Standards

What A Little Moonlight Can Do chords & key

Key
G major
Form
ABCD
Bars
64
Groove
Up-tempo swing
Time signature
4/4

“What A Little Moonlight Can Do” is a jazz standard by Harry Woods. It is usually played in G major as a up-tempo swing, and the 64-bar ABCD form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 5 minor ii–V–i, uses 18 different chords and moves between the key centres A minor, G major, C major, E minor and C minor. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — G major

A
G6
G6
Bm7
E7
Am7
D7
Am7
D7
Am7
E7
Am7
D7
G6
G6
Dm7
G7
B
Cmaj7
Cmaj7
F9
F9
G6
Am7
Bm7
E7
A9
A9
A9
A9
Am7
G♯dim7
Am7
A♯dim7
C
G6
G6
Bm7
E7
Am7
D7
Am7
D7
Am7
Am7/G
F♯m7♭5
B7
Em7
D♯7
Dm7♭5
G7
D
Cmaj7
Cmaj7
F9
F9
G6
Am7
Bm7
E7
Am7
E7
Am7
D7
G6
G6
Am7
D7

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I
5Minor ii–V–i
14ii–V moves
1Tritone substitutions
1Dominant chains
18Different chords

Most used chords

  • Am7×14
  • G6×10
  • D7×7
  • E7×6
  • Bm7×4
  • Cmaj7×4

Key centres reached by ii–V

A minor, G major, C major, E minor and C minor

Recorded on these albums

1954 Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1958 Jump for Joy
Peggy Lee · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1958 Imagination
Billy Eckstine · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1960 Something Wonderful
Nancy Wilson · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1960 The Modern Sound of Betty Carter
Betty Carter
1961 Trav'lin' Light
Anita O’Day · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1962 Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics
Carmen McRae · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1972 With Billie in Mind
Teddy Wilson · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1978 Swing Sessions
Eiji Kitamura
1980 Dizzyfingers
Bob Wilber
1988 I'm Walkin'
Harumi Kaneko, Ron Carter · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1989 A Tribute to Billie Holliday
Abbey Lincoln · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1990 With Billie in Mind
Teddy Wilson · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1993 Keeping Tradition
Dee Dee Bridgewater
1993 Abbey Sings Billie
Abbey Lincoln · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1994 The Billie Holiday Songbook
Terence Blanchard · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1995 For Lady Day, Volume 1
Carmen McRae · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
1997 On Holiday
Tony Bennett · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
2000 Live at Yoshi’s
Dee Dee Bridgewater · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
2001 Billie Holiday: Star Power
Billie Holiday · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
2001 Slow Motion Orchestra
Solveig Slettahjell · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
2002 Watch What Happens
Ruby Braff Quartet, Dick Hyman, Howard Alden, Jake Hanna · “What a Little Moonlight Will Do”
2003 A Little Moonlight
Dianne Reeves · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”
2004 Strange Fruit
Trijntje Oosterhuis with Amsterdam Sinfonietta and The Houdini’s · “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Don't Worry 'Bout Me 29% Rube Bloom A♭ major AB · 32 Ballad
I Could Write A Book 29% Richard Rodgers C major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
Sometimes I'm Happy 28% Vincent Youmans F major ABAB · 32 Medium swing
Donna Lee 27% Charlie Parker A♭ major AB · 32 Up-tempo swing
How Are Things In Glocca Morra 27% Burton Lane F major AAB · 30 Ballad
What'll I Do 26% Irving Berlin C major AABA · 32 Jazz waltz
Chicago 25% Fred Fisher C major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
As Time Goes By 24% Herman Hupfeld E♭ major AABA · 32 Ballad

Frequently asked questions

What key is What A Little Moonlight Can Do in?

What A Little Moonlight Can Do is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.

Who wrote What A Little Moonlight Can Do?

What A Little Moonlight Can Do was written by Harry Woods.

What is the form of What A Little Moonlight Can Do?

What A Little Moonlight Can Do has 4 sections (ABCD) with 64 bars in total.

How fast is What A Little Moonlight Can Do played?

The usual groove is Up-tempo swing.

What are the chord changes to What A Little Moonlight Can Do?

The opening bars are G6 | G6 | Bm7 | E7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.