How High The Moon in G

Morgan Lewis(1940)swingMedium-Up Swing

How High The Moon in G

How High The Moon in G with chords GMaj7 – Gm7 – C7 – FMaj7 – Fm7 – A#7 – D#Maj7 – Am7b5 – D7b9 – D7 – Am7 – Bm7. The bebop anthem whose descending key center movement provides an excellent vehicle for practicing bebop vocabulary through multiple keys in G.

How High The Moon in G

G major is the singer-songwriter's key. The open G, B, and D strings spell out the full G major triad with zero fretting. Add the open high E for a Gadd6 shimmer. Nearly every diatonic chord (Em, Am, C, D) has a comfortable open voicing. G is a beginner-level key on guitar because the open G, B, and D strings form a complete G major triad without fretting a single note, and the open low E adds a rich 6th color. Beginners will find this key approachable since most chords use open voicings with minimal stretching.

Voice Leading

The bass line moves through G to G (ascending unison), G to C (ascending perfect fourth), C to F (ascending perfect fourth), F to F (ascending unison), F to A# (ascending perfect fourth), A# to D# (ascending perfect fourth), D# to A (ascending tritone), A to D (ascending perfect fourth), D to D (ascending unison), D to A (descending perfect fourth), A to B (ascending whole step). The root motion by larger intervals (fourths and fifths) gives each chord change a strong, decisive character. When the progression loops, the bass returns from B to G by major third.

Scales for Improvisation

G major pentatonic works because every note is either a chord tone or a safe passing tone — there are no avoid notes. For soloing, this means you can play freely without clashing. Over dominant seventh chords, G Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.

swing4/4 · 16 bars · Form: AB

Chords: GMaj7, Gm7, C7, FMaj7, Fm7, A♯7, D♯Maj7, Am7♭5, D7♭9, D7, Am7, Bm7.