Chris Parks · Stage 5: The added-note rules
There is no such thing as a bebop scale
Chris explains why Barry rejects the ‘bebop scale’ label. The added note between tonic and flat seventh is only one of many places a half step can go: it is a rhythmic placeholder that keeps chord tones on the beat. Chris moves the placeholder around the D7 scale and applies Barry’s half-step rules, which open up far more phrases than one named scale.
Step by step
- 0:03What schools call the bebop scale: a dominant scale descending with a half step between tonic and flat seventh (C sharp on D7), which puts it in rhythm
- 1:14Barry rejects the label because it is too limiting: that is only one of many places to put a half step
- 1:50Treat the half step as a rhythmic placeholder; beboppers also put half steps between 3 and 2 and between 2 and 1
- 2:27Move the placeholder anywhere: make the added note the second, then the third, the fourth, and so on
- 3:04Or add the sixth; try each version over D7 to G major, coming down to the third, up a diminished, onto the fifth of G
- 3:45Compare the half step between tonic and seventh, on the sixth and on the second; starting on the second needs none
- 4:18Barry’s rules came from noticing where Charlie Parker put half steps, but he simply calls them half steps
- 4:53From the third, try one half step, the sixth version, then Barry’s rule of three half steps (3-2, 2-1, 1-7): what scale would you call that?
- 6:45Barry’s view: never learn something that limits you to one thing; learn the rules and you have endless options
Chords and notes in this video
Tap a time to jump to it in the video.
- D
- C#
- C
Barry’s own words on this
In the course
No bebop scale: the half step is a placeholderCome up a diminished from the third
Transcript
- 0:03hello and welcome to episode 54 of things I’ve learned from Barry Harris today we’re going to discuss Barry’s feelings about something called the bebop scale now Barry does not believe in what has later become known as the bebop scale which is just in case you don’t know is let’s say if we take a d7 scale well let’s just do dominant dominant scale what it is is a dominant scale descending and putting a half-step
- 0:39in between the tonic and the flat seven so in this case it would be between D and C which is the C sharp and the purpose of doing it is it makes it rhythmically correct so now people have seen that and have decided to label that a bebop scale Barre is strongly against that doesn’t believe in it and thinks it’s leaving out a lot if you call it a
- 1:14bebop scale and it’s taught all over it’s taught in every school it’s taught I mean if you if you if you put into the youtube search engine bebop scale you’re gonna see a million videos about it but what’s interesting is barri being in my opinion the greatest teacher of the music does not believe in it and his reason for it is it’s too limiting he thinks that’s just one of the many things you can do with a half-step so
- 1:50why would you label it a particular scale for instance the way that he thinks about it is he almost considers that a rhythmic place holder and yes they do a lot of the bee-boppers play a half step between tonic and seven because that’s a nice place to put it but they also put a half sometimes between 3 & 2 & 2 & 1 also which would give you this scale now should that scale have a separate name I don’t know maybe now what if you decided
- 2:27since we’ve we’ve said that that major 7 the C sharp is just a rhythmic placeholder we should be able to put that note anywhere and it will still come out right so instead of this mm-hmm let’s say we take tonic and let’s say we make the rhythmic placeholder the second so let’s go up and on so now that’s our scale so instead of this now here’s our scale maybe we’ll make it a third so now here’s our scale also beautiful and
- 3:04fourth and fifth and so on you can do it all day maybe we’ll go below it instead of playing this says the haps that maybe we’ll play the sixth as the half-step so we’ll make it this also beautiful so if we use these in examples let’s say we’re playing a d7 going to G major and let’s try to go down to the third and when we get to the third we’ll come up a diminished and on that the 5th of g-major but let’s see let’s start beautiful now here’s the
- 3:45half step between tonic and seven here’s I’ll put the on the sixth now I’ll put the half step on the major on the I’m sorry the second of the D seven so you see it’s a rhythmic placeholder now if we start on the second we got no half steps and again this is this goes back to Berry’s rules for his half steps he came up with rules because in the same
- 4:18way that people discussed the bebop scale he noticed the pattern that Charlie Parker seemed to put half steps in certain spots but he just calls them berry just calls him half steps he didn’t label one specific one as the bebop scale he just says it’s a half step between tonic and seven and I think the benefit of seeing it like that gives you a lot more options than just thinking of it as this one particular scale for instance if we started on the 3rd and we ran down
- 4:53we could play that’s true now that is would be the bebop scale starting from the 3rd moving down putting in the half step but like we said before we could put the half step anyplace so what if we did the one where we did instead of the major 7 we made it the 6 now we got this or one of berries or bullets through the second that’s pretty phrase [Music] beautiful phrase what if we started on
- 5:37the 3rd and we did berries 2nd rule which is three half steps between third and second second tonic and tonic and seven so now you get this now what scale would you call that with three half steps you wouldn’t call it us guys see but do you see how all of a sudden the reasons for calling that a bebop scale start to crumble so this is Berry’s way of looking at it and as far as I know I I don’t know if bird ever said bebop
- 6:13scale I mean i-i’ve never heard in a video or in a in a video of him talking did he ever mention the term bebop scale I might be wrong but the the main reason is it’s too limiting so if you think about it if you call this one half step just the be-bop scale think about all the other things that you’re missing when you do that when you’re limiting yourself and Barry’s feeling about
- 6:45improvisation is you should never learn something that just limits you to one thing it should be something that you can see endless possibilities in and that’s what his method of these half steps is well has been for me and it’s something to consider because you’re going to see the term bebop scale used all the time and he doesn’t believe in it at all and since he’s the only person I have studied with I don’t believe in it
- 7:19either and I’ve never had to because once I found out about the bebop scale or what other people refer to as the bebop scale I thought to myself well that’s just one half step that’s just one of the many rules that if you know your rules that’s just one of the things that you can use why would I want to just limit myself to just that but it’s just a different way to look at it and I hope as improvisers you consider it just an interesting way to look at it anyway I’ll make this one short hopefully I’ll make another one
- 7:51right after this but I hope you enjoyed lesson episode number 54 about why there’s no such thing as a bebop scale thanks until next time