This week I’m celebrating spring with a beautiful and intricate standard called “You Must Believe In Spring”. The famous version is Bill Evans’s from his studio album by the same name. This album was only released after his death in 1980 and features some of Evans’s most expressive and beautiful playing. His touch and control of sound is something I can only ever aspire to, and listening to him I keep discovering new things. His voicings and melodies have so much depth and can convey complex emotions without ever getting melodramatic. Have a listen:
Sneaky Modulation
This tune, composed by Michel Legrand, is equally intricate. It modulates halfway through, up by a half step, but in kind of a sneaky way: the modulation occurs near the end of the second verse (indicated as B in my lead sheet below), in the middle of a phrase. Your ears almost get fooled, perhaps believing it’s a chromatic sequence / passing chord (going from G#ø – C#7 to Gø – C7, a half step down). The melody continues as if nothing has happened, but suddenly we’re in the key of Eb, a half step up.
Do you know of any other standard that modulates in this way? I’m not so sure I can think of one. Let me know in the comments!
Reharmonization
My own piano reharmonization of You Must Believe In Spring is loosely inspired by Bill Evan’s version. I’ve added many secondary dominants, chromatic passing chords, tritone substitute chords, and inversions that add movement and intricacy to the song. Have a listen:
I hope you enjoyed this arrangement. If you’d like to learn more about reharmonization and the techniques you can use to reharmonize a song yourself, make sure to download my free Reharmonization Quick Guide!
