Here's why Thelonious Monk's music is so hard to play
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- čas přidán 30. 03. 2019
- Here are some jazz piano tips for playing Monk's music. Enjoy!
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Ron - Zábava
I think monk said the greatest artist is he who is most himself. That also is why it is so hard. It’s an idea that transcends music.
Well said - thanks1
@@rondrotos5285 the great Bud Powell. Have you ever checked that guy out?
@@kevinwilmore3604 Absolutely! Monk was his favorite composer!
a genius is the one who is most like themself
Most provocative it is that the penultimate art is something like: to thine own self be true.
Monk's style comes out of the southern black church. I remember people playing like him as a child, I am 79. They were off beat because they really didn't know how to play piano. Just someone in the church with a since of rhythm would go to the piano and start banging and striking the keys on an old out of tune piano. He took this sound and sophisticated it, added his professional training and came out with a unique sound that set him apart. I don't think it can be imitated because it has to be felt from deep inside of the black experience. The experience of lack and not knowing that accompanied the newly freed people. I love this work because it reminds so much of when my grandparents took me to the little "sanctified" churches and the piano music sounded like Monk's.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience and observations! I find this fascinating, because Monk's early professional playing, as evidenced by the live recordings from Minton's Playhouse, are more in the mainstream swing style of the day, influenced by pianists such as Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. At some point, Monk must have made a decision to go back to his musical roots in the church and bring that into his jazz playing. Much appreciated :)
Even Coltrane had to visit Monk's apartment many times to learn the tunes! Thanks for the insights Ron.
Yes, exactly!
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 It's like Bartok - it's basically polytonal but also polyrhythmic. Thanks for this Monk breakdown. Excellent analysis of what makes Monk different.
@@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885 Great comparison - Monk to Bartok! Yes, absolutely. They each require a real focus to play. Intense.
It was a thrill to see your facial expression change when you hit an "unexpected" note and continued smoothly. Even as a lazy practicer I love your lessons, and do learn a thing or two!
Nothing gets by you, Virginia!!!
I love the way you deconstruct jazz. Makes me appreciate it on a whole new level.
Thanks for watching, and for your kind words!
Your enthusiasm alone makes me want to play monk too
Excellent - that's my goal!
Thanx, Ron.
More like this, Ron, please.
This video needs to be viewed by more people. Great stuff
The chords you are playing at 3:30 sounds so wonderful.. I try to keep up with you, as you upload a lot. Though I can't understand theory yet, you are a wonderful teacher!
The tune Ron plays is called 'Bemsha Swing' , composed by Monk over sixty years ago.
I wish I could have you as my teacher. I’m 67 years old, played guitar since high school and think that learning keyboard is the key to opening music. I hope you’ve enjoyed opening it for many students in your time.
I sought this sort of video describing what’s going on after listening to body and soul about 20 times in a row. Well done & thank you!
I LOVE MONK'S MUSIC.
I THINK IT'S AN ORIGINAL AND VERY FUN JAZZ LANGUAJE🤗🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹
I agree!
Thanks for sharing this Ron - I love listening and playing along to Monk. :-)
Hi Chris. Amazing music, right? It sounds wonderful and also challenges us at every step.
Thanks Ron, very well-presented and concise overview.
Thanks Ted, glad you liked this. Good luck with your music!
Keyboard Improv is so awesome. Thanks for the tips and demonstrating the techniques!
Thanks Oluwarinumi!!!
Loved the lesson, always dug Monk!
Great stuff, right? His music is deep.
Great Video Ron. Really enjoyed it and learned some things too.
Thanks - I learn things every time I make a video!
You're such a cool and informative teacher!
Thanks so much - that means a lot to me!
Love it, thanks a lot!
Thanks, and I hope this inspires you to play a lot of Monk!
Love it!
Thanks Gregory!
your passion for these lessons and jazz in general are the best motivations possible ron, thank you and keep up the good work!
Thanks for the support and your enthusiasm, too, Barış! It's much appreciated :)
Excellent!
Thanks Andre - have fun playing Monk's music!
This was a great video. Thanks.
Thanks, Michael, I'm glad you liked this. I had fun making it!
Cool video and class!
Thanks - glad you liked this!
I enjoyed your gift of explaining things.
Thanks Samir!
I am but a lowly rock and blues guitarist with pretty basic knowledge of theory, but I love love love videos like this because they help stretch my understanding of harmony just a little bit. Thanks for making these ideas accessible to people with less than deep theory training.
