The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hi everyone,
    I've been playing for 45+ years and studied with Rodney Jones, Ted Dunbar and Rick Stone. That doesn't mean I'm a good guitarist! Just that I have a pretty good understanding of the basics.

    Rick Stone mentioned Barry's system and he has some pdfs online that are very good introductions. Roni Ben-Hur also has some good info online. (I haven't checked out his Mike's Master Class yet).


    This post is not about the first two scales (Maj. 6th diminished and Min. 6th diminished).

    I've been working through Alan Kingstone's GREAT book (The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar) for the past couple years. It's a very good introduction to the Major and Minor 6th diminished scales, especially with tips like using the 6th off the 5th and borrowing notes. I'm very familiar with those first two scales.

    BUT...the Dominant 7th diminished and Dominant 7th b5 diminished scales are given scant attention. Just a few pages on how to spell them and some chord charts. Having spent this much time sorting through the Maj and Min 6th dim scales and still feeling like they take a back seat to what I already know, I am hesitant to work out every permutation of these last two scales. I've done what seemed obvious to me which is to borrow notes and see what other chords appear but it doesn't seem to be that big of a payoff. I don't think Alan used them much if at all in his version of "Like Someone in Love".

    What am I missing? Does anyone know how useful these scales are? Has anyone found a book/video that shows how to use these scales in depth? I wish Alan would write another book dealing with these scales!

    Thank you very much!
    Larry

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  3. #2

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    Alan is around here and posts from time to time when Barry Harris threads appear so maybe he'll pop in and comment.

  4. #3

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    i asked Alan this exact question a week or two ago, and this was his reponse:

    "I've heard him talk of both but he seems to favour 7b5o as it's comprised of 4 notes of the root and 4 notes of it's tri-tone.

    The application is dominant and he say's it's up to us to figure out how to use it. I've not explored it much.


    Barry reiterated last week that guitarists should be showing the pianists things.

    Let's do it!"

  5. #4

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    using the 6th off the fifth...

    is that playing e.g. d maj 6 (etc.) instead of g maj 6 (in g)?

    i've always kind of left that one in the background and concentrated (a lot) on the maj and min 6th dim scales and their various applications

    and i've largely ignored the two dominant chord scales too - after spending a lot of time with the barry harris stuff

  6. #5

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    How do you use them? For comping, particularly a very slow harmonic rhythm ( I.e., where the chords don't change that often) where are you can go from one inversion to the other via the diminished chords, or add borrowed notes from the dominants ---and demonstrate movement and diverse voicings where before you had the same old same old. Particularly if you know which chordd you can sub for.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Groyniad
    using the 6th off the fifth...

    is that playing e.g. d maj 6 (etc.) instead of g maj 6 (in g)?
    Yes. Or you can play a D min 6 off the 5th of a G6 and get the 9th and b7.
    Larry

  8. #7
    I guess my question goes more to why, when the first 2 scales (Maj and Min 6th dim.) open up many possibilities for movement, etc, do the last 2 scales just seem to lay there like standard inversions connected by diminished chords?

    The Barry Harry system is tantalizing in that it seems to offer a "theory of everything". But I'm stuck!
    Larry

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by podink
    I guess my question goes more to why, when the first 2 scales (Maj and Min 6th dim.) open up many possibilities for movement, etc, do the last 2 scales just seem to lay there like standard inversions connected by diminished chords?

    The Barry Harry system is tantalizing in that it seems to offer a "theory of everything". But I'm stuck!
    Larry
    There are a lot of Barry Harris Youtubes and when you hear Barry talk and demo his theory it help make it more understandable.

  10. #9

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    If you don't mind an observation from someone new to the whole thing - I don't have the actual answer but I would observe that on page 19 it says that for dominant chords you can play the m6 diminished on the 5th of the dominant root. So play Gmdim6 for a C7. The C7 diminished chord scale is the same thing only using the root instead of the 9th of C.

    I don't know if that helps with your question since I am not that far along studying this method. Just an observation. Maybe it's just not that useful because people like 9th chords with no roots rather than 7ths with roots. It may be that it's just not that useful. But, again - take it with grains (many) of salt coming from me.

    Cheers.

  11. #10

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    If you combine all the "6th on the 5th" and "brother and sister" concepts with the vanilla dom7 and dom7b5 scales, you have an amazing pallete of harmonic color to use in dominant contexts.

    Remember that the dominants that share the diminished chord are subs for eachother!

    K

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by ColinO
    If you don't mind an observation from someone new to the whole thing - I don't have the actual answer but I would observe that on page 19 it says that for dominant chords you can play the m6 diminished on the 5th of the dominant root. So play Gmdim6 for a C7. The C7 diminished chord scale is the same thing only using the root instead of the 9th of C.
    The Gm6/dim scale is basically a G melodic minor with a passing tone between 5th and 6th.

    G A Bb C D Eb E F#

    It is used for an unaltered dominant sound. Gm6/dim on C7

    For altered dominant you could use Dbm6/dim on C7

    Db Eb Fb (E) Gb Ab A Bb C which is basically Db melodic minor with a passing tone between 5th and 6th.

