Barry HarrisThe method

Chris Parks · Stage 3: Where chords come from

Barry shows us much more than exercises: using thirds

Episode 122 · 13:17 · On YouTube · In the lesson player

Chris shows that Barry’s scale-in-thirds drills are material for real lines. He adds half steps below the thirds, starts them on the beat and on the ‘and’, then fits them into the opening of Indiana or Donna Lee, A flat major running into F7 and B flat 7. He stresses that the next step after one scale is movement into the next chord, and urges exploring freely to build your own vocabulary.

Step by step

  1. 0:00The test case: the opening of Indiana or Donna Lee, A flat major up and down to the third of F (A natural), then B flat 7.
  2. 0:40Barry’s order: the scale up and down, then the scale in thirds up and down.
  3. 1:18Put a half step below the first note of each third; coming down, put it below the top note of each third.
  4. 2:55Another version: hit the note, the half step below, the note again, then go up a third; play these on the ‘and’ too.
  5. 3:46Fit the thirds into the almost two bars of A flat major before the F7.
  6. 5:42Start on the third, come down the F augmented arpeggio, and land on the second of B flat 7 with two half steps.
  7. 6:19Or from the second of B flat 7 go up a minor third on Barry’s chromatic scale to the fourth, then come down a chord.
  8. 7:43The step after one scale is movement: A flat major may go to A flat 7, to G minor 7 flat 5 and C7, or here to F7.
  9. 8:19Start on the ‘and’, or at the F7 come down a chord from the second of B7, its tritone.
  10. 11:24Explore without fear of sounding corny, then judge honestly which phrases to keep, so you build your own vocabulary.

Chords and notes in this video

Tap a time to jump to it in the video.

Line1:18
𝄞♭♭♭
C4GACA♭B♭D♭
  1. G
  2. A♭
  3. C
  4. A
  5. B♭
  6. D♭

Barry’s own words on this

3.1 The raw materials10.1 Be a movement player6.2 The augmented arpeggio and the diminished on the third of the dominant7.2 Building phrases from small pieces (class phrases)

In the course

ThirdsScale outlinesBarry’s chromatic scaleBe a movement playerMake your own vocabulary