Hey - there's nothing anything better than rock and blues guitar! (I'm a big Keith Richards fan. He comps like a jazz pianist.) Have you heard this recording of Peter Frampton playing Monk? czcams.com/video/fZyB7C6AB8Q/video.html
Great observations for those learning Monk's music. Thank you!
Thanks - glad this helps!
What a joy! Congratulations
Thank you, Atila!
I never heard it like this but he’s using other modes in the left key (Oriental Scale in this case). The way you broke it done made me understand some of the foundation of his thinking
Thanks for the really cool chord changes.
They're amazing, right?
amazing video. i’m not even a pianist, but as a huge monk fan it’s great to get to understand the basics of his creations :)
Yes, Monk is fascinating and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck with your music!
great lesson professor, saludos desde México!
Thanks Charlex, and hello from New York City!
"Find the melodic pathways between these chords". Now this really intrigues me! Thanks!
It's a lifetime study - have fun!
Bravo !
Thanks Mario - good luck playing Monk's music :)
Wow you’re a Great player and teacher. This is so cool. Monk is the 🐐
Thanks D J!!!
Thanks for this. Good question and good answer.
Thanks Christian - there's so much misunderstanding about Monk and his music. It's still an ongoing project of mine to learn it better and more thoroughly. And with a healthy perspective. Good luck with your music!
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 I can;' play it, only celebrate it. My yacht is named Thelonious. Here is Endless Sailing with Thelonious Monk: czcams.com/video/MiAsPTi7f_E/video.html
I was attracted to Monk's music for reasons I couldn't define (I just know what I like). Thanks to your explication, I like it even more. Thank you for doing the lifting for me!
I'm glad you liked this!
WoW! Great video, Ron! Love your light-hearted, friendly approach, and insights into Monk harmonics. I can imagine you doing a video series~ “Jazz Theory:from a Monk Perspective “…🙂
I grew up on Monk’s music in the 60’s and 70’s, and didn’t find out that it was considered peculiar until the 80’s around when he passed away.
Thanks! The more I hear Monks music, the more "normal" it sounds.
bless you :)
Thank you, Sophie, and to you as well!
Very astute commentary on the challenge of improvising on Monk’s tunes. Pianist Ran Blake wrote that Monk based his improvisations primarily on melodies rather than chord changes. In a Keyboard Magazine article about Monk, he wrote that melody was Monk’s “cantus firmus” for improvisation, using melody as the basis for a spontaneous polyphonic composition, and not simply paraphrasing.
Thanks! That's a good insight by Ran Blake. It's often true. At other times, Monk improvised with riffs, rather than long spontaneous lines like most players.
Спасибо. Очень наглядно и доходчиво.
Thanks - I'm glad you liked this and found it helpful!
Excellent video!
Thanks very much!!!
Very well explained . Thank you from Germany
I'm feeling enlightenment when listening to your analysis - lol - love your work.
Thanks! I'm learning a lot too, making these videos!
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 I wish I had the capability to do what you do. Love Monk so much. As Costello/McCartney said, those who can easily identify simultaneous intervals are blessed. (A paraphrase.)
In an earlier life I could have been a drummer in such a swinging situation. Now I'm trying to learn piano and decipher the childlike yet layered complexity of Monk's music. You did well, here, in explaining a few aspects of this monster musician.
Thanks Arthur - there's lots of layers in Monk's music!
Heh. After you get the chords in your hand, then you get to work on that amazing rubato he did so effortlessly. I've tried to transcribe a few (such as Body & Soul) using various pro tools and it's just crazy. His left hand always sets such a rock-hard rhythm, and then all those crazy things start going on in the right. I love playing at playing Monk, and I'm blessed with big enough hands that his stretches aren't too hard for me (I'm pretty comfortable with a major-10 stretch in both hands in most keys). Still, I think it takes a lifetime of hard work to really get it right. I appreciate this video, and I'll definitely buy the book.
I know it's kind of random, but if you ever feel the need to take a break from Thelonious Monk, try playing some of the traditional piano solos of the late Dr. John. Both offer "mysteries" -- things that you enter rather than solve, and that when entered open themselves to reveal more mysteries within them.
"Things you enter rather than solve." Great phrase! Yes, I've played some Dr. John too. Just enough to get the taste, which is wonderful!
