Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise was composed by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II in 1928 for the operetta The New Moon (a kind of light opera). Artie Shaw’s recording of Softly (1938) brought the song into the jazz world and made it the popular jazz standard it is today.
In this lesson, you will learn to play the melody and improvise over the chord changes of Softly.
Recommended listening:
- Sonny Rollins – A Night at the Village Vanguard (1958)
- Art Pepper – Gettin’ Together! (1960)
- Miles Davis – In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk (1961)
- John Coltrane – Live! at the Village Vanguard (1962)
- Jim Hall – Alone Together (1973)
- Barney Kessel – Live at Sometime (1977)
- Chet Baker – Ballads for Two (1979)
- Emily Remler – East to Wes (1988)
- Joe Pass with Red Mitchell – Finally (1992)
- Stan Getz and Kenny Barron – People Time (1992)
- Biréli Lagrène – Live in Marciac (1994)
- Zoot Sims & Bucky Pizzarelli – Elegiac (1996)
- George Benson – Irreplaceable (2004)
Make sure to check out Emily Remler’s version of the song, it has a nice intro and an amazing solo.
Video
Softly – The Melody
Here are the lead sheet and guitar tabs for Softly’s melody.
The melody is played mostly as a single-note line, with chords added here and there for emphasis and color.
Most of the melody sits in the C natural minor scale (Aeolian), with a few chromatic passing tones and embellishments.
Backing Track
Listen & Play Along
Jazz Guitar Patterns
Here are a couple of jazz patterns I lifted out of the solo and that are worth memorizing and working out in different keys and positions.
Pattern #1 (Bar 40) – Minor
The first pattern uses a G minor triad over Cm7.
| Gm triad | G | Bb | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Played over Cm7 | 5 | b7 | 9 |
This is a simple way to outline the upper structure of Cm7.
Pattern #2 (Bar 43) – Minor
Pattern 2 is based on a Bbmaj7 chord, including the classic 1235 motif in the second bar.
| Bbmaj7 arpeggio | Bb | D | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played over Cm7 | b7 | 9 | 11 | 6 |
Using a major 7 arpeggio from the b7 of a minor chord gives you a smooth, melodic way to outline the upper extensions of Cm7.
Pattern #3 (Bar 45) – Minor
This is a classic Wes Montgomery lick, using the same idea as the previous pattern: Bbmaj7 over Cm7.
It outlines the upper extensions (b7–9–11–13) and has that typical Wes phrasing, built from simple shapes and strong rhythmic placement.
Pattern #4 (Bar 46) – Minor
This pattern is based on the chord shape of an Ebmaj7 chord, a common sound over minor chords.
It outlines the basic chord tones of Cm7 with the added 9.
| Ebmaj7 arpeggio | Eb | G | Bb | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played over Cm7 | b3 | 5 | b7 | 9 |
Pattern #5 (Bar 48) – Major II V I
This is a classic bebop lick built around a 3 to b9 idea over the dominant chord.
Pattern #6 (Bar 56) – Dominant
This pattern uses a Bdim7 arpeggio over G7 to bring out the b9 sound.
Diminished substitution is a classic way to outline a dominant b9 chord and create tension before resolving.
| Bdim7 arpeggio | B | D | F | Ab |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played over G7 | 3 | 5 | b7 | b9 |
Pattern #7 (Bar 58) – Minor
This pattern combines two substitutions over Cm7: Gm7 and Dm7.
Together, these outline the upper extensions of Cm7 and create a smooth, flowing line.
| Gm7 arpeggio | G | Bb | D | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played over Cm7 | 5 | b7 | 9 | 11 |
| Dm7 arpeggio | D | F | A | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played over Cm7 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 1 |
If you like working with patterns like these, check out my Jazz Guitar Patterns & Phrases course. It gives you a practical vocabulary of lines you can use over common progressions, with clear explanations and plenty of examples to work through.
Softly – The Solo
Form: AABA (32 bars)
Key: C minor (the original is in E minor)
Here is the complete solo over Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise.
The harmony is fairly straightforward and built around a repeating minor cycle:
- The A sections consist of repeated minor ii-V-i progressions in C minor.
- The bridge moves to Ebmaj7 (the relative major), then to Fm7 via C7b9, and ends on G7b9, setting up the return to Cm7.
This kind of structure makes the tune ideal for working with patterns and sequences, since the same harmonic movement comes back several times.
Listen & Play Along
Download the PDF, Guitar Pro file, and backing track with JGO+ (click here to join)
You gotta’ hear the Vince Guaraldi version with guitarist Eddie Duran (The Definitive Vince Guaraldi)…
This is a great lesson, Thank you so much Dirk – you are a Star Sir!
excellent, thank you. Good timing, I was just starting to learn this one!
