Fly Me To The Moon is an iconic jazz standard made famous by the legendary Frank Sinatra. In this article, we’re going to demystify the Fly Me To The Moon chords so you can play this classic jazz standard just like Frank!
First, we’ll learn the chords, and then we’ll analyze the chord progression so you know how this song works!
By the end of this article, you’ll be crooning with the best of them!
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Table of Contents
Fly Me To The Moon Chords Analysis
Frank Sinatra’s version of Fly Me To The Moon is in the key of C, so we’ll use that key to analyze the Fly Me To The Moon chords.
What You Need To Know Before Tackling Fly Me To The Moon Chords.
There are a few things you’ll want to know before tackling the Fly Me To The Moon chord progression.
- Seventh Chords
- Roman Numerals
- Chord Shapes
7th Chords
Traditionally, this song uses seventh chords, which consist of four notes: the root note, a third, a fifth, and a seventh. These numbers (a third or a fifth, etc.) relate to the intervallic distance of that note to the root note.
Here is a breakdown of a Cmaj7 chord to better illustrate this concept:
Using the C major scale, we can assign each note a number based on its distance from the root note (C).
- C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
- 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
Following this logic, we see that:
- C is the root note
- E is the 3rd
- G is the 5th
- B is the 7th
The Fly Me To the Moon chords will follow this logic. Each chord will have a root note, a 3rd, a 5th, and a 7th (and maybe a bit more!).
You don’t need to understand music theory to play Fly Me To The Moon, but it definitely helps!
For more on seventh chords, check out our Ultimate Guide to 7th Chords.
Roman Numerals in Music
When analyzing a song, musicians use Roman numerals to help identify the role of chords in a particular chord progression. Many songs are built out of diatonic chords, which are chords built from the notes of the major scale.
Here are diatonic chords in the key of C major (which happens to be the key of our song):
- Cmaj7, the tonic chord, is our I chord
- D-7 is our ii chord
- E-7 is our iii chord
- Fmaj7 is our IV chord
- G7 is our V chord
- A-7 is our vi chord
- B-7b5 is our viiø chord
Another thing to note is that minor chords get lowercase Roman numerals, and major chords get uppercase Roman numerals.
The Fly Me To The Moon chord progression will always use chords with roots from the key of C. However, the qualities of these chords may change depending on a chord’s function in the progression. For example, sometimes you’ll see an E-7 (iii) chord, and other times you’ll see an E7b9 (III7) chord.
This is intentional, and we’ll talk more about this where we encounter it in the Fly Me To The Moon chords.
If you want to learn more about these concepts, check out this article for more on diatonic chords and this article for more on jazz chord progressions.
Easy Chord Shapes on Guitar For Beginner and Intermediate Players
Here are simple 7th-chord shapes you can use to play Fly Me To The Moon right away. You only need to know 10 chords to play this tune!
Here are chord shapes for A-7, D-7, G7, Cmaj7, and E-7:
Here are chord shapes for Fmaj7, B-7b5, E7b9, A7 and F7:
Check out these articles if you want more on jazz piano chords or jazz guitar chords.
With that out of the way, let’s dig into the Fly Me To The Moon chords.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE...
If you struggle to learn jazz standards by ear, memorize them, and not get lost in the song form, then our free guide will completely change the way you learn tunes forever.
The A Section
Fly Me To The Moon is comprised of a 16-bar A section and a 16-bar B section. These sections are very similar at the beginning of each chord progression, but they differ slightly at the end. Let’s explore the A section first.
First Four Bars
The first four bars utilize a common vi-ii-V-I chord progression. This chord progression is very common in jazz, so pay attention to it! We start on the vi chord (A-7), move to the ii chord (D-7), then the V chord (G7) before reaching the tonic or I chord (Cmaj7).
Bars 5-8
We then move to the IV chord (Fmaj7) before playing a minor iiø-V-i to the vi chord (B-7b5 to E7b9 to A-7). The vi chord (A-7) turns into a VI7 chord (A7), which is a type of chord substitution called a secondary dominant.
A secondary dominant temporarily tonicizes a chord a fifth below or a fourth above by becoming dominant in quality. Here, the A7, normally an A-7, leads to a D-7 chord, which is briefly tonicized by the A7.
Check out this article for more on chord substitutions.
Bars 9-12
Bars 9-12 consist of a major ii-V-I chord progression (D-7 to G7 to Cmaj7), followed by a common turnaround that continues into the following system. Turnarounds help bring you back to the tonic chord (I chord). This turnaround uses a dominant IV7 chord and a dominant VI chord.
Bars 13-16
In the last four bars of the A section, we end with a major ii-V followed by a minor iiø-V to take us back to A-7.
Check out this article for more on the ii-V-I progression.
Here are all 16 bars of the A section together:
The B Section
The first two systems of the B section are identical to the A section, so let’s explore the third and fourth systems.
Bars 25-28
Bars 25 through 28 use a ii-V-iii-VI progression. Here the iii chord is a substitution for the I. Think about it: Cmaj7 is C, E, G, and B, and E-7 is E, G, B, and D. An E-7 is essentially a rootless Cmaj9 chord!
Bars 29-32
The last system of the B section has a major ii-V-I and ends with a minor iiø-V to take us back to the top of the tune.
Here is the whole song in context:
History of Fly Me To The Moon (Music and Lyrics)
Bart Howard wrote the music and lyrics to Fly Me To The Moon in 1954. Although the tune was originally titled In Other Words, people kept referring to it as Fly Me To The Moon, prompting the songwriter to officially change the title in 1963.
Frank Sinatra’s rendition, released in 1964 and performed by the Count Basie Orchestra, became the de facto version and was associated with the televised Apollo moon missions.
Here is Frank’s version with the lyrics below:
Verse 1
Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars.
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars.
In other words, hold my hand,
In other words, darling, kiss me.
Verse 2
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forever more.
You are all I long for,
All I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you.
Verse 3
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forever more
You are all I long for,
All I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true
In other words,
I love you.
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