Barry Harris guitar book

[A. Kingstone]

I was mailing a copy of the Barry Harris Harmonic Method For Guitar to London today and flipped through before posting and realized, everything in it pertains to two five ones.


​Alan

[guitarplayer007]

Alan,

Maybe you could make a PDF of a Jazz standard and show how this way of playing would be used vs the typical chart. Maybe a Standard like Misty or My Romance. Just a thought, i know it would help me
Thx
Ken

[A. Kingstone]

Alan,

Maybe you could make a PDF of a Jazz standard and show how this way of playing would be used vs the typical chart. Maybe a Standard like Misty or My Romance. Just a thought, i know it would help me
Thx
Ken

Ken: Look at the section on Playing With Your Sisters & Brothers which shows you how to interpret 2/5/1's into Sixth Diminished Scales.

Don't worry so much about all the examples just get used to playing the suggested 6dim scales with the two suggested rhythms.

Stay in one key and begin on different inversions.

Remember it's about movement not static chords.

I'll have a look at the included standard, Like Someone In Love and figure out an example later.

[hodge12]

Wes Montgomery's chord playing comes to mind when thinking about the Barry Harris harmonic approach.

[guitarplayer007]

Ken: Look at the section on Playing With Your Sisters & Brothers which shows you how to interpret 2/5/1's into Sixth Diminished Scales.

Don't worry so much about all the examples just get used to playing the suggested 6dim scales with the two suggested rhythms.

Stay in one key and begin on different inversions.

Remember it's about movement not static chords.

I'll have a look at the included standard, Like Someone In Love and figure out an example later.

Thanks Alan, I appreciate it!!!!
Ken

[A. Kingstone]

Bar 15-16 give an example of F6o into Abm6o over Dm7 - G7.

The trick (besides learning the chord scales) is quickly knowing how to convert given chord changes to Major and Minor Sixth Diminished scales.

Ken: I hope you persevere and have an AH-HA moment.

A

[guitarplayer007]

Alan,

Aren't we just exchanging 2 chords for 2 different chords? Where is the so called movement coming from?
Thx
Ken

[A. Kingstone]

F6o into Abm6o = F Sixth Diminished (chord scale) into Ab Minor Sixth Diminished (chord scale)

[guitarplayer007]

Ok can you write out the chords using the Dimished scale in between
Thx
ken

[docbop]

Ok can you write out the chords using the Dimished scale in between
Thx
ken

It's the Wes thing play chords with top voice the root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, to make it a scale play dim chords on the 2nd, 4th, 6th together that gives you the whole scale on the top voice. What I will do is come up with simple lick on 1st and maybe 2nd strings then use the above to make it into a chordal lick/fill.

If doing just a rhythm thing then can do the same thing with bottom note of chords being the scale tones. Bottom line it's a chord and it's inversions is mixed with diminished chords on the non-scale tones. That's how I view it.

[guitarplayer007]

It's the Wes thing play chords with top voice the root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, to make it a scale play dim chords on the 2nd, 4th, 6th together that gives you the whole scale on the top voice. What I will do is come up with simple lick on 1st and maybe 2nd strings then use the above to make it into a chordal lick/fill.

If doing just a rhythm thing then can do the same thing with bottom note of chords being the scale tones. Bottom line it's a chord and it's inversions is mixed with diminished chords on the non-scale tones. That's how I view it.

Can you write out an example?
ken

[djangoles]

Ok can you write out the chords using the Dimished scale in between
Thx
ken

Have you actually read the book at all? I was going to post some examples of ii V I.....but I realized that it appears you do not understand the basic concepts of the method, so examples would pointless....just a bunch of chords

I don't have the book in front of me, but I know that there are a couple of pages that explain the many ways the dim chord can be a manipulated by moving one or two notes...you may want to look at that a little more and keep in mind that these couple of pages are very important because it is the backbone of the entire method (IMO)....especially when looking at it and trying to apply it from a guitarists perspective (the whole symmetrical thing)

The point of using Maj6th or Min6th dim chord scale is that when it's harmonized you are left with either a 6th chord or a Dim chord ......This repeats up and down the scale

Cmaj6/dim = C, D, E, F, G, Ab, A, B

Cmin6/dim = C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, A, B


...of course all I described above is just getting it all off the ground...."the movement that you can generate" comes from moving/borrowing different voices in the Chord Scale.....

[docbop]

Can you write out an example?
ken

The example I have is from copyrighted material so can't post.

