On 7 Feb 97 at 10:46, Karl G Helmer wrote:
> I'm now starting to transcribe some Monk solos (I won't get into
> which method I'm using) and have started to wonder about a few things.
> 1) Monk seems to use a lot of two note groups that sound dissonant, but
> still fit. What are these (minor 2nds?) and why do they fit so well?
Monk was strongly influenced by the gospel and blues he played
when he was a kid. Blues often uses microtones--intervals of less
than a semitone. Since pianos have a minimum interval between keys
of a semitone, Monk would hit two adjacent keys at once to capture
the feel of the microtone.
>
> 2)What kind of chord voicings did he use? Sometimes what I transcribe
> for his right hand sounds good, but doesn't really make sense (to me). Is he
> using a chord voicing that makes the dissonance in the right hand sound
> "right"?
Monk was very fond of 10ths in the left hand. You can play a
rootless C10 as G-E which might sound to you like a G6 without the B.
> I've been working off of the "Misterioso" album and in particular
> on "All the things you are" and "Well, You Needn't". Getting his
> chord voicings has been tough since 1) I'm not very good at this, and 2)
> I'm a guitarist and am only a mediocre pianist and don't really know the
> stock voicings to start from.
I've had a lot of fun playing "Well You Needn't". It's uses an F
blues scale with a lot of chromatics. The basic rhythm is straight
eighth note blues (swing chords sound good if you're playing rhythm
guitar) and the bass just walks in eighth notes through the changes.
For transcribing, listen to that bass. The bass is keeping time so
you can use it to figure out Monk's amazing syncopated and
assymetrical figures.
Have fun!
Cheers,
Kevin
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"If you play it twice then it isn't a mistake."
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"You must allow people to be right, because it
consoles them for not being anything else." -Andre' Gide