round midnight revisited
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Round MidnightTRANSCRIPT
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keyboardmag.com
Midnight Revisited
BY Andy LaVerne
It is thought that the legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk
composed the song “’Round Midnight” as early as 1936 at the age
of 19 . Since then, it has become a jazz anthem, played andrecorded by a multitude of prominent jazz musicians including Dizzy
Gillespie , Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Richie Beirach, and
young phenom Joey Alexander, not to mention Amy Winehouse.
The song was even the star of the film ’Round Midnight that
featured Herbie Hancock’s Academy Award-winning score. This
year, after NEA Jazz Master Jamey Aebersold chose the song for
his Summer Jazz Workshop piano faculty to play at evening
concerts, I set out t o reimagine it. For the purposes of
demonstration and explanation, I offer this solo piano template and
adaptation in the style of “Round Midnight.” This is the first in a
series of two installments, presenting each section on its own.
Intro and First ‘A’ Sections
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My first challenge in reimagining “’Round Midnight” was to break
away from the standard intro of descending minor ii-V chords.
Coincidently, I had recently transcribed McCoy Tyner’s solo piano
intro to the saxophonist Wayne Shorter’s song “Lost.” It was
McCoy’s intro and the circuitous route he followed to the altered
dominant seventh target that propelled me in a new direction for my
arrangement. McCoy’s “Lost” intro was setting up G minor, so I
merely transposed it down a third to lead into Eb minor.
After hitting the root of the Bb7alt chord, there are a series of
descending quartal structures (a McCoy signature), which end with
a chordal enclosure of the Bb7alt chord. This technique is referred
to as “constant structure/variable function.” It’s a nonfunctional
harmonization of a melodic line. I arbitrarily assigned chord symbols
to the ten quartal structures. The Bb7alt is less ambiguous in sound
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and function.
Rather than diving directly into the theme, I came up with a motif in
measure 4 to set up the melody and use as a recurring idea
throughout the arrangement. Notice the changing tempo markings,another freedom of solo piano. The rhythmic augmentation (eighths
instead of sixteenths) of the first four notes of the melody imparts
drama in measure 5. The brief hold before the G major7# 5 chord
accentuates the surprise of that uncharacteristic harmonic color,
and the addition of the 2/4 measure lets the color saturate. The
warmer Ab7sus4 in measure 7 leads nicely into the Bb7b9 inmeasure 8. Diminished structures reflect the “constant
structure/variable function” of the intro. Mea sure 9 resolves to Eb
minor with the addition of the colors of a major 7 and a b5 . (Another
way to look at it would be D-/Eb- ). The rhythmically augmented
melody is now harmonized in tenths.
Measure 10 mimics the harmonic color change in measure 5, this
time diminished instead of maj7#5 . Measures 11 and 12 borrow the
quartal theme of the intro. The D7sus4 is a half-step-above
approach chord to the Db7sus4 in measure 13, followed by the
rhythmically augmented melody harmonized in tenths. Measure 14
accentuates the tritones inherent in dominant 7#11 chords. We go
back to the maj7#5 color with inner voice movements in tenths for
measures 15 and 16. The first ending is a disguised ii-V-i in Eb
minor, with a restatement of my Eb minor motif. These motifs serve
as landmarks for symmetry and unity.
Stay-tuned for Part Two!
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Practice Tip
“Creating a solo piano arrangement
poses many challenges and opens
unlimited options. As a solo pianist,you’re in the driver’s seat, so you can
switch gears and change directions at
any time,” says pianist, composer, and
longtime Keyboard contributor Andy
LaVerne, who has performed with
artists such as Frank Sinatra, StanGetz, and Chick Corea. His latest
projects include the book Chords in
Motion , the DVD Chords & Lines in Motion, and the CD I Want to
Hold Your Hand. LaVerne is Professor of Jazz Piano at SUNY
Purchase in New York and the Hartt School of Music in
Connecticut, and he’s on the faculty of the Aebersold Summer Jazz
Workshops. Find out more at andylaverne.com.
Watch Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter play "'Round Midnight"
live.
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keyboardmag.com
’Round Midnight Revisited
BY Andy LaVerne
Last month we examined the A section through the first ending
of my solo piano arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s song
“’Round Midnight.” This month I present Part Two of my articleon reimagining jazz standards.
Second Ending Onward
This month, we pick things up at the second ending of my piano
arrangement. It follows the lead of the first ending, but resolves with
a somewhat Gershwin-esque flavor (sus4 to major to minor). The
tempo change at the start of the B section sets up the bridge for an
up-tempo excursion. A small melodic cell echoes the original
melody of the bridge of “’Round Midnight.”
Beat 4 of measure 32 (played the second time only) begins a whole
step ascension to the Bb7b9b13 chord in measure 37, a technique
known as Constant Structure/Variable Function. Measure 40
requires some fleet fingers, but it looks harder than it actually is,
especially after slow and deliberate practice. You might also
recognize the trademark Monk whole-tone scale.
Measures 42-44
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use octave and
fifth/triad
structures often
associated with
the pianist ChickCorea, who has
a strong affinity
for Monk, having
recorded and
performed many
of hiscompositions.
This progression
mirrors Monk’s
own for a pivotal
part of the tune. Measure 45 has some diminished structures
(derived from the diminished scale) that can also be heard on some
of Corea’s work, but they veer off slightly in different directions.
Measure 46 has another tempo change and helps shift gears with
our trusty melodic motif established in the intro from Part One of
this series. After measure 46, go back to the A section (measure 5
of this arrangement), and take the second ending. A restatement of
the McCoy Tyner-flavored intro in measures 59 and 60 bookends
the arrangement—almost. It’s followed by the recurring motif and
another melody reference before one more resounding melodic
motivic conclusion.
You might be
wondering
where the
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original intro
and coda are. I
chose to use
McCoy Tyner’s
“lost” introinstead of the
commonly
played “Round
Midnight” intro.
The Latin-
flavored codausually
associated with
“Round
Midnight” was
not included
due to space constraints. (A note of historical interest regarding the
original intro and coda: Both were composed by trumpeter Dizzy
Gillespie. They were so compelling and fit so well that many
musicians, including Monk himself, used them to frame the song.) I
hope my arrangement sparks some ideas and insights for your own
solo piano excursions! You might find further inspiration in this
video of Bobby McFerrin and Herbie Hancock performing "Round
Midnight."
Practice Tip
“Thelonious Monk composed the A section of ‘Round Midnight’ at
the age of 19 and called it “Grand Finale.” A few years later,
trumpeter Cootie Williams composed the B section for a big band
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arrangement. The two sections were joined and became what we
now know as ‘Round Midnight,’” says pianist and composer Andy
LaVerne, who has performed with artists such as Frank Sinatra,
Stan Getz and Chick Corea. His latest projects include the book
Chords in Motion , the DVD Chords & Lines in Motion and the CD I
Want to Hold Your Hand. Andy is Professor of Jazz Piano at SUNY
Purchase in New York and the Hartt School of Music in
Connecticut, and on the faculty of the Aebersold Summer Jazz
Workshops. Find out more at andylaverne.com
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