Thelonious Monk Creates a List of Tips for Playing a Gig (2012) | Hacker News Reader

Thelonious Monk Creates a List of Tips for Playing a Gig (2012)

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117 pointstaylorbuley17 comments

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Most of the apply reasonably well to a business setting. A couple in particularly interesting ways:

* You’ve got to dig it to dig it, you dig?

* I want to avoid the hecklers.

* Always leave them wanting more.

Peter Schmidt and Brian Eno made a set of cards to help resolve issues when in the recording studio...

http://www.oblicard.com/

It has always struck me that these may have wider application...

Didn't know the HN crowd like jazz this much.. Nice to see these posts pop up!

Smart, sincere people talking about their thing are usually also talking about the larger thing.

Original source: http://www.listsofnote.com/2012/02/thelonious-monks-advice.h...

Originally transcribed in 1960.

the last line:

They tried to get me to hate white people, but someone would always come along & spoil it.

I would like more backstory on that one.

"When I was a kid, some of the guys would try to get me to hate white people for what they've been doing to Negroes, and for a while I tried real hard. But every time I got to hating them, some white guy would come along and mess the whole thing up." -- Thelonious Monk [1]

It seems like he had some good personal interactions with white people.

[1] http://www.musicwithease.com/thelonious-monk-quotes.html

It's just very difficult to hate white people in general. There's so many of them, you can't help meeting great ones all the time.

What's up with "Monk" and an arrow to the right (middle of first page)? Is it shorthand for "Monk will get up and wander away from the piano?" That's clever and funny if so.

I read it as "stay in front - of yourself - know where you will be, see how it will look, Monk can remember to feel how Monk will feel", but it's hard to put into words.

It's about time.

I read it as "play over Monk". It's a reinforcement of "Don't listen to me, I'm supposed to be accompanying you."

But Monk was known to get up from the piano and dance during performances.

"A genius is the one most like himself."

I appreciate this for its sincerity and generosity. There is no mistaking Monk's genius.

When you are swinging, swing some more!

As noted in the comments on the post, these notes were written by someone who played with Monk.

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