Barry HarrisThe method
Volume III · Harmony Stage 8, thinking dominant Idea 5 of 9123456789
8.5

The tritoneV into its tritone, V-tritone-I

While the rhythm section plays G minor to C7, the soloist can turn the C7 into F♯7, its tritone, or play V, tritone, I. Barry wanted horn players to practise tritone pairs (A♭7 into D7) as well as written ones (E♭7 into A♭7).

In plain words

Every dominant has a partner a tritone away in its own family: C7 and F♯7, E♭7 and A7, A♭7 and D7. While the pianist plays his ii-V, G minor to C7, the soloist can take the C7 and change it to F♯7. Barry called the tritone’s notes unbelievable notes.

Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You0:001:102:334:014:40Student performances and coaching36:05

Charlie Parker did exactly this. On Indiana, while the pianist played E♭ minor to A♭7, Bird played a whole D7 line against it, the tritone of A♭7. Barry called it really effective and said it should be written out. He tried the move on the chord before too: over E♭7 he played A7, its tritone, then ran the A7 into D7.

Bird’s D7 line on Indiana0:341:112:54Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You0:00

The tritone can also sit between the V and the I. Barry’s exercise for a trumpet player goes C7, then F♯7, then lands on F. If you practise B♭7 into E♭ major, he said, practise E7 into E♭ major too, treating the E7 as the more important chord. On Out of Nowhere he took it further: against E7 he played F minor, the minor on the fifth of B♭7, E7’s tritone.

Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You4:014:40Bird’s D7 line on Indiana5:13Tritones on Out of Nowhere0:55

Barry aimed this at horn players above all. A pianist can play F minor 7 to B♭7, then the E, and hear the outside sound under his own hands; a horn player has to learn these moves without hearing the harmony. He was frustrated that horn players on records so seldom played tritones, and a guitarist at his funeral remembered him summing it up: the pianist plays the ii-V, the horn plays the V into the tritone.

Bird’s D7 line on Indiana5:135:47Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You5:50Barry Harris Funeral56:05

Step by step

  1. Find the tritone dominant: the dominant whose root is three whole steps from the V’s root, a member of the same family (C7 ↔ F♯7, E♭7 ↔ A7, A♭7 ↔ D7, B♭7 ↔ E7).

    Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You2:33Bird’s D7 line on Indiana0:345:13Jazz School Online (Howard Rees), Glossary of Terms ¶14

  2. Over the rhythm section’s ii-V, play the tritone dominant in place of the V: over G minor to C7, play F♯7.

    Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You2:334:40

  3. Or go V, tritone, I. Barry’s trumpet exercise: on C7 play the tonic, then from the 2nd up chromatically to the 3rd; do the same on F♯7; then on F hit the 2nd instead of the tonic.

    C7
    𝄞♯
    1. C
    2. D
    3. D♯
    4. E
    F♯7
    𝄞♯♯♯
    1. F♯
    2. G♯
    3. A
    4. A♯
    F
    𝄞
    1. G

    Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You4:014:40

an added note, outside the scale

How he said to practise it

  • Practise the tritone pairs beside the written ones. If you practise E♭7 into A♭7, also practise A♭7 into D7, and D7 played right against E♭ minor to A♭7.

    Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You1:10

  • Practise B♭7 into E♭ major, and also E7 into E♭ major as if the E7 were the main chord; horn players especially should practise B7 into F7 as well.

    Bird’s D7 line on Indiana4:375:13

  • Learn Bird’s tritone phrase on Indiana by writing it out, then play it at that spot in the tune.

    Bird’s D7 line on Indiana0:341:11

In Barry’s words

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

I’m playing G minor to C here, but I took that C7. I changed it to F sharp 7.

Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You, The Hague, 1989–98. Demonstrating a tritone line at the piano 3:02 Watch on YouTube at 3:02

While some of the horn players are... practicing E flat minor 7 into A flat 7, they should be practicing A flat 7 into D7.

Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You, The Hague, 1989–98. After playing Bird’s tritone line on Indiana 0:35 Watch on YouTube at 0:35

If you practice a B flat 7 into E flat major, you got to also... practice an E7 into E flat major as if E7 is the most important thing, not the B flat 7.

Bird’s D7 line on Indiana, The Hague, 1989–98. Telling horn players which resolutions to practise 4:44 Watch on YouTube at 4:44

[Tritone] notes are unbelievable notes.

Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You, The Hague, 1989–98. Before giving a trumpet player the C7–F♯7–F exercise 4:01 Watch on YouTube at 4:01

Where this comes from

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

Every moment he teaches it11 moments in 5 recordings

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

Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You

The Hague, 1989–98 — 6 min On YouTube

  1. 2:33

    Over G minor to C7 he turns the C7 into F♯7.

    Watch on YouTube at 2:33

  2. 4:01

    Trumpet exercise: C7, then F♯7, then the second of F; tritone notes are unbelievable.

    Watch on YouTube at 4:01

  3. 1:10

    Horn players should practise A♭7 into D7, or D7 right against E♭m–A♭7.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:10

  4. 0:00

    Over the pianist’s B♭m7–E♭7, a phrase running E♭7 into A7.

    Watch on YouTube

  5. 5:50

    Frustrated that horn players making records don’t play tritones.

    Watch on YouTube at 5:50

Bird’s D7 line on Indiana

The Hague, 1989–98 — 6 min On YouTube

  1. 0:34

    Bird’s whole D7 line against E♭ minor to A♭7 on Indiana.

    Watch on YouTube at 0:34

  2. 2:54

    Plays A7 for the E♭7, then tries running the A7 into D7.

    Watch on YouTube at 2:54

  3. 5:13

    Practise E7 into E♭ major as well as B♭7 into E♭; a pianist can hear it, a horn can’t.

    Watch on YouTube at 5:13

Student performances and coaching

New York City, 2004 — 45 min On YouTube

  1. 35:31

    Runs E♭7 into F♯7 to get into the tritone, which starts something else altogether.

    Watch on YouTube at 35:31

Tritones on Out of Nowhere

The Hague, 1989–98 — 3 min On YouTube

  1. 0:55

    Out of Nowhere: against E7 he plays F minor, from its tritone B♭7.

    Watch on YouTube at 0:55

Bird’s tritone line on Embraceable You

The Hague, 1989–98 — 1 min On YouTube

  1. 0:00

    Bird played on the tritone of C, F♯7: tonic, fifth and ninth, which Barry would rather call the second.

    Watch on YouTube

From the lessons1 lesson, 4 points

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

The soloist plays the V into its tritone

  1. Idea

    A guitarist who spoke at Barry’s funeral recalled a Barry workshop: after showing how to start singing a tune from any point in the bar, Barry turned to improvisation and told the room there is no such thing as a ii-V. The pianist plays the ii-V for colour, but the horn player plays the V, the dominant, into its tritone.

    Barry Harris Funeral56:05The Great Pianist Barry Harris’ Funeral At Abyssinian Baptist Church In Harlem42:16

  2. Idea

    Barry showed a spot in Back Home Again in Indiana where, while the pianist plays E-flat minor 7 to A-flat 7, Charlie Parker (Bird) played a phrase built entirely on the tritone: a whole D7 line against the E-flat minor to A-flat 7. Barry called it really effective and said it should be written out.

    Bird’s D7 line on Indiana0:341:11Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You0:00

  3. Exercise

    Practise the tritone versions, not only the written ones. Barry said horn players who only practise E-flat 7 into A-flat 7 should also practise A-flat 7 into D7, or D7 played right against the pianist’s E-flat minor to A-flat 7. He demonstrated a phrase running E-flat 7 into A7; over E-flat 7 he played A7, then tried running that A7 on into D7. He was frustrated that horn players on records so seldom play tritones.

    Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You0:001:105:50Bird’s D7 line on Indiana2:54

  4. Exercise

    While the pianist plays his ii-V, G minor to C7, the soloist turns the C7 into F-sharp 7. Barry’s exercise for a trumpet player: play the tonic of C, then go from the second chromatically up to the third; do the same thing on F-sharp 7; then, arriving at F, hit the second instead of the tonic. He called the tritone notes unbelievable notes.

    Tritone lines on Indiana and Embraceable You2:334:014:40

In writing7 notes

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

How other teachers explain it9 videos, 24 series episodes

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.

Connor Jones

Isaac Raz

Mike Hayes Guitar

The Labyrinth of Limitations

Things I’ve Learned From Barry Harris

Read further5 links

These open on the web.

Free to read

Books and paid courses