'Round Midnight in G
'Round Midnight in G
Round Midnight in G: Monk's late-night masterpiece chains minor key areas with brooding ii-V motion. Dorian and Harmonic Minor define the tonality while Locrian shadows the half-diminished chords — play it slow and let the dissonance breathe. Chords: D7 – Gm – Em7b5 – Am7b5 – Gm7 – C7 – D#m7 – G#7 – Dm7 – G7 – Cm7 – F7 – D#7 – A7b9 – A#Maj7 – Cb7.
'Round Midnight 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 D to G (ascending perfect fourth), G to E (descending minor third), E to A (ascending perfect fourth), A to G (descending whole step), G to C (ascending perfect fourth), C to D# (ascending minor third), D# to G# (ascending perfect fourth), G# to D (ascending tritone), D to G (ascending perfect fourth), G to C (ascending perfect fourth), C to F (ascending perfect fourth), F to D# (descending whole step), D# to A (ascending tritone), A to A# (ascending half step), A# to Cb (ascending whole step). A half-step bass movement creates a strong leading-tone pull that demands resolution. 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 Cb to D by whole step.
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.