Autumn Leaves and the Circle of Fifths

Pumpkin spice, crisp weather, and a cool tune.

Just in Time for Fall

The song Autumn Leaves has been around since 1945 and is perfect for the fall season. It's also a great song for working on our circle of fifths. As we listen to Autumn Leaves, we continuously hear a movement of a “fifth” from one root note to the next. There is only one exception, which helps us return to where we started in more “fifths”.

Each version has a unique interpretation that brings out what the performer hears within the song. With so many versions out there, it is easy to find the song played in different keys, which can be confusing if one musician plays the song in G Minor while another plays the song in D Minor.

I'll stick with G Minor so that we all have a key to reference. Keep in mind that this song has as many versions as leaves on a tree (pseudo-pun intended), so I’ll use a basic version so we can all follow along even if you are new to the world of music theory.

The Colors of the Leaves

Below are the seven chords of G Natural Minor with their appropriate roman numerals. Because we are in a minor key, we will have three flat degrees which are the flat third, flat sixth, and flat seventh. These are the degrees that set G Natural Minor apart from the G Major Scale. The same three degrees also help us generate the chord types as well.

Below the chords we have the A section and B section of the song. The song itself is played in the form A-A-B, so we play the A section twice followed by the B section once. We can repeat this A-A-B format until we are ready to end the song with the A section, which can be played once or several times. This simple format is then altered by the artist to create their own version.

Before we dive into each section of the song, I'd like to point out the flow of the song and how it is a perfect use of the Circle of Fifths. The root note of each chord is a fifth above the next root note. The only time we deviate from this is from either the Eb chord or the Bb chord to the A chord.

Following the Falling Leaves

Now let’s follow along and see how each section is moving us around the Circle of Fifths.

Moving counterclockwise takes us from the fifth of a chord to the root note, so G is the fifth of C, C is the fifth of F, and so on.

Further below is the top half of the circle of fifths and the path we use when playing the A section. In the A section we start at our C chord of Cm7, work our way to EbMaj7, and then jump across the circle to Am7b5. We then continue counterclockwise to our Tonic chord of Gm.

Before we get to Gm we play D7. This chord is not part of G Natural Minor, but it is a typical borrowed chord called a Secondary Dominant. All minor chords have a Secondary Dominant a fifth above them. This means that D7 is the Secondary Dominant of Gm.

After playing the A section twice we move on to the B section. This time we start on Am7b5, move all the way to EbMaj7, and then return to Am7b5 and D7. After that we play Gm7, C7, Fm7, and Bb7. Dominant chords can always be treated at the fifths of a major or minor chord. Because of this, each dominant chord can be associated with a “minor-two” chord.

A minor-two or ii in roman numerals is the second chord of any major key, which is always a minor chord. This chord belongs to the dominant chord because it is a fifth above the dominant chord, which is the fifth or V chord of our target chord. Using the circle of fifths, we could play Dm7 as a ii chord, G7 as a dominant chord, and then move to C major or C minor as the final targeted chord.

In the second part of the B section, we play D7 as the V of Gm. We then get to play Gm7 as the ii of C7 and C7 as the V of F. Instead of playing F we repeat this ii to V concept with Fm7 as the ii of Bb7 and Bb7 as the V of Eb. The Am7b5 is a type of dominant chord due to its high quality of tension. We then fall back into our normal routine and go from Am7b5 to D7 and the Gm as the final tonic chord. When we return to the A section we are moving from Gm to Cm7, which is yet another movement in a fifth.

Whether you play an instrument or simply appreciate music, I recommend listening to different versions of this song. As you do, be sure to listen for the movement around and across the circle of fifths. Over time you’ll get used to hearing movements and recognize them in other songs.

This is one of my favorite songs to play and listen to because there are so many things that we can do with it. I’ve picked out some versions to play along with and just to listen to that all have their own interpretations. As always, you can leave questions for me in the comments section as well.

Thank you for reading. Have a great day listening to the leaves.