I’m not a piano player, but I’ve been a monk fan for over 30 years. While also a big fan of Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, NOBODY played like Monk. It took 20 years for him to make the cover of Time magazine, and credit his musical mind as utterly unique.
Errol Garner’s style was also different from anybody, given that he never had any formal instruction.
Good stuff 👍
Yes, he was the uniquest!
I'm just a bass player, but even for me the chord charts for his songs look weird. If I see his name on one, I know I always have to pay special attention. Now I have a better idea why that is. Thanks for that!
I looove this! The chords you play at 2:17 have entrapped me. I can't stop! I gotta figure them out. HELP!
It's classic Monk! The leadsheet is in the Thelonious Monk Fakebook, which is a great resource for his music. Good luck!
And this is the way we learn stuff, even at our advanced age. I'm glad I found this video.
Agreed - at any age! Better yet... ageless :)
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 I've been telling other adults to begin, especially when they say, "Oh, I'm too old to learn." I patiently explain that older people can focus, concentrate, and understand better than very young people. I started on string bass back in the fifties. And I've enjoyed playing around on my wife's piano. It keeps the motor nerves connected. I'm 82.
@@nemo227 Yes!!! One thing that I've noticed in my adult piano students, even the beginners, is that once they begin to play tunes and improvise, their playing often has more depth than with younger players, even those who are more technically and harmonically accomplished.
Thanks this is great!! as a fellow piano player
Thanks Dashiell!
wish i could play those chords, i dont know where to start. I already have so many habits built up that learning new stuff is tricky
Check out The Thelonious Monk Fakebook.
I should’ve taken piano 🎹 lessons from you
to understand Monk you must study Hans Groiner's corrected versions.
Great points! Monk is actually someone who got me into jazz in the first place. Another thing I find that makes his music hard is putting your own take on it that is both true to his music and style, but doesn't sound like/copy him! THAT is the true challenge for me.
That's actually the biggest issue with playingMonk's music, exactly as you've said. Chick Corea can do it, but most don't even try. Have you ever noticed, btw, how Bill Evans took Monk's concept us rhythmic displacement and thoroughly made it his own?
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 I remember reading somewhere that Monk would actually have Evans over to his house in New York and let him listen while he practiced.
Monk always insisted that his music was simple to play. Bemsha swing is in C with the bridge being the same but in F. It is Rhythm changes with tritone substitutions for the 3rd and 4th chords and some basic transitions between 4 bar sections. The weirdest thing about this song is that it (and a few other Monk tunes) end up in D flat. Perhaps Tom Lehrer said it best: "It's so simple that only a child can do it".
Excellent perspective, Paul - thanks for sharing!
Even those horn players you mentioned had many problems playing over monk's changes. None every really sounded natural over the changes except Rouse.
Yes, Rouse sounded completely natural playing on Monk's tunes. "Live At The It Club" is my favorite!
I disagree. I think Johnny Griffin sounds amazing with monk as well. Those two are really the only ones
@@peytonsmith9390 don't forget coltrane,
I may be speaking prematurely because i have only listened to just one song so far. I wanted to listen to Coltrane with Monk for quite some time but then I stopped listening to jazz. I recently started listening to jazz again and sort of picked up where i left off in terms of periods and artists i wanted to listen to. I really like Evidence and Rouse sounds interesting on it, he sounds like he is telling a story and asking questions. I later listened to Coltrane playing Evidence. I was really surprised that he seems to simply play the running scales that he was doing in Miles' band around this time.
Rouse really was comfortable with Monk's harmony. Coltrane sounds like he is seeing what can be done with Monk's harmonies. That isn't comfort, that's investigation and learning. I'm guessing Trane's time with Monk has been overly romanticized.
Agreed. Trane sounds way too busy to me.
I’ve never heard this before, sounds like the inspiration for Coltrane’s Resolution?
Coltrane was definitely influence by Monk. Have you heard the recordings they did together?
Wow. One of my favourites tunes from one of my favourite jazz piano master. Great job Jon. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and music wisdom. My I ask something? For those like me who are learning, could it be possible this lesson recorded from above for seeing your finger movements? thanks again
Thanks, Carlos! I love the tune too!
What's the name of the tune ?
Alreese Hooks bemsha swing
Excellent! Thank you. Monk was really a very traditionalist composer, as you point out with your reference to the Gershwin song, "I Got Rhythm". Ron, what kind of piano are you playing? Is it a Baldwin?
Thanks Ronald! The piano is a 1906 Mason and Hamlin Model A grand.
