You Took Advantage Of Me (from Present Arms): E-Z Play Today

The E-Z Play Today format strips away unnecessary complexity while preserving the harmonic sophistication that makes this standard worth playing. Students encounter real jazz changes and unexpected turnarounds without wrestling through dense notation, letting them focus on phrasing and swing feel from the first run-through.

Playful and slightly coquettish, with a melody that dances more than it soars. The harmonic palette keeps things interesting and slightly sophisticated; you're never playing something simple, even though the surface feels effortless and bright.

Pianists developing jazz vocabulary and an ear for swing phrasing will find this accessible but genuinely rewarding. Music teachers can use it as an entry point to the Great American Songbook without requiring students to decode traditional lead sheet notation first.

• Shape the melody by listening to how jazz singers land on the beat; this tune rewards a conversational approach rather than strict metronomic time
• Treat chord symbols as guides for improvisation and reharmonization if you're working with it in a jazz context; the changes welcome creative interpretation
• Let the left hand comping breathe around the melody rather than filling every beat; space makes the lyrical moments land harder
• Pay special attention to how the bridge shifts the harmonic center; mark those chord changes clearly so the pivot feels intentional rather than accidental

Pair this with other Rodgers and Hart standards for a Broadway or jazz standards recital, or use it as a contrast piece in a concert mixing classical and contemporary repertoire. It works equally well as a solo feature or as a backing track for a vocalist learning the jazz standard repertoire.

• Reading chord symbols and navigating jazz changes
• Swing rhythm and jazz phrasing
• Left-hand comping patterns typical of jazz piano
• Harmonic awareness through bridge modulation
• Balancing melody and accompaniment in a swing feel