Barry HarrisThe method
Volume I · Foundations Stage 0, How Barry taught Idea 2 of 3123
0.2

Barry’s vocabulary‘up’, ‘down’, ‘up and down’, ‘to the third of’, ‘arpeggio’ vs ‘chord’

Barry gave lines as short spoken calls with exact meanings: scales run tonic to seventh; ‘up’, ‘down’ and ‘up and down’ give the direction; ‘to the third of’ gives the landing note; a ‘chord’ has four notes, an ‘arpeggio’ is a triad plus its octave.

In plain words

In Barry’s class every scale runs from the tonic to the seventh, never tonic to tonic. ‘Up’ means start on the tonic and run up to the seventh. ‘Down’ means start on the seventh and run down. ‘Up and down’ means tonic up to the seventh and back down. The seventh is the major seventh in a major scale and the flat seventh in a seven (dominant) scale. Even on the eight-note diminished scale, up and down goes only to the seventh note.

Practising the blues with the horns, part 10:00The 1998 workshop, part 2: breaking the habit27:15

A scale is named after a chord: ‘B♭ major’, ‘F7’, ‘F minor’. Barry reminds the class that every seventh scale is a major scale: the F7 scale is the B♭ major scale run from F. With these words a whole tune becomes a chain of scales. In one class a B♭ blues is recited as B♭7 up, E♭7 up, B♭7 up and down, and so on, and Barry says he expects everyone to know that basic blues.

Fast phrases for Perdido2:523:25Practising the blues with the horns, part 24:31Scales on Indiana in A-flat, part 10:01

‘To the third of’ names the landing note: keep running and finish on the third of the next chord. In Barry’s outlines the next chord is often a dominant whose third lies a half step above the tonic of the scale you are running, so the run ends on that note instead of the tonic: B♭ major to the third of G ends on B, E♭7 to the third of C ends on E.

Practising the blues with the horns, part 11:11Scales on Indiana in A-flat, part 10:011:44Tom Cleary (University of Vermont), What is this scale called: Charlie Parker ¶5Tom Cleary (University of Vermont), What is this scale called: Charlie Parker ¶6Frédéric Galliano, Notes on the Method of Barry Harris ¶134

A ‘chord’ is four scale notes, each skipping one note, played as a line: a ‘chord up on the third of B♭ major’. An ‘arpeggio’ is a triad with its bottom note repeated on top, like D F A♭ D in B♭7; a ‘triad’ is the bare three notes. Barry preferred to name these by the degree they start on rather than by chord symbol, because names confuse. Chris Parks: what most players call a G7 arpeggio is, for Barry, a chord.

Practising the blues with the horns, part 20:130:46The 1998 workshop, part 137:49Fast phrases for Perdido1:08Confirmation0:03Jazz GUITAR Reflections on BARRY HARRIS10:1610:48

Step by step

  1. ‘Up’: start on the tonic, run up to the seventh and stop. Do not go on to the octave.

    B♭ major up
    𝄞♭♭
    1. B♭
    2. C
    3. D
    4. E♭
    5. F
    6. G
    7. A
    B♭7 up
    𝄞♭♭♭
    1. B♭
    2. C
    3. D
    4. E♭
    5. F
    6. G
    7. A♭

    Practising the blues with the horns, part 10:00

  2. ‘Down’: start on the seventh and run down the scale.

    B♭ major down
    𝄞♭♭
    1. A
    2. G
    3. F
    4. E♭
    5. D
    6. C
    7. B♭

    Practising the blues with the horns, part 10:00

  3. ‘Up and down’: tonic up to the seventh, then back down.

    Practising the blues with the horns, part 10:00The 1998 workshop, part 2: breaking the habit27:15

  4. A seven scale is the major scale a fifth below, started on the dominant’s own tonic.

    F7 up (B♭ major from F)
    𝄞♭♭
    1. F
    2. G
    3. A
    4. B♭
    5. C
    6. D
    7. E♭

    Fast phrases for Perdido2:523:25

  5. ‘Down to the third of’ a chord: run down and land on that chord’s third. Here, from Barry’s Indiana outline, the B of G7 replaces the scale’s own tonic B♭.

    B♭7 down to the third of G
    𝄞♭♭
    1. A♭
    2. G
    3. F
    4. E♭
    5. D
    6. C
    7. B

    Scales on Indiana in A-flat, part 10:011:44

  6. ‘Chord on the’ a degree: the four notes built up from that degree, skipping one scale note each time, played as a line up or down. ‘Arpeggio on the’ a degree: the triad from that degree with its bottom note repeated on top.

    Chord on the third of B♭ major
    𝄞
    1. D
    2. F
    3. A
    4. C
    Chord on the second of B♭7
    𝄞♭♭
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. G
    4. B♭
    Arpeggio on the third of B♭7
    𝄞♭
    1. D
    2. F
    3. A♭
    4. D

    Fast phrases for Perdido0:001:08Practising the blues with the horns, part 20:46The 1998 workshop, part 137:49

  7. Put the words together into a call: where to start, what to add, which way to run, where to stop, what to do next. Barry’s own example: start on the third of B♭7, put one half step between the tonic and the seventh, run down the scale to the third, then play a chord up.

    From D in B♭7, one half step, down to the third
    𝄞♭♭♭
    1. D
    2. C
    3. B♭
    4. A
    5. A♭
    6. G
    7. F
    8. E♭
    9. D

    Half-step rules on the dominant scale, part 25:57The 1998 workshop, part 11:38

an added note, outside the scale

How he said to practise it

  • Play a call the moment it is given, in time and in eighth notes. Barry counted off straight after each call, stopped the class when it was wrong, and insisted on eighth notes rather than quarter notes.

