Miles Davis' So What transcription and analysis by Bart Marantz Introduction Miles Davis' original tune So What was first recorded in 1959 on his album Kind of Blue (Columbia CS-8163) with the famed "‘56 Quintet". For purposes of comparison, this 1959 debut studio recording and a subsequent 1961 live performance recording of the same tune will be transcribed and analyzed. Solo I (CS-8163) The conservative tempo of = 138 lends itself well to the cool icy-blue sound of Miles Davis' playing …showed first 75 words of 1524 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1524 total…example, the D dorian mode, based on the second note (D) of a C major scale, consists of the notes D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D in the step interval pattern of whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half-whole. The phyrgian mode, also used in So What, is built on the third note of a major scale. For example, the E phyrgian mode, based on the third note (E) of a C major scale, consists of the notes E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E in the step interval pattern of half-whole-whole-whole-half-whole-whole.