Walking/scale strategies for Well You Needn't?

[KeyserSoze]

I'd appreciate any tips on how to approach a tune such as Monk's Well You Needn't. For those unfamiliar with the tune, the head is played over alternating measures ot the I chord and the #I chord. I've seen it in the fake books as either F6 to F#6 or F7 to F#7.

My question is; in this tune (and in other situations where there area repeating, alternating measures of the I chord and the #1 chord), would one "walk" alternating between the I and #I scales, or is there a "hybrid" scale (say, incorporating a minor second and a sharp fifth) that would be used? I guess the same question would apply to soloing (on any instrument) over these changes.

Thanks in advance for your ideas on this, as well as for all the great info I have gleaned from this site.

[anonymous0726]

You can bounce back and forth between the two, or ignore the second chord, or treat the second chord as a tritone sub for the V chord, get really chromatic, etc.

[bass_means_LOW]

One recording of Monk doing this composition has him starting the bridge from Db7.

[Perplexer]

As far as I know, Monk always played the bridge starting in Db. It was Miles who started the G bridge thing... and it seems to have become the convention because of the lovely Real Book.

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by Perplexer

As far as I know, Monk always played the bridge starting in Db. It was Miles who started the G bridge thing... and it seems to have become the convention because of the lovely Real Book.

Although i'm certainly not a fan of the Real Book, we can't blame this one on it. I was playing the G bridge long before the Real Book came along.

[Perplexer]

Thanks for the perspective. Just curious if there's any prefrences out there since I have always learned towards the Db bridge.

[bass_means_LOW]

Although the two, (G7, Db7) are pretty much the same chord; because it's Monk's tune, I guess he prefered the Db in the bass, so I'd have to go along with the composer. Of course this would depend on the group's context.

[bassbaterie]

KeyserSoze:

Although I am reading this topic with considerable interest, I apologize for commenting off-topic and saying

I L-O-V-E your user name!


How cool is that!

[T-Bal]

Originally Posted by bass_means_LOW

Although the two, (G7, Db7) are pretty much the same chord; because it's Monk's tune, I guess he prefered the Db in the bass, so I'd have to go along with the composer. Of course this would depend on the group's context.

Actually, it's a Db6 chord. And the band better be in agreement on which bridge is going to be played, because 1)the melody is a half step lower in the Db version, and 2)the entire sequence is not the same.

[bass_means_LOW]

Originally Posted by bass_means_LOW

Of course this would depend on the group's context.

You got it, T Bal. A good friend of mine whom I've played quite a few gigs with, Steve Cardenas, came out with the transcribed versions of Monk's tunes. Great book. You probably have it.