Blue Monk Walking Bass Line
Blue Monk is Thelonious Monk's 12-bar blues in B-flat, first recorded on September 22, 1954, with Percy Heath on bass and Art Blakey on drums. It's the tune Monk recorded more than any other. The melody moves in half steps, and the changes are a basic B-flat blues with one extra color, a diminished chord in bar 6. That makes it a great first jazz blues to walk: few chords, lots of room, and a clear target every bar. Below you'll find the changes bar by bar and a walking line in B-flat.
Turn the bass off and it's your gig: the piano and drums keep going and you walk the line. The band counts you in with one bar of hi-hat.
Recorded upright bass, grand piano and a jazz drum kit play the line. Tab is for 4-string bass in standard tuning.
The changes
We use the Learn Jazz Standards chart, which follows Monk's harmony: Edim7 in bar 6 and F7 for both bars 9 and 10. Monk played a plain Bb triad in bars 1, 3 and 4, but it's common to play Bb7 there. Some players put Cm7 in bar 9 to make a ii-V when they solo. Jazzadvice's chart is a jazz blues version instead: Eb7 for all of bar 6, G7b9 in bar 8, Cm7 | F7 in bars 9 and 10, and a Bb7 G7b9 | Cm7 F7 turnaround.
How this line works
- The root lands on beat 1 of 6 of the 12 chord changes, so the harmony is clear. The rest start on the 3rd or 5th, which keeps the line from sounding like a list of roots.
- 11 of the 11 chord changes are approached by a half step or a whole step, so every new chord arrives smoothly instead of by a jump.
- Non-chord tones sit on the weak beats: 9 on beat 2 and 7 on beat 4. That's where passing and chromatic notes sound intentional instead of wrong.
- No note repeats back to back. A repeated note is the quickest way to make a walking line sound stiff.
What Blue Monk teaches you
- The quick change: bar 2 goes to Eb7, the IV chord, and bar 3 comes right back to Bb7.
- A diminished chord in bar 6: the root of Edim7 is a half step above Eb (bar 5), and F, the 5th of Bb7 in bar 7, is a half step above that, so the bass can climb Eb, E, F.
- Two bars of F7: Monk stays on the V chord for bars 9 and 10, so you've got eight beats of one chord to walk before Bb7 comes back.
- A melody built on chromatic lines: the theme moves in half steps, and a walking line can answer with chromatic approach notes of its own.
- Monk's favorite: Blue Monk is the tune Monk recorded the most, so there are plenty of versions to compare.
How to practice it
- Hear the form first. Turn the bass off and play just the root of each chord along with the band until you never lose your place.
- Read the line slowly. Set the tempo around 80 and play the written line with the drums. Slow is the fast way here.
- Loop the hard spots. Turn on Loop, find the four bars that trip you up, and play them until they feel like the easy ones.
- Make it yours. Keep beat 1 of every bar, but change the approach note on beat 4. A half step above, a half step below, a whole step: each one changes the color of the arrival.
- Play it with the record. Put on one of the versions below and play along. That's where the time feel gets into your hands.
Want to build your own lines on these changes? Try the free Walking Line Builder and practice with the click on 2 and 4.
Recordings to hear
- Thelonious Monk, Thelonious Monk Trio (1954), with Percy Heath on bass.
- Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk (1957), with Spanky DeBrest on bass.
- Thelonious Monk, Thelonious in Action (1958), with Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass.
Blue Monk: questions
What key is Blue Monk in?
B-flat. Monk played it in B-flat, and that's the key on the Learn Jazz Standards and Jazzadvice charts.
What are the chord changes to Blue Monk?
Bb7 | Eb7 | Bb7 | Bb7 | Eb7 | Edim7 | Bb7 | Bb7 | F7 | F7 | Bb7 | F7. Some charts use jazz blues changes instead, with a G7 in bar 8 and a Cm7 F7 ii-V near the end, so check which version the band's using.
What tempo is Blue Monk played at?
It's usually a medium swing. Musicnotes' lead sheet marks it medium blues at about 136 bpm, and Monk's 1954 trio recording measures about 147 bpm on SongBPM.
Your next step
This page gives you one line to study. These courses teach you to build your own, on the bass you play.
The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough
Cole DavisWalk through any jazz tune with lines that move, swing, and never repeat themselves.
- Walk through any ii-V-I, major or minor.
- Solve the two-bar problem on static modal tunes.
- Never repeat yourself two bars in a row.
Walking Basslines on Upright Bass from the Beginning
Cole DavisFive lessons from “my walking lines don't sound like the records” to professional-grade walking.
- The chord first: the 1-3-5-7, where every great bass line starts.
- The master move: changing the order of the notes, bar by bar, on an F blues.
- The three questions every bass line has to pass, then the whole method on Autumn Leaves.
Not sure which course fits? Answer a few questions and we'll point you to one.