solo guitar from 2011. Each one puts the same tune in a different setting.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Stan Getz & João Gilberto (with Astrud Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim) 1963
Getz/Gilberto
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- João Gilberto sings in Portuguese and Astrud Gilberto sings in English, both in a quiet, almost whispered style. Jobim's piano plays only what the music needs.
- Try this
- Play the first eight bars of the chart on this page at a slow tempo, then hum the tune over them.
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Step 2 · Hear the composer's version Now playing
Antônio Carlos Jobim (arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman) 1963
The Composer of Desafinado, Plays
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- Listen for
- There is no singer. Follow the strings that Claus Ogerman arranged and the double bass and drums under them.
- Try this
- Play the melody slowly on your instrument without words, then play it again over the first eight bars of the chart on this page.
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Step 3 · Hear it live Now playing
Herbie Mann 1963
“Garota de Ipanema (Live at Newport Jazz Festival, July 7, 1963)”, Herbie Mann Live at Newport
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- A flute leads a band with vibraphone, piano, guitar, bass and drums. Follow one instrument at a time through the track and note who plays the tune and who accompanies.
- Try this
- Pick one instrument in the band, such as the vibraphone or the bass, and write down the time when it first enters. A smaller version: write down when the flute first plays.
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Step 4 · Hear a jazz trio Now playing
Oscar Peterson Trio 1964
“The Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema)”, We Get Requests
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Piano, double bass and drums play the tune with no singer. Listen to what Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums do under the piano.
- Try this
- Play the first eight bars of the chart on this page, then play them again while singing or humming the tune. A smaller version: play only the root of each chord on the bass or the low end of the keyboard.
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Step 5 · Hear a classic pop singer Now playing
Nat King Cole 1964
L-O-V-E
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Nat King Cole sings with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Hum the tune along with him and notice where his phrasing differs from yours.
- Try this
- Hum or sing the tune along with Cole, then play the first eight bars of the chart on this page.
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Step 6 · Hear Getz with an orchestra Now playing
Stan Getz with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra 1966
“The Girl from Ipanema (with Arthur Fiedler & Boston Pops Orchestra)”, The Essential Stan Getz: The Columbia Years
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Follow Getz's tenor saxophone first, then listen for Gary Burton's vibraphone and Jim Hall's guitar. The Boston Pops Orchestra plays behind them under Arthur Fiedler.
- Try this
- Listen twice. First follow only the orchestra, then follow only the quintet, and write down which of the two plays the opening bars.
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Step 7 · Hear a pop singer Now playing
Frank Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim 1967
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Sinatra sings over a bossa nova rhythm in Claus Ogerman's arrangement. Compare his phrasing with Astrud Gilberto's on the Getz/Gilberto track.
- Try this
- Sing or hum the tune along with Sinatra, then play the first eight bars of the chart on this page.
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Step 8 · Hear a solo guitar Now playing
Pat Metheny 2011
“Garota de Ipanema”, What's It All About
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- One baritone guitar carries the whole performance. Listen for how a single instrument covers both the tune and the chords.
- Try this
- Play the melody alone on your instrument, adding one chord from the chart on this page at the start of each bar. A smaller version: play only the first eight bars of the chart at a slow, steady tempo.
More great versions
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Stan Getz featuring Astrud Gilberto (single version) 1963
“The Girl from Ipanema (Single Version)”, Getz/Gilberto
The edited single that reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Stan Getz Quartet with João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto 1964
“The Girl from Ipanema (Live at Carnegie Hall/1964)”, The Girl from Ipanema: The Bossa Nova Years
A live version from Carnegie Hall on October 9, 1964, with the Stan Getz quartet, João Gilberto on guitar and voice, and Astrud Gilberto singing.
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Charlie Byrd (with orchestra arranged by Tom Newsom) 1965
Brazilian Byrd
Charlie Byrd plays the tune on acoustic guitar on his 1965 Jobim album Brazilian Byrd.
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Antônio Carlos Jobim 1980
Terra Brasilis
Jobim sings the song and plays keyboards on his 1980 album Terra Brasilis, with Claus Ogerman's orchestra and a band that includes Bob Cranshaw on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves on guitar.
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Ella Fitzgerald 1981
“The Girl from Ipanema (Garota de Ipanema)”, Ella Abraça Jobim: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald sings the tune on the 1981 album she devoted to Jobim's songs.
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Eliane Elias 2008
Bossa Nova Stories
The Brazilian pianist and singer Eliane Elias opens her 2008 album Bossa Nova Stories with the song.