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Thelonious Monk Chord

Voicings
Monk

Thelonious Monk is a Bebop Pianist known for his dissonant, quirky

and asymmetrical style, rhythm and harmony. So, as you would
expect, Thelonious Monk Chord Voicings have a bit of ‘bite’ (read
dissonance). They have a semitone interval at the bottom of the
chord and a 3rd on top. And because there are only two semitones
in a diatonic scale (both Major and melodic minor), then there are
only two possible chord shapes – one for the tonic chord and one
for every other chord in that key.

Monk Chord Voicings

In short the Thelonious Monk Chord voicings are:

Major Harmony
Tonic Major Chord: 7th, 1st, 3rd (B, C, E in the key of C Major)
Every other chord in the Major Key: 3rd, 4th, 6th of the key (E,
F, A in the key of C Major)
Melodic Minor Harmony
Tonic Melodic Minor Chord: 7th, 1st, ♭3rd (B, C, E♭ in the key of
C Melodic Minor)
Every other chord in the Melodic Minor Key: 2nd, ♭3rd, 5th of
the key (D, E♭, G in the key of C Melodic Minor)
Dominant chords can be altered to give a bit more bite as follows:
C7alt = C, D♭, E or D#, E, G or F#, G, B♭ or A, B♭, D♭

You can play a Major and minor II-V-I using Monk Voicings as
follows:

 
 Chord Notes Sheet Music 
Major II-V-I

Dm7 E-F-A

G7 E-F-A

CMaj7 B-C-E

Melodic Minor II-V-I

Dø G-A♭-C
(F melodic minor)

G7alt B♭-C♭-E♭
(A♭ melodic minor)

CMaj7 B-C-E♭
(C melodic minor)

C7alt

C7alt C-D♭-E; or
D#-E-G; or
F#-G-B♭; or
A-B♭-D♭

(Aside: Don’t worry too much about the Melodic Minor II-V-I
(http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-chord-
progressions/minor-ii-v-i/). Each chord is derived from a di erent
melodic minor key (I’ve written them in brackets under the chord). We
will discuss this in detail in a future lesson).

Free Guitar Chords

Includes over 3000 of the most commonly used guitar chords.
guitaristsreference com

Proto-Chords
You may have noticed that if we use ‘Monk Voicings’ then

some chords will not have their Guide Tones
(http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-
improvisation/guide-tones/) (3rd and 7th) included in the voicing. In
a previous lesson, I stated that when you play a chord you have to
include the 3rd and 7th of that chord as a minimum (see Shell
Chords (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-
chords/shell-chords/)). As such, you could argue that these voicings
are not really full and proper chords – they are proto-chords or
quasi-chord that exist just to create a general ‘feel’ of a particular
key and not to strictly play a particular chord. Chord are left
intentionally ambiguous. We will encounter this again when we talk
about Bud Powell Voicings (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-
piano-lessons/jazz-chord-voicings/powell-voicings/). It’s up to you
how you want to think about chords like these.

Left Handed Voicing

Monk voicings are played entirely with the left hand. This means
your right hand is free to play the melody or improvise. In future
lessons we will also discuss numerous two handed chord voicings.

The Monk Chord Voicings are particularly easy to remember and

play, because there are only two chord voicings in an entire key.
But this is also why this chord voicing can become monotonous
and dull. If you’re playing a song that is entirely in one key – your
chords are going to get awful boring, awful soon. This voicing works
better for songs that change keys often.

Have a Listen to

Any and Every Thelonious Monk Solo

 Jazz Piano Chord Voicings - Thelonious Monk Voicings 

>> NEXT LESSON >> (/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-chord-voicings/powell-voicings)

 
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