Official Barry Harris Thread

**Bobby Marshall** · 10-14-2016, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by joe2758

Scale practice or "the ABC's" Cont.

1. Practice major arps down chromatically in all inversions; this is actually super easy and natural to do on guitar.
Do Sol Mi Do then half step down to next arp Do Mi Sol Do then half step down to next arp Do Sol Mi Do. etc... including inversions.

2. "The Harris Half-step Practice Model": It's about rhythm. Major and minor have different suggested added notes, but the idea is the same (and when it comes down to it, the added note can be any note). A descending dominant scale from tonic to tonic should have 1 extra note (suggested between 8-b7 like BostonJoe said). Starting on 9th to tonic (he says 2, but I think 9th is clearer) can have no extra notes or two extra notes (between 9-8 and 8-b7). Starting on odd numbered degrees gets 1 extra note, even numbered degrees get 0 or 2 extra notes.

3. Various rules for adding triplets and intervals to the above descending runs.

4. The chromatic scale breaks down to two whole tone scales. 3 diminished chords are created by taking two notes from each whole tone scale. There are 4 dominant 7th chords related to each diminished chord

For #2, if you call the 2nd a 9th then is it treated as even for purposes of the 1 or 0-2 extra notes? This may be why he called 2nd.

**joe2758** · 10-14-2016, 01:33 PM

Good point Bobby! Stick with what Barry says, but just know we're talking about notes extending past the octave

**matt.guitarteacher** · 10-14-2016, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by Boston Joe

Awesome stuff, Joe! Point of clarification - you say the dominant scale is the mixolydian, but there should be an extra note in there, right? The "bebop dominant" scale I learned by way of David Baker has it between the b7 and the R. Is that the case here as well?

Also, note, rhythmically, what's happening. If you play up to the seventh and back, rhythmically, you end up where you want to be anyway. It would be different if you were descending root to root.

**MarkRhodes** · 10-14-2016, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by joe2758

3. Scales should be practiced in 3rds: Do Mi Re Fa Mi Sol etc
Starting a half step below each 3rd: Ti Do Mi Di Re Fa Ri Mi Sol etc
In triads: Do Mi Sol Re Fa La Mi Sol Ti etc

I haven't learned solfege----is that how Barry teaches this? Guess I should download a chart and memorize these terms. Is "Di" a raised One (or flat-second)?

**joe2758** · 10-14-2016, 02:28 PM

No he doesn't use solfege, sorry Mark. That's how I think. Di #1, ra b2, me b3, fi #4, se b5, si #5, le b6, te b7 should give you the idea. The work book is in musical notation, and when he speaks he says things like "tonic, second, third, flat three" etc

**joe2758** · 10-14-2016, 02:46 PM

By the way I wouldn't suggest anyone get the DVD set without the workbook.

**A. Kingstone** · 10-14-2016, 07:20 PM

Here are some articles from Keyboard Magazine by Howard Rees.

Jazz School Online - Evolutionary Voicings Prt I

Jazz School Online - Evolutionary Voicings Prt II

Jazz School Online - Chord Explorations

Jazz School Online - Diminished Dimensions

**MarkRhodes** · 10-14-2016, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by A. Kingstone

Here are some articles from Keyboard Magazine by Howard Rees...

Glad you're here, Alan. I think you've spent more time with Barry than anyone else here has, plus you literally wrote the book on applying Barry's method to the guitar.

Jazz School Online - Harmonic Method - Guitar

Jamey Aebersold Jazz: Product Display

**A. Kingstone** · 10-15-2016, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

Glad you're here, Alan. I think you've spent more time with Barry than anyone else here has, plus you literally wrote the book on applying Barry's method to the guitar.

Jazz School Online - Harmonic Method - Guitar

Jamey Aebersold Jazz: Product Display

Thanks Mark. For improvisation though Howard's products are the best in my opinion. I hope your copy arrives soon.

**MarkRhodes** · 10-15-2016, 08:33 PM

Yay! Workshop DVDs and book arrived today. (Saturday 14 October, 2016)

**David B** · 10-16-2016, 03:06 PM

Poor internet connection where I am today but I'll upload a video on 'Indiana' a la Barry tomorrow morning.

**MarkRhodes** · 10-16-2016, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by joe2758

By the way I wouldn't suggest anyone get the DVD set without the workbook.

I agree. Curiously, I saw someone offering the book alone---no DVDs---for $50 online. Just shook my head at that.

**joe2758** · 10-17-2016, 09:48 AM

omg I just wrote a whole 3rd part to end the overview of the ABCs and I lost the friggin thing.

oh well. I look forward to hearing what Mark thinks and seeing David's lesson

**MarkRhodes** · 10-17-2016, 10:30 AM

The first "basic" to give me pause was the thirds-with-a-half-step-added. That was a new one on me. It's taking a little time to get it smooth but I hear the value of it and realize this was something I didn't already know (-or hadn't learned to play at will), so I'm better off than I was before starting this. ;o)

**joe2758** · 10-17-2016, 10:41 AM

Right on, Mark. What really set off the ABCs for me was when I started adding in slurs. I started with a basic self imposed "rule": Any time I can conveniently do a hammer on or a pull off in the position I'm working in and is an "and" going to a down beat, I do it. Usually ends up being just a couple of slurs in either direction...really set it off for me.

**David B** · 10-17-2016, 03:08 PM

Here's my scale "road map" for Indiana (in F). Video (in which I talk through this) uploading now.

Official Barry Harris Thread-img_7487-jpg

**MarkRhodes** · 10-17-2016, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by David B

Here's my scale "road map" for Indiana (in F). Video (in which I talk through this) uploading now.

Thanks, David! I'll print this and put in my fast-growing Barry Harris folder.

**David B** · 10-18-2016, 07:32 AM

Here's 20+ minutes of me talking through the progression of 'Indiana'. Unfortunately the camera died whilst I talked through the final four bars of the tune, but they're easy enough to analyse!

I'm not holding out myself as an expert on any of this material or a strong player. We're all learning this together. In fact, I'd never looked at the tune 'Indiana' before posting that I would do a video, so it forced me to sit down and do some work!

EDIT: I should add that the video is set to 'unlisted' so can only viewed through this forum thread.

**David B** · 10-18-2016, 07:35 AM

I refer to a couple of videos during my ramblings:

Bebop Flow: Connecting Harmonic Concepts with the Family of 4 | Lesson | Mike's Master Classes

**MarkRhodes** · 10-18-2016, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by David B

Here's 20+ minutes of me talking through the progression of 'Indiana'. Unfortunately the camera died whilst I talked through the final four bars of the tune, but they're easy enough to analyse!

Thanks, David! I appreciate you taking the time to walk us through that.

**joe2758** · 10-18-2016, 12:25 PM

Thanks David! I look forward to watching that tonight. This thread is off to a great start imo

**MarkRhodes** · 10-18-2016, 04:04 PM

I take it that one should do this exercise---seeing which scales (in Barry's sense of the term) go with the chords of a standard progression---for other tunes. Blues and rhythm changes would be good starting points, I guess. (They may be done on the Workshop DVDs----I'm deliberately going no further with the DVD than I have gotten with "The Basics", and that's not very far yet.)

**joe2758** · 10-18-2016, 04:09 PM

that's literally exactly what he goes on to do, Mark!

**MarkRhodes** · 10-18-2016, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by joe2758

that's literally exactly what he goes on to do, Mark!

Great! I'll get there...eventually. (I'm in no rush to get there. All my rushing to get ahead with the guitar has made me waste a lot more time later going back and getting things I rushed past right.)