Nature Boy

Nature Boy was written in 1947 by Eden Ahbez (born George Alexander Aberle) and became famous after Nat King Cole recorded it in 1948. Cole’s version held the No. 1 spot for eight weeks and sold over a million copies. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play both the melody and chords of Nature Boy.

eden ahbez (who intentionally wrote his name in lowercase) was a member of the “Nature Boys”, a hippie cult based in California. They lived a nomadic life, wore long hair and beards, and mostly ate raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts. When Nature Boy became popular, Ahbez was said to be living under the “L” of the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles.

The story goes that Ahbez handed the sheet music for Nature Boy to Nat King Cole’s manager backstage at the Lincoln Theater, which eventually led to Cole recording the song and the song becoming a hit.

Later, the tune was the subject of a legal dispute when Yiddish composer Herman Yablokoff claimed its melody was very similar to his 1930s song Shvayg mayn harts (“Be Still My Heart“). Ahbez denied copying the melody and explained that he had “heard” it in the California mountains. The case was settled out of court for $25,000.

Recommended listening:

• Nat King Cole – Single (1948)
• Django Reinhardt – From Paris with Love (1949)
• Miles Davis (with Charles Mingus) – Blue Moods (1955)
• John Coltrane – The John Coltrane Quartet Plays (1965)
• Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass – Fitzgerald & Pass… Again (1976)
• George Benson – In Flight (1976)
• John Pizzarelli – Dear Mr. Cole (1995)
• Kurt Elling – The Messenger (1997)
• David Bowie – Moulin Rouge! soundtrack (2001)
• Jimmy Rosenberg – The One and Only (2006)
• Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga – Cheek to Cheek (2014)

 

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Nature Boy – Melody

Form: A B1 A B2 (32 bars)
Key: A minor (the original is in D minor)

The melody of Nature Boy is simple and lyrical, leaving a lot of room for phrasing and dynamics. Most of the tune stays within the A natural minor scale, making it easy to follow.

The main exception occurs in bars 5–6 and 21–22, where the melody follows a descending line cliché (A–G#–G–F#), adding harmonic tension and color to the otherwise modal sound of the tune.

 

 

Listen & Play-Along

 

 

Nature Boy – Chords

The chord accompaniment uses basic jazz chords, a moving bassline, and a light percussive slap on beats 2 and 4. The slap is done by lightly hitting the strings with your picking hand fingers. Start practicing the groove slowly so the bass, chords, and slap all feel smooth and steady.

Most of the harmony is diatonic to A minor, except for the B7 in bars 13 and 29, which functions as a secondary dominant.

In bars 5-8 and 21-24, the chords follow a bassline that moves down by half steps:

Am7 → E/G# → Am/G → F#m7b5

This bass movement mirrors the line cliché in the melody (A-G#-G-F#) and is one of the characteristic sounds of Nature Boy.

 

 
Listen & Play-Along

 

 

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