All the info is there the posts, I assume you know your chord inversions that is the bulk of what you need. Write out a scale like G for example. Take use chords GMa7/G, Adim, GMa7/B, Cdim, GMa7/D, Edim, GMa7/F#, GMa7/G. This example has the scale in the bass, but I typically do it with the scale on top to harmonize a line. But you can see the G major scale and GMa7 chord inversions on chord tones, then diminished chords on the non-chord tones. BH would use 6th chords getting into his relationship between chords. If I remember Alan's book doesn't have a full scale example he focuses on pairs of chords, but they add up to same thing.


If your not solid on your chord inversions a book I recommend is Drop-2 Concept for Guitar by Charles Chapman. He has similar example except he just uses a single note on the non-chord tone not the diminished chord. But inexpensive book that will get your Drop-2 and inversion voicings together.

[whatswisdom]

But you can see the G major scale and GMa7 chord inversions on chord tones, then diminished chords on the non-chord tones.

That's similar to the first example in Randy Vincent's Drop 2 book in which he harmonizes bebop scales with major 6th and diminished 7th chords.

[guitarplayer007]

Yes have read though it several times

[djangoles]

Yes have read though it several times

If you did read it a few times and understood it.....then why would you ask Alan to "write out the chords using the Diminished scale in between"....??

Understanding the harmonized 6th/dim scale produces 2 Chords....

a 6th chord or a Dim chord

Cmaj 6th/dim scale

C D E F G Ab A B
C6 Ddim C6 Fdim C6 Abdim C6 Bdim


Maybe you are confusing the Diminished Scale proper with a 6th/dim scale??

[guitarplayer007]

Not even worth responding , I'm not the only one that feels this. Ppl like to see real examples used over real songs. Not a grid of home and away

[jojo]

Hi Ken,

If you really wish to understand this approach, do as I did today and suscribe to jazzschoolonline.com

Alan explains all the concepts written in his book and applies them on II - V's, turnarounds, rhythm changes etc ...

[guitarplayer007]

If you did read it a few times and understood it.....then why would you ask Alan to "write out the chords using the Diminished scale in between"....??

Understanding the harmonized 6th/dim scale produces 2 Chords....

a 6th chord or a Dim chord

Cmaj 6th/dim scale

C D E F G Ab A B
C6 Ddim C6 Fdim C6 Abdim C6 Bdim


Maybe you are confusing the Diminished Scale proper with a 6th/dim scale??

I didn't ask him to write the chord scale i know that, I asked for some examples of how to use on a 2-5-1

[djangoles]

,
For instance they start out with Fmaj6 chords, do they even tell you that you don't use that over F chords? nope enough of my Rant, they should redo the book.

Well this is just not true....

You somehow missed, misunderstood, or skipped entirely reading in the very beginning Alan saying something to the effect of "whenever you see a min7 (ii7), you need to start thinking Relative Maj 6 dim scale"....

How is it possible that you can slam the book for not having ii V examples (one star rating on Amazon!) but never got past how to handle a ii7 chord with BH method.

Considering that you derive all your ii7 chord voices/movements from that Relative Maj 6 dim scale, I can't imagine getting too much out or it either.

[Alzo]

I have been working with the concept for a time now, and it's starting to really take shape. I don't post here much, but I do have a look from time to time and appreciate many people's ideas and views on playing and interpreting music.

There were aspects to this approach that I already used, for example one needs a good grounding in the diminished/dom7 relationship, also solid knowledge of relative major/minor harmony, as just like the diminished scale it is strongly represented by a min3/6th interval, this can help you understand the major and relative minor 2-5-1 cadence as being harmonically the same.

I must point out that I don't have the book, but I do have the Chordability DVD by Roni Ben-Hur, which has some examples, and Roni is great. From my POV at the moment, the harmonised 6dim scales are just inversions of the tonic chord and the dim chord, if you already know your dim/dom7 relationship well, then it should really be very simple.

So it seems guitarplayer007, you need to make some observations and practical applications of some pre-requisite material and information, as this method has certain sublime qualities to it. In a way it's simply a POV which can be very handy and kinda "collate" what could otherwise be disjointed ideas and concepts into a unified approach, yet in another way it's totally new and fresh, if it's totally new and fresh to you then it'll be a steep road indeed.

I have only heard good things of the book, and to rate it so negatively on Amazon seems premature.

[guitarplayer007]

Question

Lets say i'm playing 2-5-1 in C
Do i used the Fmaj6 over the Dm7 the 2 chord?
And do I use Dmin6 for the G7?
And C6 for Cmaj7?
Someone told this is how I should start, but I don't hear this sounding right.
Thx
ken

[JPMike]

What's the name of the book? Sorry to hijack the thread, I just wanna buy it and can't find it on amazon.

[jckoto3]

JPMike,

The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar by Alan Kingstone.

[JPMike]

JPMike,

The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar by Alan Kingstone.

Thank you, I guess you can only buy it from the link you provided.