Grazie mille
Fantastic stuff you post for us! Thanks so much. I love this tune
Gran e instructivo trabajo. Muchas gracias maestro.
This is so out of my league but I think it’s fantastic how you post this.
Would you tell me which Fender amp you were using. I could not read the model. Sounded beautiful.
Thank you
Alan
Hi Alan, it’s a Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb, great amp!
Thanks Dirk for this lesson. It has some wonderful licks, but I would like to understand better the theory behind why some of these substitutions work, other than the fact, which you point out, that the subs touch extensions of the Cm7. For instance, while it is well known that the iii often subs for the I chord in a major key, and seems to work in the opposite direction when it is in a minor key (e.g. playing the Ebmaj7 over the Cm7 in this case), how can you explain why the Gm7 and Dm7 over the Cm7 works. Gm7 is not even diatonic to C minor. It is of course the iii of Eb major. Similarly, why does the Bbmaj7 chord substitute over the Cm7 as it is not diatonic to either the C minor or Eb major scales (it is a IV dominant 7 in Eb major and the VII dominant 7 of C minor)?
Ardy
Perhaps I can help a little with this Ardy.
2 chords that work well against each other do not have to strictly be in the same key, ie “diatonic”. As long as the notes in the overlaying arpeggio get the desired effect over the underlying chord, it works.
That effect could be to create tension (playing an Abmin6 over a G7 chord AND following that with a Gmin7 arp played over a Cmin7 chord to release that tension), or, just to add some cool tones over a minor chord.
In jazz, it sounds “hip” to play the 9th, the 6th/13th or the 4th/11th over a minor chord. Over a Cmin chord, the chords you mentioned (Bb major 7, Gm7 and Dm7) all add a mix of some of those extensions to the chord without also adding anything too glaring like a C# or E natural.
The Bb major and Gm7 also imply that the mode is C dorian. C dorian is based on the 2nd degree of the Bb major scale. It is basically a minor scale with a major 6th (A natural) and a flat 7th (Bb). It is a big part of the jazz minor sound as you probably know.
And, just to clarify something in your comment, a Bb Major 7th is not usually described as a dominant chord as it does not have both a major 3rd and flat 7th. : )
Hey Ardy, I hope this helps and good luck with your jazz guitar playing. Cheers
Hi Any.
-First a little theory. The basic chords of the song indicate the key of Cm in the context of functional tonal music, ie music that works the same way as a major key. None of the “diatonic” minor modes can function that way. To use them as real tonal music one had to cheat a bit and added extra notes, not strictly diatonic, such as the required leading tone B for Cm (giving the melodic and harmonic minor). This results in the practice that any of the chromatic notes between G up to C can be considered as a natural part of the Cm key in tonal music.
-One can consider the part of the song that repeats ii min7b5 – G7b9 – Cm as just a background to play freely any pattern or melody drawn from the key scale, including Gm7, Dm7 and Bbmaj7. They all will work.
-Another way of thinking is that it is just the Cm chord sounding all the time. The way Dirk starts explaining it suggests this approach. In that case the following applies.
-Gm7 played over Cm7 is simply the upper notes of Cm11. I prefer not to call it a substitution, but a chord extension. It is still a Cm chord!
Likewise Dm7 and Bbmaj7 are just a selection of notes from Cm11add6, another extended Cm chord.
Jazz soloists prefer to use the upper embellishments of the actual chord (extensions and alterations), especially avoiding the root. This can sometimes be a little confusing when transcribing or studying a solo if you want to find the underlying chord.
Have fun. Zee.
I find this very useful as a beginner
Excelente las Tab y se me facilita el poder entender el método de estudio 😎👍
Muy buena clase te agradezco muchísimas gracias!!!!
Wonderful!
Excelente la interpretación del tema y su improvisación.
Another fine arrangement!
Nice and smooth, liked it very much!
Thanks for spoiling us with all the songs you send.
Another really good tutorial! Absolute beginner but attempting to play this makes me feel good! Thank you
Merci !!! C’est vraiment génial
Thanks! I’ll work on it later!
Interesting facts:
Walk Don’t Run was composed by Johnny Smith using the chords of Softly. It sounded rather like Bach.
Chet Atkins recorded it in his own style.
The Ventures, who had never heard the original recording, changed the rhythm to an even quavers “scrubbing rhythm” and forced the melody over Amin G F E7 in the A section and altered the middle 8 a little. It was a big hit on the pop scene and was the first version I heard as a kid!