Click below for the fingerings that I use to play a chord-melody arrangement of George Gershwin, DuBose & Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin's 1935 standard Summertime from "Porgy and Bess." I play it in the original key of Am. The song is played slowly in 4/4 time. Alternate chord substitutions are indicated in parentheses above the chord I used.
K. J. McElrath, Musicologist for JazzStandards.com, exlains that "Gershwin was remarkably successful in his intent to have this sound like a folk song. This is reinforced by his extensive use of the pentatonic scale (C-D-E-G-A) in the context of the A minor tonality and a slow-moving harmonic progression that suggests a “blues.” Because of these factors, this tune has been a favorite of jazz performers for decades and can be done in a variety of tempos and styles. Many young players just beginning to learn improvisation often start with the pentatonic scale since it is nearly impossible to sound bad. For that reason, this is an excellent choice for the novice. The caveat is the V7 chord in mm. 7-8. The melody note here is NOT part of a pentatonic scale, and the root and its upper neighbor clash badly. However, if one were to substitute a V+7 for the normal V7 (an acceptable practice during improvised choruses) the novice could confine him/herself to the pentatonic scale and experience success."
