Speak No Evil — Chord Changes & Harmonic Analysis
- Composer:
- Wayne Shorter
- Year:
- 1964
- Key:
- C minor
- Form:
- AB (32 bars)
- Style:
- Post-Bop
- Tempo:
- 140–220 BPM
A challenging Wayne Shorter composition with unconventional harmonic progressions and a dark, mysterious quality. Features modal sections mixed with chromatic movement, requiring advanced harmonic understanding.
About This Standard
Composed by Wayne Shorter and recorded on his 1964 Blue Note album of the same name, Speak No Evil represents Shorter's mature compositional voice — a dark, modal post-bop sound that blends minor key tonality with unexpected harmonic colors. It became one of his most celebrated compositions and a touchstone of the 1960s Blue Note aesthetic.
Notable recordings:
- Wayne Shorter — Speak No Evil (1964)
- Herbie Hancock — (various recordings)
- Widely recorded — (post-bop standard)
Chord Changes
Notation
Harmonic Analysis
Speak No Evil is a minor-key composition (typically in D minor) with Wayne Shorter's characteristic use of suspended chords, modal harmony, and non-functional chord progressions. Rather than conventional ii-V-i resolutions, Shorter uses chords that drift and hover, creating an ominous, dark atmosphere. The form moves through related minor key areas with chromatic sidesteps. The harmonic language requires less chord-scale thinking and more an awareness of color and atmosphere — each chord is a tonal environment to inhabit rather than navigate.