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Lesson 11: Improvisation aka Thelonious Monk

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There is a score as a set for lesson 11.

This is my challenge to my favorite Monk with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I hope you'd like it.
Eash set costs you US$3.50.
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Lesson 11: Aka Thelonious Monk

<Confirmation>
Have you tried to create your own chord progression? If you feel like it, you would send me your comment to my email (tokyoblue@infoseek.jp)

<Wow! Thelonious Monk. Do you like him? I like to listen to him when I feel having big hollow.>
Because his play fills my gap. Why does that? It could be because of his way to weave chord progression with simple fast bass line produced by his jumping around left hand. Let me try to tell you his characteristics.

I try to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as imaginery Thelonious Monk does.
I had the chance to listen to him live during my living in New York. Well, as a matter of fact, I had a few occasion.
One of the occasion was just awesome. Monk and Evans were performing right on the same night at Village Vanguard.

After so many years, I am not sure if both played same night. But I remember that way. Monk came on first. After Monk's play, Evans came on.

Hey, both of them playing with same piano. But the sound were definitely different each other.

I believe you can blindhold to tell which is which, right? Then what seems to be the difference?

The rhythm pattern doesn't match.
The chord progression doesn't match,
And of course, they don't play same tune at all.

In trying Monk, I have done two things;

I played chords (left hand) as simple as possible
I played melody line with lots of syncopation.

Those two things are characteristics of Monk. And as the final recipe, I added diminished fifth note replacing normal fifth. (Diminished fifth is half note lower than the fifth. For C major, it means tha I played note Gb instead of note G when I play chord G)

This is the normal sound of tonic chord. C-E-G
For Monk, I use Gb with G. So the chord sounds this way. Gb-G (This is for chord C: C-E-Gb-G)
For chord F, you'll hit F-A-B-C
For chord G, you'll hit G-B-D-F#. (You won't see this chord during improvisation because of its deifferent sound charactor)

Wierd, isn't it. But it sound like Monk, right?

I have attached my arrangement as score 11.
When you try playing it, you won't use pedal at all. And try to build up excitment at every four bars.

You can split 2 quaters note to 1 quater note + 1 quater rest. Which means you play left hand mostly with staccato.

You may hear that my playing the score sounds somewhat out of beat. Since I do not have drummer along, I tried to ride on rhythm though, it was rather tough.

So, I recommend you to try this score with rhythm machine. Why I don't use it? Well, I hate the machine.

Anyway, enjoy and try to find your way to imitate Monk sound. As far as you follow two principles above + diminished fifth, you can be Thelonious Monk!

<References>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyoHb2eEgaA
Monk plays "Don't blame me", a standard number. He does beautiful left hand here. tonic and chord - tonic and chord. Note how he fills the melody line with coming down arpeggio. You'll find his diminished notes in there.

Also you'll hear a lot of his characteristic half note scale coming down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRUWtrgTpcs
One more example, with his original tune the Blue Monk. He keeps playing his right hand with alley of minor thirds. Funny things is that I hear the line very beatutiful. I think this is available as wheet music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_UCN-ggMYw
In this video Cedar Walton plays piano with Gorge Coleman tenor sax. If you listen to his improvisation, it can be any blues. Then there's no meaning to play Blue Monk, I rekon, do you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuNNsnVb6bo
Here's Art Farmer playing with pianist Fred Hersh. Hersh does sound a little bit of more Monk, if compared to Cedar Walton. Hersh keep tension of chord during his solo ala Monk, right? There is meaning him playing Blue Monk.

enjoy!

<Assignment>
Listen to Monk. And get acquainted with his diminished fifth.

<Additional Note>
As the guide line, I have attached Score 10. For your practice, you can refer to the chords assigned to score 10. At first, you may change chord C to G, then the other way around G to C. You can try to change chord F to C as well. And find out how the chord change effects on the melody line development.

Note: If you assign "b" or "#" to a certain note, that is effective to all notes at same position in the bar. Check the note "A" in the second bar. It is designated to be "b"(read as "FLAT". You use black key here) at the first "A". Then the second note of "A" should be read as having "b" attached. You play two "Ab"(read as "A flat") in a row in this bar. Same thing is said to "E" of next bar. You read as you see two "Eb" continue.

If you wish to have transcription of Monk's recording, I'd recommend "The Best of Thelonious Monk". In this book, you'll have transcription of following tunes.

Ruby, My Dear
Well You Needn't (It's Over Now)
Blue Monk
I Mean You
In Walked Bud
Off Minor
Epistrophy
Boo Boo's Birthday
Criss Cross
Let's Cool One
Nutty
Rhythm-a-ning
Bemsha Swing
Monk's Dream