LOL! I didn't know Monk had a book. I have been trying to play him by ear.....because I like to listen to him so much!
Enjoy the book, but keep learning by ear too :)
Nicely explained and demonstrated. Funny enough, I remember you and I played together way back when with a singer who did a one woman show at a school building. During the rehearsal process the singer gave us one choice for a tune to groove on for our selves and the bassist picked Chick Corea’s “Rain.” It was a really hard tune for me but I’ve never forgotten the lesson and that experience Every once in a while I still try to get the drumming right. Great to see you teaching in the virtual world and I admire your presentation style. Take care!
Luis
Only a bassist would pick a Chick Corea tune like that! lol
Great video! Can you share a link for buying the book?
Sure - here it is! www.google.com/search?q=the+thelonious+monk+fakebook&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS805US805&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwim99rwyJTjAhXBuVkKHeyrB4MQsxgILw&biw=1232&bih=688&dpr=2#spd=333942005260851725
I really enjoyed your masterful explanation. It is so helpful in thinking about Monk's music. I do have a question, however. Why do you say Monk "avoided the issue?" Are you referring to the problem of composition? By the way, Monk himself once said, "If you know the melody, you can make a better solo, and you won't sound as if you're just running changes."
That's really the essential question! I think there are 2 aspects of this: 1. Monk often soloed using the melody as the basis, so he didn't need to come up with a way of playing a new linear improv each time. And 2. When Monk didn't solo on the melody, he didn't mind focusing on each chord separately, without really connecting them in a traditional way. Other players, however, solo in a more "usual" jazz way so they have a somewhat different challenge.
I also have a second question. Can you briefly explain to me what is so unique about Monk's song "Think of One?" I'm trying to understand it for a project. I would deeply appreciate some insight on it. Thanks again.
It's the same basic concept as I show on this video: simple melody, difficult chord sequence. Take each section and just listen to the chords, slowly, to begin to hear the movement between them. That's the first step, which most players skip.
I was told this a long time ago that piano players were awed at Monks playing. Now I see and hear it and I like it.
Yes - definitely! (Welcome to the club!)
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453
Absolutely. That actually happened to me. My friend Matt years ago, an old jazz hand, even before I took up the guitar myself, told me that sometimes Monk sounds so simple and basic almost like a kid playing to we laymen... He said, though, that piano players when they hear Monk go crazy, and are awed by what he’s doing. Now I understand that…thanks.
@@ishaq24722 Mozart is like this too.
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453
I got to get that chord progression you played, it was a beautiful man..beautiful.
@@ishaq24722 It's in the Thelonious Monk Fakebook, which I highly recommend!
The "Rythmn Changes" work from a theory standpoint, but sound so wrong!l Thanks for investing your time to further my musical education!
It's interesting to hear the melody along with the more traditional chords, right? Somehow Monk made his chords sound more "correct!"
KeyboardImprov I think we call it “genius,” no?
It’s also great to see people’s attempts to spell the word, “rhythm.”
@@RobJazzful lol
David Gerber sorry, I’m a jerk.
Soul timing, that's all.
Very Good! I'm a guitar player who studied the Masters such as Monk, Parker etc. My last teacher Chuck Wayne always encourage me to play "me". (Like the Masters)
I met Chuck Wayne! I went to see my teacher, Billy Taylor play at the Blue Note in NYC, and Chuck Wayne was in the dressing room between shows. We hung out and talked for about 30 minutes. Great guy!!!
Alreet!
Thanks David1
Love Monk. I think with his songs you have to improvise over the melody, not the chord changes. Anyways, it´s still so hard.
Hi Ricardo! Yeah, very difficult, and Monk himself too the melody-based approach. Charlie Rouse as well. Coltrane could play through the changes like they were easy, and Monk seemed to like that approach too. It's a deep topic and the best thing is we can all study it, over time, in our own way. Thanks for contributing to this conversation :)
Very nice. I think Charlie Rouse had the answers.
I agree! I especially love his playing on Live At The It Club.
It's because it's a 16 bar melody and not a 4 bar melody like most pop tunes. You can go 4, 8, 12, or 16. Guys like Monk or Motzart went 16, but only because they had that creativity. That's the secret.
I guess that's more of a composition note than a playing note, but that's what the melody is doing and why it doesn't sound like other music. Miles did the same thing. That's why they're the greatest of the American music composers.
Good points!
