Standards
On The Trail chords & key
- Key
- F major
- Form
- AB
- Bars
- 16
- Groove
- Medium-up swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“On The Trail” is a jazz standard by Ferde Grofe. It is usually played in F major as a medium-up swing, and the 16-bar AB form has 2 sections. Harmonically it contains 1 major ii–V–I cadence and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 8 different chords and moves between the key centres G minor and F major. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — F major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Fmaj7×5
- Gm7×3
- C7×3
- A♭m7×2
- D♭7×2
- Am7×1
Key centres reached by ii–V
G minor and F major
Recorded on these albums
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- ON THE TRAIL CLYDE HURLEY and his ORCHESTRA · Clyde Hurley · Babe Russin · Murray… · 1946 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| My Little Suede Shoes 29% | E♭ major |
| You Do Something To Me 29% | E♭ major |
| Island Birdie 27% | E♭ major |
| Sometimes I'm Happy 26% | F major |
| New York, New York 25% | F major |
| Dearly Beloved 24% | C major |
| Dream 24% | B♭ major |
| How Are Things In Glocca Morra 24% | F major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is On The Trail in?
On The Trail is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote On The Trail?
On The Trail was written by Ferde Grofe.
What is the form of On The Trail?
On The Trail has 2 sections (AB) with 16 bars in total.
How fast is On The Trail played?
The usual groove is Medium-up swing.
What are the chord changes to On The Trail?
The opening bars are Fmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Fmaj7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.