    Practising the blues with the horns, part 10:000:371:113:00Scales on Indiana in A-flat, part 12:28

  • Write tunes out as scale calls. Barry dictated Indiana as a chain of ‘up’, ‘up and down’ and ‘down to the third of’, had the B♭ blues recited the same way, and wanted players to keep these outlines in their own books.

    Scales on Indiana in A-flat, part 10:010:33Practising the blues with the horns, part 24:31

In Barry’s words

Each one plays from the moment he says it. Every other moment he teaches it is listed below.

Every scale you play, you play from [tonic] to major seven... If I say up, you just go up. If I say down, you just go down from the seventh.

Practising the blues with the horns, part 1, The Hague, 1989–98. Barry sets the rules of his calls at the start of a horn class 0:00 Watch on YouTube

We played D, F, A-flat, and D. That’s a diminished arpeggio.

The 1998 workshop, part 1, The Hague, 1989–98. Pointing out the arpeggio on the third of B♭7 in the 1998 workshop 37:49 Watch on YouTube at 37:49

I even hate to call the chords by name on the scale, you know, because then you get confused... so you’d play a C-7 and you wouldn’t even know what it was.

Practising the blues with the horns, part 2, The Hague, 1989–98. Why he would rather not call the chords on a scale by name 0:46 Watch on YouTube at 0:46

Every 7th scale is a major scale, right? F 7 scale is B-flat major scale.

Fast phrases for Perdido, The Hague, 1989–98. Correcting a call from F major to F7 while practising Perdido 3:16 Watch on YouTube at 3:16

Where this comes from

Everything above is drawn from these. Open any one to check it.

Every moment he teaches it12 moments in 7 recordings

Each time opens the transcript there; the video plays when you are online.

Practising the blues with the horns, part 1

The Hague, 1989–98 — 26 min On YouTube

  1. 0:00

    Defines his calls: every scale tonic to seventh; what up, down, and up and down mean.

    Watch on YouTube

  2. 1:11

    Calls B♭ major up and down to the third of G, then up the diminished.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:11

Practising the blues with the horns, part 2

The Hague, 1989–98 — 8 min On YouTube

  1. 4:31

    Has the B♭ blues recited as a chain of scale calls; says everyone must know this basic blues.

    Watch on YouTube at 4:31

  2. 0:13

    Names the three important arpeggios of B♭7; would rather not name chords, since a chord is skip a note.

    Watch on YouTube at 0:13

Scales on Indiana in A-flat, part 1

The Hague, 1989–98 — 6 min On YouTube

  1. 0:01

    Dictates Indiana in A♭ as scales: up, up and down, down to the third of.

    Watch on YouTube at 0:01

  2. 3:00

    Asks why E♭7 goes up and down to the third of C: G half-diminished is its chord on the third.

    Watch on YouTube at 3:00

The 1998 workshop, part 1

The Hague, 1989–98 — 80 min On YouTube

  1. 37:49

    D F A♭ D is the arpeggio; when inverted, the same note must be on top and bottom.

    Watch on YouTube at 37:49

  2. 54:08

    Calls the chord up on the tonic of B♭ major, then with a half step below its first note.

    Watch on YouTube at 54:08

Fast phrases for Perdido

The Hague, 1989–98 — 4 min On YouTube

  1. 1:08

    Makes a student play a chord up on the third of B♭ major.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:08

  2. 2:52

    Start on the third of F7, run down to B♭: every seventh scale is a major scale.

    Watch on YouTube at 2:52

Half-step rules on the dominant scale, part 2

The Hague, 1989–98 — 8 min On YouTube

  1. 5:57

    Shows how he phrases a call: start on, half steps, run down to the third, chord up.

    Watch on YouTube at 5:57

The 1998 workshop, part 2: breaking the habit

The Hague, 1989–98 — 35 min On YouTube

  1. 27:15

    On the eight-note diminished scale, up and down still goes only to the seventh note.

    Watch on YouTube at 27:15

From the lessons1 lesson, 2 points

Notes taken from Barry’s classes, each tied to the moment it comes from.

How Barry calls a scale

  1. Exercise

    When Barry calls a scale, never play it from the tonic to the tonic an octave up. A major scale runs from the tonic up to the major seventh; a dominant seventh scale runs from the tonic up to its (flat) seventh. ‘Up’ means ascend only. ‘Down’ means start on the seventh and descend. ‘Up and down’ means go from the tonic up to the seventh and back down. Try his drill: B-flat major scale, up and down.

    Practising the blues with the horns, part 10:00

  2. Idea

    Barry said everything he taught was based on logic, which is why he felt no music teacher could face him down. He dismissed the common habit of describing scales as half-step/whole-step patterns, and provocatively claimed that the major scale handed down to us is wrong: it has eight degrees, he said, and should have nine.

    Jazz schools and the basics3:233:565:03

In writing5 notes

What his interviews, his students’ class notes and other teachers’ articles add.

How other teachers explain it6 videos, 1 series episode

Barry’s students, and their students, teaching it their way. A second opinion, not Barry.

In the teaching series

Episodes on this idea in the long series by other teachers. Each name opens that whole series in order.

Things I’ve Learned From Barry Harris

Where the accounts differ1 point
Read further4 links

These open on the web.

Books and paid courses