    I haven't spent much with the other 2...

  13. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by docbop
    There are a lot of Barry Harris Youtubes and when you hear Barry talk and demo his theory it help make it more understandable.
    Youtube is a great resource and I've watched a lot of Barry's videos but he doesn't address the two scales I'm talking about as far as I know. Just about everything I've googled and watched on Youtube covers the first two scales (Maj. and Min. 6th diminished).
    Larry

  14. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by nosoyninja
    If you combine all the "6th on the 5th" and "brother and sister" concepts with the vanilla dom7 and dom7b5 scales, you have an amazing pallete of harmonic color to use in dominant contexts.

    Remember that the dominants that share the diminished chord are subs for eachother!

    K
    You totally get it regarding the 1st two scales! I agree that all the concepts you mention give you an amazing palette of harmonic color.

    What I'm having trouble with right now is getting more out of the Dominant 7th Diminished and the Dominant 7th b5 Diminished scales besides just the 4 inversions interspersed with diminished chords.

    Ideas like "6th on the 5th", "brother and sisters", and borrowing notes are just some of the things that made the Maj. and Min. 6th diminished scales so great. I was hoping that I would start to see the last two scales open up in a similar way.
    Larry

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by podink
    Ideas like "6th on the 5th", "brother and sisters", and borrowing notes are just some of the things that made the Maj. and Min. 6th diminished scales so great. I was hoping that I would start to see the last two scales open up in a similar way.
    Larry
    I'm out so I can't reference the page I mean. But the use of dominant substitutions with brothers and sisters is mentioned specifically in the kingstone book. That means you can use the dom7 and dom7b5 in those contexts to create movement. No excercises though, your right.

    K

  16. #15

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    Found it! Page 14. If you apply the basic idea explained here to the dom7 and dom7b5 dim chord scales, you have a bunch of options to use over dominant contexts. Does that sound more like what your looking for?

    K

  17. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by nosoyninja
    Found it! Page 14. If you apply the basic idea explained here to the dom7 and dom7b5 dim chord scales, you have a bunch of options to use over dominant contexts. Does that sound more like what your looking for?

    K
    Doh! I hope you're right!

    I'm at work and my book is at home. I've been through the whole book at least twice and maybe didn't think about applying the options on page 14 to the dom7 and dom7b5 scales. I'm sure that whatever those page 14 options are, I DID apply them to the Maj and Min 6th dim scales.

    I tried to work through the whole book step-by-step as if Alan was giving me guitar lessons. I've missed stuff right in front of my face before!
    Thanks,
    Larry

  18. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by nosoyninja
    Found it! Page 14. If you apply the basic idea explained here to the dom7 and dom7b5 dim chord scales, you have a bunch of options to use over dominant contexts. Does that sound more like what your looking for?

    K
    I'm at home with my book. Page 14 deals with The Diminished Scale and the idea of related dominants and how they can sub for each other. Page 15 starts dealing with Sisters and Brothers.
    You might be onto something. I'll keep trying until I start drooling...

    Larry

  19. #18

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    Hey folks: I've been laid up though I fell asleep last night thinking about how to use these. I admit I've not spent a lot of time with them but I'm intrigued.

    Application of Sisters & Brothers ("Who do you play with first?" says Barry) is on page 39.

    We can substitute the Minor Sixth Diminished on the 5th or b2nd (with overhead bracket in examples) for the Seventh Diminished or Seventh Flat Five Diminished.

    The crucial thing is: MAKE IT WORK RHYTHMICALLY!

    Use the suggested rhythms on page 39 for both bars. Unlike the written examples we want to change from the Sixth (as m7) to the Seventh Flat Five as the related Diminished are different.

    Putting the triplet in will make it work.

    I'm really thrilled my book is useful to you folks and helping you improvise while chording.

  20. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by A. Kingstone
    Application of Sisters & Brothers ("Who do you play with first?" says Barry) is on page 39.

    We can substitute the Minor Sixth Diminished on the 5th or b2nd (with overhead bracket in examples) for the Seventh Diminished or Seventh Flat Five Diminished.
    Thank you for responding Alan!
    If we are playing | Am7 | D7 | GMaj7 | , do you mean: | CM6 | Dom 7th dim or Dom 7b5 dim | GM6 |?



    Quote Originally Posted by A. Kingstone
    Use the suggested rhythms on page 39 for both bars. Unlike the written examples we want to change from the Sixth (as m7) to the Seventh Flat Five as the related Diminished are different.

    Putting the triplet in will make it work.
    I was thinking that the only bar in question was the 2nd bar. Should I be thinking differently about using the CM6 as a sub for Am7 if I plan to use one of the Dominant scales?

    Your suggested rhythms are 4 quarters for the 1st bar then a 1/2note triplet with 2 quarters in the 2nd bar (1st variation). I just want to make sure I understand what you mean when you stress both bars.

