Barry Harris Method (Explaned by Alec Lehrman) [PDF]

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Barry Harris Method (Explaned by guitarrist Alec Lehrman)

Vídeo 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s-iq-f3nFw Barry Harris is an iconic jazz piano player that is famous for his "diminished 6th" scale. We take a look at this and apply it to modern day guitar.

Barry Harris' first rule is that we add a "diminished 6th" in the major scale. So the C Major scale now would have a G#, C - D - E - F - G - G# - A - B

Barry Harris' second rule is that major 7th intervals are too tense and they need to be resolved. So instead of using major 7th chords like Cmaj7, he uses major 6th chords. Cmaj6 = C E G A

Given these two rules, we can derive chords from C - D - E - F - G - G# - A - B

Chord 1) C E G A Chord 2) D F G# B Chord 3) E G A C Chord 4) F G# B D Chord 5) G C E A Chord 6) G# B D F Chord 7) A C E G Chord 8) B D F G#

If you notice, chords (1), (3), (5) and (7) are all the same Cmaj6 chord.

Additionally, chords (2) (4) (6) and (8) are all the same G7b9 chord.

So the result of the Barry Harris method is that we simplify the scale into two chords, which makes it easier to conceptualize the scale. We now have only 2 chords to worry about!

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Barry Harris Method (Explaned by guitarrist Alec Lehrman)

Vídeo 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXsmQsCmjEY Hey everyone! This is the 2nd installment of my Barry Harris series.

In this video, we explore the Barry Harris method as applied to the minor scale with a natural 6 in it. The only difference between this scale and the major scale is this scale has a b3.

So in the key of Gminor (Gminor 6), our Barry Harris scale tones are G - A - Bb - C - D - Eb - E - F# - (G)

This scale is perfect for Gminor6 chords, as well as C7, C9, and C13 chords.

This scale is equivalent to the G melodic minor with the addition of an Eb note.

When we apply this to the first part of Ornithology, we can use the Barry Harris G major dim 6 scale to harmonize the melody over G major. When the melody changes to Gm - C7, we can use the Gminor6 dim 6 scale to harmonize the melody. The very last note is a Bb, and for this I recommend using a Bbdiminished chord, as it implies a C7b9 chord. This adds tension and resolves to the Fmaj in the next bar of the phrase.

In the next video, we will explore Ornithology more closely and examine the whole song through the lense of Barry Harris.

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Barry Harris Method (Explaned by guitarrist Alec Lehrman)

Vídeo 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU05pRdFLi8 In this video we look at the Barry Harris Method as applied to Charlie Parker's "Ornithology". Let's take a look at the first 8 bars of the song

G / G / Gm / C7 / F / F / Fm / Bb7 /

For the melody over G, I am using the G major dim 6 scale ie G A B C D D# E F# (refer to video one)

For the melody over Gm, I am using the Bb major dim 6 scale ie Bb C D Eb F F# G A (refer to video one) When we get to the part in the melody that we have an E natural note over the Gm, we need to borrow from the Gm6 scale ie G A Bb C D D# E F# (refer to video 2) After this E natural note, we have an F note, so we are back to the Bb major dim 6 scale.

For C7, we talked about in video 2 that Gm6 = C7. So for C7 we can think Gm6 dim 6 scale ie G A Bb C D D# E F# (refer to video 2)

For the F chord, we are using the F maj dim 6 scale ie F G A Bb C C# D E At one point in the melody we encounter an "Ab" note which is not in the F major dim 6 scale. For this note, I play an Fdiminished chord with an Ab at the top. I do this because it has a strong pull to the next note, being an A.

For the Fm7, we know that Fm7=Abmajor. However after the first melody note of "Ab", I quickly switch into the Fm6 dim 6 scale ie F G Ab Bb C Db D E The melody notes are [G F E G F] and I am using an E diminished chord with a G on the top, then an Fm6 with an F on the top. Then a Dbdiminished with an E on the top, then a E diminished with a G on the top, and finally an Fm6 with an F note on the top.

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