Bart Howard - Fly Me to the Moon - Guitar Tab

Mary's Theme

2024 3:01

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About Fly Me to the Moon

Written by Bart Howard, "Fly Me to the Moon" is a Jazz standard that rewards fingerstyle or plectrum players willing to dig into its elegant chord changes. In C major and at 120 BPM, the tempo sits in a comfortable swing range, but the real work is in voicing the ii-V-I progressions cleanly and keeping a relaxed, behind-the-beat feel rather than rushing the changes. The harmonic movement cycles through the diatonic circle of fourths, so you will want to have your seventh-chord shapes and their inversions well under your fingers before tackling the full arrangement. Pick two or three bars where the chord substitutions feel awkward, loop them slowed down using the Practice Toolbar, and build speed only once the transitions feel smooth. Tone here is warm and round, so rolling back your guitar's tone knob slightly will help sit the part in the right sonic space. E Standard tuning means no retuning is required, which lets you focus entirely on the phrasing.

• The song's circle-of-fourths chord progression is excellent practice for connecting diatonic seventh-chord shapes across the neck in C major.
• At 120 BPM in a swing feel, keeping a relaxed, behind-the-beat groove is the main rhythmic challenge for guitar players.
• E Standard tuning is used, so no retuning is needed and you can focus fully on chord voicings and smooth transitions.