Chris Parks · Stage 5: The added-note rules
Being free when soloing
Chris practises the same phrase starting on the beat and then on the ‘and’. He recalls Barry telling the class that starting on the ‘and’ reverses the half-step rules, and shows how triplets and offbeat starts turn one F7 phrase into many, so you are free rhythmically as well as in note choice.
Step by step
- 0:35The story: after Chris had practised the half-step rules, Barry mentioned that starting on the ‘and’ reverses them, and Chris realised all his phrases started on the beat.
- 1:12Bird, Bud, Barry, Hawkins and Rollins start phrases anywhere in the bar; aim for rhythmic freedom as well as freedom of notes.
- 1:53On F7, start on the third on the beat and come down with one half step between tonic and seventh.
- 2:29Add an eighth-note triplet and take the half step out; add a sixteenth-note triplet instead and put it back.
- 3:09Move the sixteenth-note triplet to other beats, or use two, to get many versions of the same phrase.
- 3:46Start on the ‘and’ and the rules reverse: from the third use no half steps or two, instead of one or three.
- 5:30Use Barry’s rhythm tester, starting the phrase on each beat in turn, until you feel every beat; Chris still practises this.
- 6:46Try starting on the ‘and’ of two, and practise your usual phrases starting off the beat.
- 8:03What Chris will miss: Barry showing an idea at once inside a tune like Indiana at a fast tempo.
Barry’s own words on this
In the course
Coming out right: why half stepsStart on the ‘and’ and the rules reverseFeel the ‘and’Take off one note: Barry’s rhythm exerciseEighth- and sixteenth-note triplets in linesPut it in a songFreedom and your own voice
Transcript
- 0:00Hello and welcome to episode 109 of Things I Learned from Barry Harris. And today I thought we could go over practicing phrases first on the beat, then on the end of the beat. Just to see the difference. And even though it’s a slight difference, it’s an extremely important difference. And it brings more balance to your playing. So I think I told the story before but I’m not sure if I told it on the channel. But I remember one time in class after I had spent a lot of time practicing for
- 0:35instance Barry’s half-step rules and I said okay I think I have them together enough at least in a couple of positions and I felt comfortable with them. And I remember he said just matter-of-factly at the class that particular night he said oh and by the way if you start on the end of the beat all the rules reverse. So it took a second to sink in and then after it sunk in I realized oh man I’ve been practicing everything on a beat which means all the phrases that I’ve created for myself will all have the same thing in common. They were all on the beat. And then of course if you realize
- 1:12that if you listen to the masters like Bud and Bird and Barry and Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins they start phrases anywhere on the beat. It doesn’t matter. Anywhere. It doesn’t matter. Especially ands. They do it anywhere. They start on the and of two, the and of four, the one, the three. It doesn’t make a difference. It’s totally free. So in a sense, they are not only free with their note choice, which is what we usually spend a lot of time working on, note choice, but they’re also free rhythmically. and that’s the whole thing. That is the whole thing. If you can be free with your note choice,
- 1:53so all the different phrases that we come up with is great, but if you can also be free rhythmically, then you really have something. I think that’s when you’ve really achieved a level where you can be confident with your playing, you know, like nothing’s going to throw you. So I’ll just show you, for instance, if we take a phrase, and let’s say, maybe we’ll just talk in, let’s talk an F7. Okay, so if we took a phrase, let’s say, like we started on the third beat and we came down to the third and we put one half step between tonic and seven, that’s one of the rules. That’s a pretty
- 2:29phrase. Maybe we’ll add an eighth note triplet on the third, so we won’t use a half step, we’ll take half step out. Or maybe we’ll put in a 16th note triplet so we’ll keep that half step in. So we’ll say So here’s our phrase already. So first we started with then we did an eighth note triplet, removed the half step. Now we’ll take that same phrase and we’ll add a 16th note triplet so we’ll put that half step back we’ll say and then maybe we can put that 16th note triplet anywhere we could say
- 3:09so let’s see or maybe we’ll say that was putting it on the second beat maybe let’s do it on the second beat and the third beat maybe what would be the last beat That’s pretty too. So how about if we do it on the second beat and the last beat? That’s a nice phrase. So do you see how many ways we just played that same phrase? All those different ways adding triplets. Now if you start on the and instead of the beat, the rules are
- 3:46going to reverse. So where normally the rules for the third is is an odd number and it’s going to be one half step or three half steps. Now it’s going to be like it’s an even number, which would be no half steps or two half steps. So let’s do that. If we start on the end, it’s going to be no half steps. Let’s try that. One, two, three, four, one. Now it’s a different phrase. One, two, three, four, three. Beautiful phrase, but on the end.
