I first encountered the compositions of Thelonious Monk when I fell in love with the music of Miles Davis’ classic quintets. Like many developing jazz artists, I wanted to try to play these tuneful yet technically challenging pieces like “Straight, No Chaser” and “’Round Midnight.”
While many Monk compositions sound relatively simple upon first listen, they tend to be deceivingly complex. Monk reportedly told Miles on many occasions that he wasn’t playing his melodies right.
Monk’s influence can be heard in the playing styles of numerous iconic jazz saxophonists, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Rouse, Jackie McLean, Steve Lacy, Joe Henderson and Branford Marsalis, to name a few. He taught many of his horn players the melodies to his tunes by ear. And while many musicians today are familiar with Monk’s melodies and improvisations, they might not be as fluent in his chordal voicings, an area worthy of further study.
As a saxophonist, I wanted to gain a better understanding of Monk’s compositions and apply that knowledge to my improvisations. After learning many of his pieces on the piano, I began constructing saxophone lines that closely reflected the signature Monk voicings.
Piano Voicings as Single Lines
I began The Monk Project, released last summer on Belle Avenue Records, to further my understanding of Monk’s works and to create my own approach to playing them. That would mean going beyond playing the melody and improvising on the standard Monk changes. I wanted to accompany myself by playing the entire written composition as Monk played it, but as a solo instrument. This would mean arranging the piano part (both hands) in an arpeggiated approach.
Let’s start by creating an etude that outlines the chords and melody of Monk’s tune “Pannonica” using even eighth notes. I recommend that you write out the entire thing by hand, as so much is learned by spending time with each and every note. Play and sing all the intervals as you go. This is the best “Monk ear training” you can get. Then begin constructing your own lines from the voicings you have now mastered.
Example 1
Arpeggiation Etude
Example 1 shows the opening phrase to “Pannonica.” Right away, we can see and hear Monk’s signature approach to harmony. I recommend you play the entire composition on the piano at a very slow tempo or as your piano skills permit. This first example shows an open-voicing Cmaj9 (1-5-1-7, no third) with the melody descending down from the seventh, sixth and fifth, and the third appearing against the ninth or second scale degree. Continue to analyze the rest of the composition in this same manner: the intervals of the chords, the intervals of the melody and the relationships between the two. Also take note of the rhythms in terms of when they repeat and the use of antecedent and consequent phrasing. This simply stated motif now can be rearranged and arpeggiated for single-note instruments.
Play Example 2a (below) in a rubato fashion with an emphasis on the first note and a slight hold on the last eighth note of the measure. Connect the notes as one note leads musically to the next. As you’re doing so, imagine what it would sound like on a harp or a piano with the pedal down. For fun, find a stairwell, a hall or a church—or even a large bathroom—so that the sound reflects around the space. Record yourself to find specifically what you want to improve or to take note of what you are playing well. With this linear approach we are intentionally taking some liberties by moving the position of the melody in order to facilitate playing the entire voicing in one measure.
Continue writing out the rest of the composition in this same manner. Don’t worry about sticking to eight eighth notes per measure; you might come up with longer measures. The goal here is to play the entire voicing, get it in your ear and under your fingers.
Examples 2a / 2b
Arpeggio Variations
Now we can begin constructing variations on this line to create our own approach using the original series of notes. Example 2b (above) demonstrates a retrograde of the original material. Experiment with the order of the notes and octave displacement to suit what sounds good to you on your instrument.
Additionally, try different rhythms, beginning with the original and then adding your own inspirations.
Example 3
Performing the Composition
Now that we are able to play the intervals comfortably, the next step is to perform the composition. In Example 3, I decided that the arrangement should visually reflect how the melody appears in the original composition as Monk intended. In order to accomplish this, the left-hand structure is now reflected using grace notes embellishing the melody. Try not to rush through the grace notes. Simply accompany the melody.
Example 4
Writing Lines: ‘Think Of One’
What often sounds simple or effortless on the piano can pose certain difficulties to single-note instruments, especially when navigating wide intervals. Let’s take a look at tightening up our arpeggiated etude to create a simpler line with ideas all derived from the composition (see Example 4). The melody to Monk’s “Think Of One” largely is based on scale degrees 1 and 5, adding the seventh in bar 3. With this new line (see Example 5), we are using the original opening motif (1, 5) and continuing to outline an F major triad. Beats 3 and 4 are exactly as you would read them from bottom to top from the piano score; however, 1 and 7 are now transposed one and two octaves higher, respectively. This maintains the same note order that Monk wrote but now gives us a line that not only outlines the voicing but is horn-friendly.
Example 5
As a general rule, we will maintain the original chord voicing (reading from bottom to top), taking into consideration how we can work in the melody. In measure 2 of Example 5, the line continues in the same fashion (with the root, seventh and third of Dm7), but we have transposed the root up an octave (one of Monk’s signature three-note voicings). Measure 3 outlines the chords that have now brought us a half step away from the key center. (Bitonality is a favorite compositional technique of Monk’s.)
Example 6
On the bridge of “Think Of One” (see Example 6), we see further development of the motifs that occur in measures 2 and 3. Note how the “B” section melody starts as a single note, moves to a major sixth and then becomes a three-note cluster. Monk’s minimalistic harmonic approach lends itself well to our single-note line treatment. In Example 7, the line begins similarly, with the 16th-note statement, and then we use all of the elements of the bass line, melody and harmony. As the composition becomes denser harmonically, so does the new line we’ve created.
Example 7
Monk’s Attributes
When we think about Monk’s music, we should consider all the attributes that make these compositions so well loved: strong, tuneful melodies, swinging rhythms and motivic development. We should also think about the great pianists who influenced Monk, including James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams. Also consider Monk’s vast knowledge of classical composers, church music and the blues, all of which proved to be important sources during his early development.
The important thing to remember is that Monk’s music came from a number of influences. The compositions that he wrote and performed throughout his career have influenced multiple generations of jazz musicians because of his understanding of so many genres. DB
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Saxophonist, composer and educator Dan Willis put his idiosyncratic spin on the music of the godfather of jazz idiosyncrasy with the 2020 release of The Monk Project (Belle Avenue). The multi-reedist’s fourth album with his ensemble Velvet Gentlemen—guitarist Pete McCann, keyboardist Ron Oswanski, bassist Evan Gregor and drummer John Mettam (with special guests bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Ian Froman)—is a highly exploratory set of performances that, like Thelonious Monk’s compositions, could never be mistaken for the work of anyone else. The Monk Project began life as a solo saxophone concept for Willis. Not far into it, however, he realized that his non-chordal instrument was insufficient to the task, so he called in the Velvet Gentlemen to help him account for Monk’s multiple layers of melody and meaning. In the process, it expanded Willis’ personal palette for the project: He plays three different saxophones (tenor, soprano and baritone), two traditional wind instruments from central Eurasia (the duduk and the zurna) and the electronic wind instrument (EWI). Visit him online at danwillismusic.com.
