Barry Harris "miscellaneous rule"

[pamosmusic]

Trying to decide if I'm losing it, vis a vis the supposed "miscellaneous rule."

This rule is described as follows in the Howard Rees book ...

"Start on a note, go up to any note, and (when descending), follow a rule for the starting note. (If the half-step falls on the beat, put it at the bottom of the phrase)"

Other than this one, the rules are described pretty clearly, but I can't make heads or tails of the last clause in this one ("bottom of the phrase"). On top of which, I don't think the first part is true as written. In some cases, it works to follow the rule of the first note in the descending run. Not the first note of the phrase in general.

But others, no.

Say you go up from A to Bb and then down to A G F E D C Bb ... in that case you're following the rule of the A (the first note in the line) and not of Bb (the first note in the descending line).

But if you go up from A to Bb to C, then down to Bb A G F E D, you don't land on a chord tone.

If you go up from A to Bb to C, then down to B Bb A G F E, you land on a chord tone, so you're following the rule of the Bb (first note of the descending line) and not of the A (the first note in the whole line).

My assumption is that something about the second clause that I don't understand is the part that squares this circle, but for my life I can't figure out what it is.

[pamosmusic]

EDIT

I knew this would be like taking a car to a mechanic.

Solved it.

There's a note earlier that the next few rules apply only to scales "descending from at least the octave" Which of course is the same as the other rules. Something about this one seemed like it should line up at the downbeat but it’s an extension of the line instead.

So they might not "come out right" if you're trying to land on the downbeat, but if you descend all the way to the octave below the note where you started, then they all hit the chord tone on a downbeat, and thus come out right.

Thank you all for your time and attention in this matter. Leaving it up, because I googled this and nothing came up. So the next poor schmuck will find the answer and spare his or herself the embarrassment.

[Christian Miller]

I don’t understand it now. Where is this in the book?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pamosmusic]

Page 10, letter c

[Bobby Timmons]

It's just scalar line half step rule organization. If you start a line by going up a small amount of notes and then back down, you use the same half steps as you would going back down as if you were only going down from your 1st note.

[pamosmusic]

It's just scalar line half step rule organization. If you start a line by going up a small amount of notes and then back down, you use the same half steps as you would going back down as if you were only going down from your 1st note.

Yeah it just only works if you go back the whole octave. So it necessarily fills more than a bar and some of the lines can be quite long

[Bobby Timmons]

Yes, all these systems require molding. It doesn't always work out cookie cutter.

[pamosmusic]

Yeah I mean. I get that. I’m truly not sure why I was so confused by this for so long. Though I admittedly still don’t understand the “half step downbeat” part.

[Bobby Timmons]

Haha, what is the half step downbeat part?

[pamosmusic]

Trying to decide if I'm losing it, vis a vis the supposed "miscellaneous rule."

This rule is described as follows in the Howard Rees book ...

"Start on a note, go up to any note, and (when descending), follow a rule for the starting note. (If the half-step falls on the beat, put it at the bottom of the phrase)"

the part in parentheses

[Bobby Timmons]

Maybe it means this system likes entering into half steps starting the phrase on a down beat, and if you're going into the half steps on an up beat it's more for ending the phrase.

[Tal_175]

"If the half-step falls on the beat ..." is demonstrated in the last example of 12-c I believe. Here we start with the note G which means 1 or 3 half steps. But when we start our descend from the note C if we put a half step, the note B (natural) will be on the down beat. That's why this half step note was added at the "bottom of the phrase" when it goes down an octave.

[pamosmusic]

"If the half-step falls on the beat ..." is demonstrated in the last example of 12-c I believe. Here we start with the note G which means 1 or 3 half steps. But when we start our descend from the note C if we put a half step, the note B (natural) will be on the down beat. That's why this half step note was added at the "bottom of the phrase" when it goes down an octave.

See that sounds right, but this rule only works if you only put the passing notes in the bottom octave, meaning below your starting note.

I guess I mean that this rule encompasses (I think) every instance wherein a passing note ends up above your starting note anyway. So it seems like a better way if saying it would be “only use the added note rules below the starting note” or something.

Instead, the way it’s written left me confused for like …. Six months

[Christian Miller]

Yep I think Tal's right.

[pamosmusic]

Yeah agreed. Just truly perplexed by the presentation of that idea. That book and video are spectacular and that one sentence seemed like a copy editor made some changes from the barstool or something.

[pauln]

...changes from the barstool...

"Changes From The Barstool" would be a great title for a C&W tune!

[Mick-7]

What book are you talking about here?

[joe2758]

I think theyre talking about the booklet that comes with the dvd set

[pamosmusic]

I think theyre talking about the booklet that comes with the dvd set

yessir