    I confused about how to use the Dom 7 dim and Dom 7b5 dim in the second bar. The obvious choices to me are to play either chord scale on the root or Tritone. Is that correct or am I missing something?
    Thanks!
    Larry

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by podink
    Thank you for responding Alan!
    If we are playing | Am7 | D7 | GMaj7 | , do you mean: | CM6 | Dom 7th dim or Dom 7b5 dim | GM6 |?

    Yes! D7o or D7b5o (same as Ab7b5o)



    I was thinking that the only bar in question was the 2nd bar. Should I be thinking differently about using the CM6 as a sub for Am7 if I plan to use one of the Dominant scales?

    Yes but only rhythmically. If you use a triplet in bar one the last chord will be the C6 changing to D7b5o, a stronger sound than from Bo.

    Your suggested rhythms are 4 quarters for the 1st bar then a 1/2note triplet with 2 quarters in the 2nd bar (1st variation). I just want to make sure I understand what you mean when you stress both bars.

    As above.

    I confused about how to use the Dom 7 dim and Dom 7b5 dim in the second bar. The obvious choices to me are to play either chord scale on the root or Tritone. Is that correct or am I missing something?

    Correct!

    I've not had a chance to put this to the strings but I'm curious how it will sound on the VI7 function (A7b5o).

    All the best Larry.


    Alan

    Thanks!
    Larry

    …...
    Last edited by A. Kingstone; 12-12-2014 at 10:19 PM.

  22. #21

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    I really think page 39 is the key here as per Alan's recomendation.

    To me the key issue is you asked if Cmaj6 should be a sub for Am7. I'm just trying to help you here, not criticize. To me that is one of the biggest concepts of the book:

    Cmaj6 IS Am7

    These aren't substitutions, there harmony from a different perspective.

    One primary for me in my training using Alan's book was understanding that I was not learning 'substitutions' but that I was learning an entirely new way of looking at chord changes. When I see your example, I'm immediatley thinking CM6 to G.

    On page 18 Alan gives an anecdote about Monk's understanding of m7b5 being a m6 with a 6 in the base. A perfect example of how to use this book as a 'non-standard' way to understand changes.

    Again, you might already realize this and the Am7 could have been a fluke. Just trying offer some assistance in answering your question.

  23. #22

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    After playing around with it for a few minutes this morning here are some chords that can be played by borrowing 1,2 or 3 notes from either the C7b5 or it's related dim....somewhat random

    C7#5(b13)
    C9b13
    Bbaug/E
    E7
    Bmin6
    Bb7
    Fmin6
    FmMaj7
    D9#11
    Ab13
    Gb13
    E/F
    Gbb13

    etc....

    To my ears it's sounds exactly what the name implies, C7b5 dim....a kind of hybrid Whole Tone Diminshed

    C D E F Gb Ab Bb B
    Last edited by djangoles; 12-13-2014 at 10:42 AM.

  24. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by djangoles
    After playing around with it for a few minutes this morning here are some chords that can be played by borrowing 1,2 or 3 notes from either the C7b5 or it's related dim....somewhat random

    C7#5(b13)
    C9b13
    Bbaug/E
    E7
    Bmin6
    Bb7
    Fmin6
    FmMaj7
    D9#11
    Ab13
    Gb13
    E/F
    Gbb13

    etc....

    To my ears it's sounds exactly what the name implies, C7b5 dim....a kind of hybrid Whole Tone Diminshed

    C D E F Gb Ab Bb B
    I love this kind of stuff. One of the first things I did after reading Alan's chapter on borrowing was to start picking shapes or notes from adjacent chords and running it through the scales. Also I like to experiment with scales like the Dom 7b5 starting from different notes of the V chord instead of using the root or tritone, I'll pick the 3rd or b7 just to see what harmony results. Some are unplayable/unlistenable but I've come across some really interesting phrases that way. Cool man!
    Larry

  25. #24
    I'm having lots of fun experimenting with the Dominant 7 dim scales but I have one question which is unrelated. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

    For this progression
    | Am7 | D7 | G |

    We can use CM6 over the Am7 chord right? But doesn't that produce an Aeolian minor 7th with a flat 6th? What if I really want a Dorian ii chord?

    I know a Dorian Am7 with natural 6th is hidden in the GM6 dim scale but it requires some work to extract it (borrowing notes, etc). I'm spoiled by the simplicity of running the CM6 dim off the minor third of Am7 and I'm trying to figure out an elegant way to do the same thing over a dorian vamp using Barry's system.

    Of course I use every trick I know when actually playing so it's not like I'm thinking I must use Barry's system exclusively! I just want to wring everything I can out of it.
    Larry

  26. #25

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    Barry's harmonic and soloing theories are separate. Barry's soloing method is mainly about Dominant 7th scales.

    For instance:

    Am7 / D7

    Barry would say D7 scale into Ab7 scale. The TWO chord is built on the 5th degree of the Dominant scale. There is no need to play it.

    For further study in this direction I again suggest Howard Rees excellent workshop videos with Barry.