Ruby My Dear in Si
Ruby My Dear in Si
Monk's tender ballad draws Lydian brightness and Dorian warmth through an unconventional harmonic sequence built on a B center. Bebop Major lines integrate smoothly when navigating the piece's characteristic unexpected voice movements. The BMaj7 – AMaj7 – G#m7 – GMaj7 – F#m7 – B7 – Em7 – A7 – D#m7 – G#7 – Dm7 – G7 – C#m7 – F#7 – Bm7 – E7 – CMaj7 – C#m7b5 – F#7b9 changes deepen a player's sensitivity to chromatic harmony and Monk's idiosyncratic compositional logic.
Ruby My Dear in Si
B major mixes barre and open elements. The B chord itself is a barre at fret 2, but E and A are comfortable open chords forming the IV and V. The open B string rings as the root, allowing creative drone-based arrangements. B is a intermediate-level key on guitar because the open B string rings as the root and the open E strings provide the 4th — useful for sus4 voicings and drone effects. This key mixes open and barre shapes, making it a good intermediate challenge that builds fretboard fluency.
Voice Leading
The bass line moves through B to A (descending whole step), A to G# (descending half step), G# to G (descending half step), G to F# (descending half step), F# to B (ascending perfect fourth), B to E (ascending perfect fourth), E to A (ascending perfect fourth), A to D# (ascending tritone), D# to G# (ascending perfect fourth), G# to D (ascending tritone), D to G (ascending perfect fourth), G to C# (ascending tritone), C# to F# (ascending perfect fourth), F# to B (ascending perfect fourth), B to E (ascending perfect fourth), E to C (descending major third), C to C# (ascending half step), C# to F# (ascending perfect fourth). 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 F# to B by perfect fourth.
Scales for Improvisation
B 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, B Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.