- 4:21See how different it feels? instead of two, three, four, ah. Now maybe we’ll add two half steps. So let’s try that. One, two, three, four, ah. I mean, that is beautiful. Did you hear how different that phrase is? I mean, that is a beautiful phrase now. So we took, just think about it this way. We said, let’s start on the third.
- 4:54So when we started on the beat, we said, okay, let’s do the half steps for the third, the actual half steps, which we started one. Now, we didn’t even think of three. Let’s do three, starting on the beat. One, two, three, four. That’s a pretty one. So look, if I was saying, one leaves, right? Or let’s start on the end. Let’s do the thing that we did before, which would be... But see, you really have to make a concerted effort to say,
- 5:30let me start on the end. I am not one of those people that can just naturally feel rhythm like it’s no problem. Like if you told me to start on the end of three, I could just feel it perfectly. I have to still practice that to the point where I really feel that. And see that’s why Barry’s, this great thing of Barry’s tester for his, for feeling the rhythm where you start with this phrase and you say, two, three, four, one, and you constantly take it off. That’s awesome. That’s another Barry Harris brilliant thing that he lays out so simply for us to feel every beat.
- 6:09But these are really important, these half-step rules. So what it’s made me think is, when I’m playing, and I know you really can’t think of this while you’re playing because it’s going by so fast, you’re just reacting to things. So you have to practice it to the point that it comes out in your reactions. So for me, that’s something that I have to really practice a lot. So taking similar things that I’m used to, and let’s say I’m sick of every time I start on the third, I do the same thing. or maybe I pin it, which is fine, there’s nothing wrong with that, but do you see how,
- 6:46well, triplets really make a huge difference, but also starting on the ands. So, one, two, three, four, one, two. That was starting on the and of the two. It really feels good. So, like. But it’s a super important thing to practice. So, again, I know this is a short video, but I would just say,
- 7:23to think that Barry just showed us these half-step rules and these beautiful ways to come out right, to play scale notes on the beat, is true. but what he also showed us was ways to identify how to rhythmically attack things that are different so it’s almost like the common thread among the things that Barry teaches is is freedom the whole thing is freedom is to be free it takes a lot of practice and I’m not I’m certainly not there yet but I’m working at it I’m working at it and I know a lot of people are working at it I’m happy but
- 8:03But what he shows you, even in his own playing, is his freedom. Not to dwell on his passing, but I was talking to somebody and I was saying, you know, the thing that we’re going to miss the most, that we don’t have anymore, is when Barry was talking about these things, he would then go right away into a song and show you the perfect examples of the things he was talking about. Not pre-planned, just on the spot. Because he never knew what he was going to talk about in class anyway, which was one of the fantastic things.
- 8:35It just came off the top of his head, which was unbelievable. But then to show us, for example, there was nothing he prepared. So he would say, oh, here’s a nice place to, let’s practice doing things on the end. And then he would start playing Indiana or I want to be happy or something, like really fast tempo, and just throw it in like it was nothing. And instantly you feel that feeling of, wow, that’s it. That’s what we need. That’s what I need. I need to be able to feel, to play like that and then to feel like that after I play. So that is the thing that is never going to be replaced.
- 9:13So we just have to do our best to practice his rules and to put things together and really try to create nice phrases for ourselves. But I really believe that that’s the only thing that we’re not going to have anymore, is that type of immediate, not justification, but the immediate example of the perfectly fluid idea that he was just talking about a second ago that he’s putting into practical use, which was incredible. And I mean, everybody who’s been around him has seen him do it a million times.
- 9:48But anyway, until next time, practice similar phrases that you’re used to playing, but start them on the end of beats instead of on the beat. Until next time, thanks.