Unlocking Lead Sheets: “Fly Me To The Moon””
Welcome to module 3 in our beginner-friendly jazz piano lessons. In this lesson we continue our focus on reading lead sheets now using another jazz classic standard: “Fly Me to the Moon”.
“Fly Me to the Moon” shares a structural kinship with our previous tune “Moon River,” as both tunes follow an A-B-A-C form and are written in the key of C major.
“Fly Me to the Moon” Song Structure
“Fly Me to the Moon” begins with an 8-bar A section, followed by an 8-bar B section which introduced different melody and harmony. We then have a repeated A section which is identical to the 1st A Section, and the tune concludes with a C section which similar to the B section but with a unique ending. Understanding this A-B-A-C form allows us to internalise the tune’s flow and greatly speeds up the memorisation process of jazz standards.
“Fly Me to the Moon” – Building Harmony with Triads
We start by simplifying the chords into basic triads, beginning with an A minor triad and progressing through D minor, G, and C triads. We highlight the importance of identifying and recognising 2-5-1 chord progressions which are the cornerstone of jazz harmony.
We then voice the chords using roots, 3rds, and 7ths so that we can clearly visualise the voice leading of the 7ths falling a half step to the 3rds which occurs in 251 progressions.
Smooth Transitions Between Chords
We focus on creating smooth transitions between our chord voicings, often only changing 1 note and reducing our hand movement to a minimum. This technique is important for connecting the chords smoothly and cleanly without unnecessary jumps.
“Fly Me to the Moon” B Section
We finish by exploring the B section which introduces new harmonic and melodic elements and provides further practice for the 2-5-1 progression. We discuss melodic phrasing and the creative freedoms that we have as arrangers to create more expressive variations of the melody compared to what is written on the lead sheet.
Related Lessons
In this lesson we are going to start learning the tune “Georgia On My Mind” using 3-note spread voicings on the A Section of the tune.
In this lesson we create a beginner-focused arrangement of the tune “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.
The chord changes are relatively simple and there’s lots of 25s and 251s to get us familiar with these very common progressions.
Practice Tips
-
Memorise the A-B-A-C Form: Understanding the tune's underlying structure greatly speeds up the memorisation process of jazz standards.
-
Simplify with Triads: Start by playing through the chord progressions using basic triads before adding additional complexity with 7th chords.
-
Identify 2-5-1 Progressions: Identify and drill these progressions separately to grasp their importance in jazz harmony. Annotate the lead sheet with "ii-V-I" to jog your memory as you play the tune.
-
Always Analyse the Melody: Pay attention to how the melody interacts with the chords, particularly when the melody note is one of the primary chord tones (1-3-5-7).
Do you have a lesson with an up-tempo arrangement for “Fly Me To The Moon?” I tried searching the site, but I couldn’t find it.
Hi Ray,
We have 2 tutorials on this tune in the course on “Block Chords & Drop 2 Voicings”:
https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/block-chords-drop-2-voicings/
This arrangement is more rhythmic than the lesson here, but I wouldn’t say it’s up-tempo, more-so ballad tempo with rhythmic injections though block chords.
I agree that it would be great to cover this tune at a faster tempo and so I have added a medium/up-tempo arrangement of this tune to our upcoming lesson schedule.
Let me know if I can help further and talk soon.
Hayden