Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis | Niels Dalgaard
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Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise
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Sigmund Romberg · 1928 · C minor · AABA, 32 bars

Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise — Chord Progression & Harmonic Analysis

The minor ii-V-i is not saved for the end here: it arrives in bar two and then keeps arriving, so the whole A section is one cadence said over and over. The lone iv in bar four is the only bar that is not part of it.

ii-V-I

Chord progression

Analyzed excerpt

Section: A1 · Bars 1–8

Cm | Dm7b5 G7 | Cm | Fm7 | Cm | Dm7b5 G7 | Cm | Dm7b5 G7

This is a short excerpt, not the full chart. The composition dates from 1928 and is old enough that it is very likely in the public domain in the United States, which is why the excerpt runs longer here — but copyright status varies by territory and by edition, so treat that as context, not as legal advice.

The books behind this page

Every one of these tunes is assembled out of the same handful of harmonic resources. Jazz Harmony is those resources, explained in the order in which they build on each other.

Start here Project 03 · Harmony

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Harmonic Narrative

A practical method for creating and understanding harmonic progressions through expectation Project 04 · Jazz guitar

Jazz Guitar Comping

Creating direction through harmony, rhythm and the expectation framework

Harmonic analysis

Key
C minor
Tonal center
C
Confidence
High
Chords analysed
11
ChordRoman numeralFunctionWhat it is doingConfidence
CmiTonicCm is the tonic of Cm. It is where the progression is at rest.High
Dm7b5iiøPredominantDm7b5 is the iiø7 of Cm: the predominant of a minor key.High
G7V7DominantG7 is the dominant of Cm. In a minor key it borrows its major third from harmonic minor — that raised note is the leading tone.High
CmiTonicCm is the tonic of Cm. It is where the progression is at rest.High
Fm7ivPredominantFm7 is the iv chord of Cm: the minor subdominant.High
CmiTonicCm is the tonic of Cm. It is where the progression is at rest.High
Dm7b5iiøPredominantDm7b5 is the iiø7 of Cm: the predominant of a minor key.High
G7V7DominantG7 is the dominant of Cm. In a minor key it borrows its major third from harmonic minor — that raised note is the leading tone.High
CmiTonicCm is the tonic of Cm. It is where the progression is at rest.High
Dm7b5iiøPredominantDm7b5 is the iiø7 of Cm: the predominant of a minor key.High
G7V7DominantG7 is the dominant of Cm. In a minor key it borrows its major third from harmonic minor — that raised note is the leading tone.High

What the analyzer found in it

iiø - V7 - iDm7b5 - G7 - Cm

A complete minor ii-V-i in Cm, with the half-diminished ii and a dominant that borrows its leading tone from harmonic minor.

iiø - V7 - iDm7b5 - G7 - Cm

A complete minor ii-V-i in Cm, with the half-diminished ii and a dominant that borrows its leading tone from harmonic minor.

iiø - V7Dm7b5 - G7

A ii-V pointing at C, which never arrives. The preparation is complete, the resolution is not.

half cadenceG7

The progression stops on the dominant of Cm — a half cadence. It is unfinished on purpose.

High, medium and low next to each numeral are judgements about musical context, not probabilities. A low rating marks a bar that can honestly be read more than one way. How the ratings are decided →

Why this example matters

Against a tonic of C minor the passage numbers as i – iiø – V7 – iv. Inside those 11 chords there is a complete ii-V-I. Strip it to two notes per chord, the third and the seventh, and play it under tempo. G7 gives you B and F; follow that pair from chord to chord and the voice leading becomes audible in a way the root motion never makes it. Once you can hear it here, it is hard to miss in Autumn Leaves, All The Things You Are and Tune Up.

How the rest of Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise goes

A minor tune in which the A sections circle the minor cadence without leaving, and the bridge moves to the relative major and stays there for its full length before dropping back. The structure is therefore starkly two-coloured, and the return to minor at the last A is the piece’s one real event. It is normally taken at a brisk tempo despite the title, which surprises people who know only the lyric.

Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise on record

Sigmund Romberg wrote it in 1928 for the operetta The New Moon, with a lyric by Oscar Hammerstein II — an origin about as far from jazz as a standard can have. The Modern Jazz Quartet and Sonny Rollins both recorded influential versions, and John Coltrane’s reading with the Miles Davis group is the one that fixed the fast tempo as normal.

Analyze this progression

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Related

ii-V-I

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Autumn Leaves

Joseph Kosma · 1945 · B♭ major / G minor

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All The Things You Are

Jerome Kern · 1939 · A♭ major

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Tune Up

Miles Davis · 1953 · D major

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