{"id":148268,"date":"2025-10-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=148268"},"modified":"2025-10-13T13:43:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T20:43:24","slug":"learn-to-strum-and-sing-fats-wallers-classic-aint-misbehavin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/learn-to-strum-and-sing-fats-wallers-classic-aint-misbehavin\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn to Strum and Sing Fats Wallers\u2019 Classic \u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Campfire Songs for Acoustic Guitar\u2014\u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019\u201d | Strum and Sing this Fats Waller Classic\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pKhzykzG1Dw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Fats Waller was a towering figure in American popular music and one of the most charismatic voices of the Harlem Renaissance. A brilliant pianist, composer, and entertainer, Waller was among the first Black jazz musicians to gain mainstream popularity in the United States. He wrote and co-wrote hundreds of songs\u2014many of which have become fixtures in the Great American Songbook. Chief among them is \u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019,\u201d penned in collaboration with composer Harry Brooks and lyricist Andy Razaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The song made its debut in the 1929 Broadway revue <em>Connie\u2019s Hot Chocolates<\/em> and was an instant sensation. No fewer than six versions were released that year, with Louis Armstrong\u2019s standout take leading the way. Since then, \u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019\u201d has inspired countless interpretations. Billie Holiday brought haunting nuance and rhythmic ease to her vocal renditions. Meanwhile, guitar greats like Chet Atkins and Joe Pass have delivered stellar solo arrangements\u2014Atkins with his warm fingerstyle swing, and Pass with his harmonically rich, bebop-informed phrasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this arrangement, we\u2019re playing in the key of C major, using mostly open-position chords. It\u2019s a pared-down version that stays close to the original\u2019s feel. The song follows a classic 32-bar AABA structure, with each section spanning eight measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To open, I vamp on a familiar I\u2013vi\u2013ii\u2013V progression (C\u2013Am7\u2013Dm7\u2013G7), which also forms the first two bars of the A section (measures 5\u20136). Bars 7\u20138 introduce a splash of color with an E augmented seventh chord (E7#5), followed by a shift to F major and then F minor\u2014adding tension and drama before resolving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final four bars of the A section (measures 9\u201312) return to our I\u2013vi\u2013ii\u2013V pattern but finish with a classic two-bar turnaround: Em7\u2013A7\u2013Dm\u2013G7. Measures 13\u201320 repeat the same material for the second A section, this time ending with a slight variation that sets up the transition into the bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spanning bars 21\u201328, the bridge introduces a clever ascending progression. It begins on A minor, then raises the fifth of the chord\u2014a fretted E on the fourth string\u2014by half steps. This creates a smooth move through F\/A and into D7\/F#, adding a little lift and color before settling back into the final A section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even in its simplest form, \u201cAin\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019\u201d still carries all the charm and swing that\u2019s kept it thriving for nearly a century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"1461\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_01.jpg?resize=900%2C1461&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_01.jpg?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_01.jpg?resize=308%2C500&amp;ssl=1 308w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_01.jpg?resize=631%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 631w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_01.jpg?resize=768%2C1247&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_01.jpg?resize=185%2C300&amp;ssl=1 185w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_02.jpg?resize=791%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148926\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_02.jpg?resize=791%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 791w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_02.jpg?resize=386%2C500&amp;ssl=1 386w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_02.jpg?resize=768%2C994&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_02.jpg?resize=232%2C300&amp;ssl=1 232w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AG354_Campfire_Aint_notation_02.jpg?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 791px) 100vw, 791px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-354-september-october-2025\" name=\"magazine\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 198px; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/001_354_Cover-150px.jpg?w=1290&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Acoustic Guitar magazine cover for issue 350\"><\/a>\n<p style=\"font-family: sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">This article originally appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-354-september-october-2025\">September\/October 2025<\/a> issue of <em>Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Penned in collaboration with composer Harry Brooks and lyricist Andy Razaf, the song made its debut in 1929 and was an instant sensation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":148922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Penned in collaboration with composer Harry Brooks and lyricist Andy Razaf, the song made its debut in 1929 and was an instant sensation.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,1653],"tags":[1971],"ppma_author":[1592],"class_list":["post-148268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lessons","category-sing-and-play","tag-september-october-2025"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/aintmisbehavin.jpg?fit=900%2C506&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":1592,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"maurice-tani","display_name":"Maurice Tani","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Maurice-Tani-holding-guitar.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Maurice-Tani-holding-guitar.jpg"},"author_category":"","user_url":"http:\/\/www.mauricetani.com\/","last_name":"Tani","first_name":"Maurice","job_title":"","description":"Maurice Tani is a veteran singer-songwriter and alt-country band leader based in California. 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