'Round Midnight in B

'Round Midnight in B

Monk's iconic ballad masterpiece with dense chromatic harmony and descending bass lines, one of the most recorded jazz compositions of all time.

'Round Midnight in B

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 D# to D# (ascending unison), D# to D# (ascending unison), D# to C (descending minor third), C to G# (descending major third), G# to C# (ascending perfect fourth), C# to C (descending half step), C to B (descending half step), B to E (ascending perfect fourth), E to A# (ascending tritone), A# to D# (ascending perfect fourth), D# to F (ascending whole step), F to B (ascending tritone), B to A# (descending half step), A# to F (descending 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 D# by whole step.

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.