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Thanks. This video is very good. I haven't played Piano in years, but I just listen to a lot of Monk.
@@matthewnesheim6009 Have you heard him play "Functional?" It's like a whole history of the blues.
I still don’t really get how monk can make a standard C major progression sound so dark and moody like that
It's also in how he played it, with his unique piano touch.
Hi Ron what is the name of the tune you use throughout the video, I couldn’t make out what you said at the start “something swing”
Hi Josh, it's "Bemsha Swing."
@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 my man 😊 thanks
@@josha4913 Good luck!
2:13
What is the name of first song you play?
The first time I play piano on this video? It's something I improvised, in the style of Shorter's arrangements on his album High Life.
Monk is great to listen to but so deceptive. Besides his great composing skills, he has this particular style and a certain swag to his playing. He hits a lot of the notes pretty hard, he really feels so loose when you hear him, but yet everything he does and especially all the dissonant stuff sounds so confident. Like imma drop this dissonant half tone interval right here and lemme drop it a few more times to make sure you get it. I mean I'm used to it but I can imagine someone hearing those opening bars of Brilliant Corners and thinking "what's up with all the bum notes?"
You're exactly right. It works because he's so confident in what he needs to say.
What song were u playing at 2:14
It's "Bemsha Swing" by Monk.
what's the name of the book?
The Thelonious Monk Fakebook. Good luck!
Red Hot Chili Peppers. Song - FU album - out in LA. RHCP tribute to thelonious monk
Cm - F over A - Ab6 - Dbm7 - C ? - hsuqia
So my takeaway here is that those chord changes don't make for very tasty melodic extemporizations? And Monk didn't pursue that path for that reason?
That's the key area of exploration with Monk's music. It's possible to create "tasty melodic extemporizations" on his chord progressions, but it's very difficult. On the other hand, maybe it simply came easily to him and he felt that others should rise to the challenge. Or, maybe he wanted to lead others towards improvising using his melodies, as he often did himself. I think that everyone has to understand these options and ultimately find their own path with Monk's music. Good luck!
What kind of piano is this?
It's a 1906 Mason and Hamlin grand piano.
What are the chords??
You may enjoy the Thelonious Monk fakebook. It has all the great Monk tunes in it. That's how I learned the tune.
hey!!! where's trinkle tinkle!!!
That one's too hard!!! It's a combination of a chord progression like the one I discuss here, with an impossible melody! lol Do you know Chick Corea's version? He makes it seem effortless.
Excellent…..Changes slightly reminiscent of Friday the 13th?
Yes - good ears!
modal 🌝
interesting - he breaks in all down
DAMN!!! That was Astute, and zpleasant, too!!
Thanks - I enjoyed making this one!
Wie heißt bitte dieses Stück? Gibt's Noten dazu?
It's called Bemsha Swing and the leadsheet is in The Thelonious Monk Fakebook. Good luck :)
Well not really . He starts of with turnaround chords , wrote the melody; then substituted original chords
Yep, that's all. that's all he did. go ahead and do it yourself, become world famous.
@@Paradockzz I will, thanks for the 'heads up'.
Why does his piano sound like a steel drum?
I can hear that - he certainly had a percussive touch on the keys!
My dog is named after him
That's awesome, Isabelle!
Solo se suoni da almeno 20 anni, capisci Monk
Or longer!
Not hard to play. They're simple tunes but are taking full advantage of the augmentations of basic chords to add diversity in the solo. He used the whole tone scale as a catch-all for moving over the chords in this way. If you want the Monk sound, use whole tone scale whenever you can over his changes. It's easy, there are only TWO of them. BTW...realize that whole tone scale was a thing for during the early part of the last century. You could hear that shit in Stravinsky, Debussy, Chick Webb, Ellington etc... This influenced Monk and other musicians and so it sounds perfectly fine and exciting for them. So...look at basic easy changes to a pop tune, add the b5, b9, b7th, etc... and use whole tone == instant Monk. Don't use it too much. This is easy to do and too much of a vibe.
okay, if it's so easy then who are you?
Every half-decent jazz pianist since the 50's uses substitutions of exactly the sort you're describing. That's not what makes Monk Monk!
Thanks for pitching in!
Monk's music should show up like an inquiry for a pianist not an attempt at impersonation. Like what is functional dissonance to you? What is nonfunctional dissonance to you?
Yes, that's really the point - with any pianist, in fact.
I never found his music hard to play
You're one of the lucky ones!