Ruby My Dear in Fa
Ruby My Dear in Fa
Monk's tender ballad draws Lydian brightness and Dorian warmth through an unconventional harmonic sequence built on a F center. Bebop Major lines integrate smoothly when navigating the piece's characteristic unexpected voice movements. The FMaj7 – D#Maj7 – Dm7 – C#Maj7 – Cm7 – F7 – A#m7 – D#7 – Am7 – D7 – G#m7 – C#7 – Gm7 – C7 – Fm7 – A#7 – F#Maj7 – Gm7b5 – C7b9 changes deepen a player's sensitivity to chromatic harmony and Monk's idiosyncratic compositional logic.
Ruby My Dear in Fa
F major is the gateway to barre chords. While F itself requires a full barre at fret 1, the remaining diatonic chords (C, Dm, Am, G, Bb) mix open and barre shapes. The open high E acts as Fmaj7's seventh, adding unexpected richness. F is a intermediate-level key on guitar because the open high E string is the major seventh of F, creating a lush Fmaj7 resonance even in basic shapes, but the F barre chord itself is the first big hurdle for beginners. This key mixes open and barre shapes, making it a good intermediate challenge that builds fretboard fluency.
Voice Leading
The bass line moves through F to D# (descending whole step), D# to D (descending half step), D to C# (descending half step), C# to C (descending half step), C to F (ascending perfect fourth), 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 G# (ascending tritone), G# to C# (ascending perfect fourth), C# to G (ascending tritone), G to C (ascending perfect fourth), C to F (ascending perfect fourth), F to A# (ascending perfect fourth), A# to F# (descending major third), F# to G (ascending half step), G to C (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 C to F by perfect fourth.
Scales for Improvisation
F 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, F Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.