Stella By Starlight
(by Victor Young)

Stella by Starlight PDF (Chord Melody, Lead Sheet & CHORD sheet)

This great tune is probably the most played jazz standard of all time. It was composed in 1944 by Victor Young for the "ghost movie" The Uninvited. It was in fact the movie's recurrent theme. Young later asked lyricist Ned Washington to add words to it.

This tune is played in all sorts of tempos and styles. I personnally prefer it as a walking ballad or a medium latin. The chord progression lends itself well to personal interpretation.

Jazz musicians generally love to improvise on the changes. Although many chord substitutions are common over Stella by Starlight I stayed close to the basic harmony for this arrangement.

Video Demonstration

Stella By Starlight jazz guitar chord melody demonstrated, with some improvisation. See the pdf (with TABS) for the complete arrangement. This chord melody PDF contains :

-the leadsheet (chord symbols + melody),
-the chord melody arrangement (played in the video here)
-a basic chord chart (basic guitar shapes for you to use.)

Suggested listening:

I'd say you could walk in any jazz jam session in North America and hear a decent version of the tune but...

I believe it's a good idea to go directly "at the source" : Charlie Parker's 1952 recording of Stella was the first jazz version of this piece. It's a must hear!

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