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’round Midnight: easy piano accompaniment in letter notes

By Thelonious Monk

  • D# minor
  • 2/2
  • 90 BPM
  • 1944
  • Easy
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Skipping-stone pulseRight hand Soft chordsChords from the chord symbols in the score

The accompaniment with every note named, bar by bar: the bar sheet shows each note as a bar on the staff with its letter inside, so you can accompany ’round Midnight without reading music. The left hand plays skipping-stone pulse (root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&) and the right hand soft chords.

The intro of ’round Midnight in letter notes

The real notes from a score, both hands, bar by bar. R is the right hand, L the left; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am7
RD#4 F4 G4 A4
LA2+G3
Bar 2
Am7
RD5 A4 G4 D5 A4 G4
Lrest
Bar 3
D7
RF5 Eb5 Bb4 F#4
LD3+F#3+C4
Bar 4
D7
RG#5
LF#3+B3 F#3+B3 D3 F#3+B3 D3 F#3+B3

’round Midnight accompaniment in letter notes

The Am7 – Am7 – D7 – D7 loop with skipping-stone pulse in the left hand and soft chords in the right. Notes struck together are joined with a plus; C4 is middle C.

Bar 1
Am7
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LA2 A2 A2
Bar 2
Am7
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LA2 A2 A2
Bar 3
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 4
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 Eb4 F4 F#4 G#4 Bb4 B4 C#5 Eb5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 5
Am7
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LA2 A2 A2
Bar 6
Am7
RE4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5 E4+A4+C5
LA2 A2 A2
Bar 7
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2
Bar 8
D7
RA4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5 A4+D5+F#5
LD2 D2 D2

How to read the bar sheet

The player above shows the treble staff (right hand) over the bass staff (left hand). Every note is a bar as long as it sounds, at its place on the staff, with its name inside, and the music scrolls past a line that marks now. The chord names run along the top.

Start with the left hand alone at a slow speed, then the right, then both. When the letters feel easy, try the sheet music.

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Questions about ’round Midnight

What are the letter notes for the ’round Midnight piano accompaniment?

Bar by bar, both hands: the bar sheet on this page names every note of the accompaniment (C4 is middle C) and plays along. The loop is Am7 – Am7 – D7 – D7, so the letters repeat with the chords.

What chords are in ’round Midnight?

The loop is Am7 – Am7 – D7 – D7 (#iv7 – VII7 – #iv7 – VII7) in D# minor, and the song ends on D# – A#7 – D#.

What key is ’round Midnight in?

D# minor, at about 90 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in ’round Midnight?

Skipping-stone pulse: root bass · 1 · 2& · 3&, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is ’round Midnight easy to play on piano?

Yes. Both hands play easy patterns over 4 chords. Learn the chords first, then add one hand at a time.

Can I hear the real melody of ’round Midnight?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the intro of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 4 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.