Blue Monk Bass Line (simple changes)
Blue Monk is a 12 bar Bb blues written by the great Thelonious Monk around 1954. This tune was one of Monk’s favorites, and is also a favorite at jam sessions.
In the original version, Monk used a Bb triad (rather than a dominant chord) in the first, third, and fourth measures. It is common practice to play the Bb as a dominant chord, and the charts on this website reflect that.
On measure 9 and 10, Monk simply uses an F7 chord, which is the dominant. Some people will substitute Cm7 in measure 9 to create a ii V7 on solos, but the original stayed stagnant in measures 9 and 10.
For this exercise, you can play the bass line, to get a sense of the chord progression. The bass line has been transposed to all the different instrument keys.
