"Fly Me to the Moon," composed by Bart Howard in 1954, became one of the most widely performed songs in the jazz repertoire. Many notable artists recorded the tune, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Nat King Cole. Let's analyze...
Read More
Musical Structure
This section presents harmonic studies of jazz standards. Each article examines the chord movement of a song and traces how the harmony unfolds across the form.
The analyses focus on functional relationships such as descending fifth motion, ii - V progressions, minor cadences, and secondary dominants. By studying these songs in detail, it becomes easier to see how common harmonic ideas appear throughout the jazz repertoire.
Related reflections on the learning process are gathered in Musical Thinking.