Transcript

  1. 0:00Hello and welcome to episode 122 of Things I’ve Learned from Barry Harris. And today I thought we would discuss the importance of thirds and the fact that they’re not just an exercise that you should learn single note wise on your instrument, but also they’re very useful when improvising, like super useful. So I thought we could use maybe Indiana or Donnelly to talk about it, and we’d use maybe the first part of Donnelly or Indiana, which is A-flat-major scale up and down, down to the third of F, because it goes to F7, and then we’ll think B-flat-7 up and down.
  2. 0:40So that’s the very first part of the song. So we got A-flat-major up and down to the third of F, which is going to be that A-natural. Then B flat 7 up and down. That’s as far as we’ll do. So now when Barry has you practice the scale, he likes you to say scale up and down. The second thing he has you do is scale in thirds. Which is really pretty. Then down. Now these are all things that we have come accustomed to practicing.
  3. 1:18but we have to start hearing them in terms of lines a lot of times. I think that’s the next step. The other thing that he has you do is he says, let’s put a half step below each one of those. So the first one was a third, so instead we’re going to put a half step below the A flat. Next third was B flat and D flat. So you put the half step below the B flat, so now you get this. And on the way down, you could do the same thing, but now you could do it from the highest note of the third. So, we’re coming down.
  4. 1:51We start on C natural. We’re going to say B, C. Sorry. So, down. Last one. Sorry. Okay, so now that’s another way you can look at it. That’s if you’re thinking of it starting, let’s see. That’s starting on the beat.
  5. 2:23One, two. So now what if you started with the half step below, but starting on the end? So it’d be like one, two, three, four, one. That’s a nice one, too. Let’s see. for one. Nice, just a little variation of it. Another nice third is to, let’s say, instead of just going A-flat straight to C, maybe we’ll start on A-flat, and we’ll hit the A-flat,
  6. 2:55play a half-step below it, go back to the A-flat, then go up a third. So we’ll do something like... Now, if you did that on every point of the scale, you start on B-flat, you’re going to say... Same thing. Same thing going down. Those are really pretty. What if we did that starting on the and? So, one, two, three, four, one. Okay, so that’s just a couple of things you can practice.
  7. 3:46So now you say, all right, let’s try to put them into a song. So again, we said let’s start off with the beginning of Don Lee or Indiana in A-flat. We’ve got A-flat major up and down to the third of F. So now we have to figure out, let’s try to use some of those thirds in that space of time, which is basically almost two measures of A flat major into the F7. Almost two measures. So we have to figure out little ways to play it. So let’s try the first one. That was nice.
  8. 4:21I just went right up thirds. That time I just went up third. Let’s start from the third. Now let’s do the A flat with the half step below. So we’ll say. That’s a nice one. Or let’s see, start on the third. Let me try that again.
  9. 4:58Oh, that’s nice. Those are all pretty ways to play it. How about if we start with, let’s start on a note, and we’ll do that where you start on a note, go down a half step, and then go back up to note, then up a third. That’s a nice one. I just used F7 tritone. tone. Or I could have come down to the F augmented. That’s a nice one. But you see, the idea is,
  10. 5:42where can I run, let me start on the third. That’s a nice one. So when I got, when I did the one on the third. When I got to this F natural I came down a full augmented arpeggio. And then maybe ended on the second of the Bb7. And maybe since we’re on the second, let’s do two half steps. So let’s try that. Let’s see. That’s a pretty phrase.
  11. 6:19Or maybe, let’s go up. Let’s do Barry’s chromatic scale up. Let’s go up a third. So when we’re on the second of the Bb7, let’s go up. Let’s go up a minor third using Barry’s chromatic scale. So it would be this. And then we get to the fourth of the Bb7. Let’s come down a chord from the fourth of Bb7. That’s a nice one. So let’s see. That’s a pretty phrase. Nice phrase that covers this.
  12. 7:05That’s a pretty phrase that covers that whole first part. So the idea is, try to take the things that you’ve practiced on a scale to create a phrase leading into another movement. Like, A-flat major stuff is nice to practice. But then the second step after you practice all your A-flat major stuff is, A-flat major goes to where? Well, in this case, A-flat major goes into F7. So you have to try to run A-flat major into F7. So this is a very important thing. So now we’re going to use the stuff that you’ve learned to play on A flat major, but try to run it into F7. It’s like the next connecting thing.
  13. 7:43So again, first we practice, okay, what do I have to say on A flat major? The second thing, after you figure out what to practice on A flat major, A flat major goes someplace. That’s what Barry describes as movement. So where does A flat major go? Sometimes A flat major goes to A flat 7. Sometimes A flat major goes to G minor 7-5-5 to C7. Sometimes A flat major, in this case, goes to F7. So you learn how to connect those things. But the first thing is you’ve got to figure out pretty ways to play A flat major. And that’s what the concept of thirds and all this stuff is.
  14. 8:19Now what if I started on the and? Let’s start on the and. So the same one that we did before. But we’ll start on the and. So that’s going to sound like this. ah. That’s a nice one. One, two, three. I just did the first couple and then I came down that augmented, which I love. I love that sound. But maybe instead of augmented, maybe I’ll come down F7’s tritone is B7. So maybe I’ll come down the second of the B7. I’ll come down a chord. That’s coming down a chord from the second of the B7. So let’s see what that sounds like.
  15. 8:58Not really a quarter triad. That would have been nice too. So you see, you just try it. Let me start on the third. One, two, three. That’s a nice one. That was again that same augmented thing I like. But I just came down the augmented triad. That’s a nice one. What if we start on the fifth?
  16. 9:38Oh, that would be a nice way. Let’s 1, 2, 3. That wasn’t that great, but let’s see. Let’s see. Let’s come down and diminish. We could come down the major, but let’s come down and diminish. From the third of F7. So let’s see.
  17. 10:09One, two, three. That was a nice one, too. I don’t know if I’ve ever done that, but that’s a nice one. So you see, you try to just come up with different phrases. So just alone in this video, I probably played five or six things that I’ve never played before. That now I have to go back and watch and really try to get, so that now that’s in my repertoire of things when I’m playing a one to a six chord, or in this case, A flat major to F7.
  18. 10:43That could be any one to six in any key, it doesn’t matter. So anyway, this is how I think to practice Barry’s stuff. because Barry’s stuff is wonderful, but just like anything else that you learn, you have to be able to take it and then try to immediately make something musical out of it. And don’t be afraid to like, you hear, even when I’m trying these phrases, some of them don’t sound great, but that’s all right. So I just say, this is what I would consider my exploration phase. So I’m saying, okay, let me take this nugget of a thought, and let me try to expand on it and make it into a phrase.
  19. 11:24And the thing is, I can’t be afraid to make a mistake or to sound terrible or corny. Because if I do sound corny, I’m honest enough with myself to say, well, I’ll try not to play that again. But then also I have to be honest enough to say, I can be judgmental and say, you know what, I like that. I like that phrase. I’m keeping this one. I’m keeping this one. Let’s see. Anyway, the way the rest of the song goes.
  20. 12:05But that’s what you have to be able to say. You have to be able to use your judgment and say, you know what, I like the sound of that. I’m going to keep that one. And this is how you create your own vocabulary of beautiful phrases. I mean, I can’t imagine how anybody else does it. But this is how I feel like we can do it using Barry’s method. So that now we’re not just waiting for somebody else to play a phrase and then copycat their phrase. Which I do, too. Of course I do. I mean, I know bird phrases, too, just like anybody. But the thing is, if that’s all you are as a player is bird phrases, then that’s all you are.
  21. 12:46This is a person that plays bird phrases. If that’s what you choose to be, that’s totally fine. But let’s be better than that. Let’s try to really, I think, part of moving music forward, whatever kind of music you’re playing, is to take what the masters gave us, like what Barry is telling us, and try to use it to make something new from it. And that’s what you’re able to do with this stuff. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed practicing some of the beautiful things you could do with thirds. Until next time.