Playing Monk tunes

[Alexander Hawkins]

...is a complete art form, and one I'm not having much success with!

I wondered if any of you had any advice/tips for getting around these things?

I'm fine getting around changes, fine up-tempo etc., but sometimes just can't crack Monk's music. I don't know why this is: maybe because the tunes are so obviously original, and so suggestive of Monk's solo style, I find it psychologically difficult to think anything other than 'Monk' right through a performance - which clearly leads to the problem of cheap imitation...

Anyway, if anyone could offer any sympathy ( ), or better still, advice, that would be really appreciated!

[JSngry]

Work from the melody, and take your time. It IS a world of its own.

A while back, I played all Monk tunes in private duet sessions w/a drummer for over a year, 2-3 times a week. It took about 6 months of this for me to even BEGIN to feel "comfortable" with them, to begin moving about in the music's own language without being totally concerned with getting the structures right. And that was just a baby step. We finally had to stop doing it, but by the time we did, I felt pretty comfortable with things like "Played Twice", "Off Minor", "Brilliant Corners", "Jackie-ing" etc.

The trick, well, ONE of the tricks anyway, is internalizinging the harmonic rhythms - the changes don't always come WHERE you expect them to, never mind being what you expect them to be. That's where the melody comes in - everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, you need to know abut playing a Monk tune is in the melody. Fromt he melody, you can begin to construct melodies that build from the inner voices of the chords, and that's a big step right there. Melody is key in Monk's music, at least it is for me. That means not trying to skate through the things playing licks, which of course you can do. But that takes a lot of time too, so why not get something out of the effort more than finding yet another way to play licks?

Really, building a stronger melodic conception is something we all need anyway, I think. Too much lick playing going on these days, and even when it's expertly done, it's still lick playing. Gots to be a better way... Working on those tunes really made me focus on pacing, placing, spacing, erasing, and all that good stuff. Not for nothing did Roswell Rudd (?) say that playing through those tunes w/Lacy for as long as they did brought him through "to the other side". Once you realize that you can actually create a genuine MELODY in improvisation, the whole blobbashibblybopdebop of connect the dots lick playing takes on a much lower priority. At least it did for me.

Don't get the idea that I'm an ace at playing this stuff. I'm not. Far from it. FAR from it. But I did take the time to get into it a little more than some of my peers, so I'm speaking from experience here. Might not work for you, but it worked for me.

[Sundog]

...is a complete art form, and one I'm not having much success with!

I wondered if any of you had any advice/tips for getting around these things?

I'm fine getting around changes, fine up-tempo etc., but sometimes just can't crack Monk's music. I don't know why this is: maybe because the tunes are so obviously original, and so suggestive of Monk's solo style, I find it psychologically difficult to think anything other than 'Monk' right through a performance - which clearly leads to the problem of cheap imitation...

Anyway, if anyone could offer any sympathy ( ), or better still, advice, that would be really appreciated!

Red,

I'm in the same boat as you. Sympathy is about all I can offer. I recently learned "In Walked Bud". I can play the melody spot on, I can navigate the changes just fine. However, it sounds a bit vanilla at times. I've come to the conclusion that Monk's a rule breaker (actually I think he made up a new set). If you play by conventional rules it sounds ordinary. I've just tried to immerse myself in Monk's music. I'm hoping that this along with some directed study of his music will help me think more like Monk.

What would Monk do? I've been asking that question a lot lately. The only answer I can come up with is.... "Something Completely Original"

P.S. Jim, Thanks for the sharing your thoughts. Now if you could tell me what the hell Coltrane is doing during the outro solo on "Bessie's Blues" I would be iternally grateful. B) I know, I know.... "Something Completely Original"

[Alexander Hawkins]

Thanks for these thoughts!

I really agree about this melody/originality thing. I've been sitting today with a book of Monk solos, playing through them at the keyboard. There's just not a thing in there which doesn't say/do SOMETHING. I guess the nearest thing there is to a real lick is his whole tone run, but since it's so much his own, no matter! Apart from this, it's pure functional melody.

And like you say Jim, there is this harmony/rhythm connection - there's a transcription in this book of one of his 'In Walked Bud' solos (the BN version, I think, off the top of my head), and I can't get over just the first 8 or so bars. The manipulation of the harmony and rhythm and melody is so simple, but so crafty: it's genius. No-one else could do it, I'm sure. Reminds me of Sonny Rollins in some ways...

Anyway, more study...I'm really going to make a go of this Monk thing!

[mikeweil]

I think in addition to all said above, which I think is completely correct, especially what Jim said, it is essential to listen to Monk and the way he improvised on the tunes, kind of re-composing the tunes in many a solo. Running the changes is absolutely not what playing a Monk tune is about; it is playing the melody with its exact rhythmic twists and getting the mood of it, and keeping the whole chorus, its structure in mind. Frankie Dunlop's drum solos on the Lincoln Center concert are a fine example, or the solos of all involved there. I'd try to improvise on them without the changes!!! That leads your attention to the melody (I second Jim's thoughts on this!) and the SONG itself. The changes definitely are NOT the piece, they never are with no jazz tune - they are just a scheme we figure out. Only one aspect. But with Monk - take away the melody or its rhythm and there it goes.

A world of its own, yes, but with so much to learn from. If Coltrane did learn some from it, it's good enough for all of us.

[Shrdlu]

I think it is also a matter of what kind of music you feel comfortable with. I could never feel at home with Stan Kenton, or revivalist "trad", but for some reason I never found Monk's tunes hard to play. I like them immensely, and I could not understand it when a commentator said that it would throw you off if Monk was comping behind you. I would love to have played with Monk!

I did have a real treat, as for years in Johannesburg, South Africa, I got to play with the English pianist Stan Jones, who did a 6 month tour of the U.S. playing opposite Monk. Stan could do all the Monk voicings and so we could get the "feel" right. I especially remember playing "Friday The Thirteenth", for which Stan would play the intro heard on the Prestige recording. We also played "Nutty" a lot, but that's a very easy one.

Red, I recommend listening a lot to the Monk recordings; and pick some of the simpler ones, such as "Nutty", to begin with. You might want to leave "Trinkle Tinkle" for awhile. One thing's for sure: you have chosen to try some prime material.