Barry HarrisThe method
Volume III · Harmony Stage 8, thinking dominant Idea 8 of 9123456789
8.8

Whole tone in practice7b5 and 7#5 chords, whole tone over V-bII-I

Each whole-tone scale gives Barry two dominant chords, the 7♭5 and the 7♯5, and he used its sound on dominants, including a whole-tone phrase on the tritone dominant resolving to I. He also told students to ignore textbook fingering rules for it.

In plain words

After the chromatic scale, the first thing Barry said to know is the two whole-tone scales, on C and on D♭, which share the twelve notes between them, and every way of playing them. Each gives two dominant chords: the seventh with a flat five and the seventh with a raised five. Where the diminished chord gives you minor thirds, the whole-tone scale gives you major thirds.

Student performances and coaching28:4529:1830:58Jazz theory, part 1: key families a minor third apart4:58

In the Rome class Barry went from the ‘ruler’ into whole-tone exercises and a whole-tone phrase on the dominant. Białowolski’s transcription shows it over D♭7 and D♭9(♯11), the tritone of G7, resolving to C major 7, with G7 to C6 on the next page. The captions are poor, but Barry seems to say it is not five to one but like a tritone substitution.

11 March 2016, part 2: the diminished as ruler4:225:34Tomasz Białowolski, Barry Harris, Rome 11/03/2016 (transcription of a class video) ¶96Tomasz Białowolski, Barry Harris, Rome 11/03/2016 (transcription of a class video) ¶98Tomasz Białowolski, Barry Harris, Rome 11/03/2016 (transcription of a class video) ¶99Tomasz Białowolski, Barry Harris, Rome 11/03/2016 (transcription of a class video) ¶101

For going home Barry added a fourth arpeggio to the three important ones on a dominant (on the tonic, fifth and seventh): the augmented arpeggio on its root, which is the raised-five sound. He had the horns play it on B♭7 and then take the second and the tonic of E♭.

The 1998 workshop, part 139:34Practising the blues with the horns, part 20:131:20

Barry tied the whole-tone sound to Monk: Monk used the scale a lot, and Bud Powell took it from him. On practice he was blunt: forget textbook fingering rules such as keeping the thumb off the black keys, and play the scale in thirds, in mirror image with both hands, any way you can find.

The 2016 workshop, part 3: Monk’s tunes, not his style2:50The last train to Monk: an interview20:28The whole-tone scale, part 11:07Practising the sixth diminished scales6:207:36Barry Harris on WKCR-FM ¶333

Step by step

  1. Know the two whole-tone scales: the one on C and the one on D♭.

    C whole tone
    𝄞♯♯♯
    1. C
    2. D
    3. E
    4. F♯
    5. G♯
    6. A♯
    D♭ whole tone
    𝄞♭♭
    1. D♭
    2. E♭
    3. F
    4. G
    5. A
    6. B

    Student performances and coaching28:4530:58

  2. From its whole-tone scale a dominant gets two chords, the 7♭5 and the 7♯5: C7♭5 and C7♯5 use only notes of the C whole-tone scale.

    C7♭5
    𝄞♭♭
    1. C
    2. E
    3. G♭
    4. B♭
    C7♯5
    𝄞♯♭
    1. C
    2. E
    3. G♯
    4. B♭

    Student performances and coaching29:18

  3. Whole tone on the tritone dominant: play a whole-tone phrase on D♭7, the tritone of G7, and resolve to C major.

    D♭ whole tone (the same six notes as G whole tone)
    𝄞♭♭
    1. D♭
    2. E♭
    3. F
    4. G
    5. A
    6. B

    11 March 2016, part 2: the diminished as ruler5:34Tomasz Białowolski, Barry Harris, Rome 11/03/2016 (transcription of a class video) ¶98Tomasz Białowolski, Barry Harris, Rome 11/03/2016 (transcription of a class video) ¶99

  4. Going home on a dominant, play the augmented arpeggio on its root, then resolve: on B♭7, B♭ augmented, then the second and tonic of E♭.

    B♭ augmented
    𝄞♭♯
    1. B♭
    2. D
    3. F♯

    The 1998 workshop, part 139:34Practising the blues with the horns, part 21:20

How he said to practise it

  • Learn both whole-tone scales before anything else, and every way of playing them.

    Student performances and coaching28:45

  • Practise the scale in thirds, then in mirror image (the same thing in each hand), then any other way you can think of.

    Practising the sixth diminished scales6:207:037:368:13

  • Ignore book fingering rules such as never putting the thumb on a black key; the right fingering is the one that suits your hand.

    The whole-tone scale, part 11:07

In Barry’s words

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

That’s the first thing you should know is two... [whole-tone] scales and every kind of way to play them.

Student performances and coaching, New York City, 2004. Artists House master class, telling his creation story of the twelve notes. 28:45 Watch on YouTube at 28:45

It gives you two chords... a dominant seven with a flat five and a... dominant seven with a raise five.

Student performances and coaching, New York City, 2004. What the whole-tone scale, built in major thirds, gives you. 29:18 Watch on YouTube at 29:18

Forget about that nonsense about don’t put your thumb on the black key and all that stuff. Forget that.

The whole-tone scale, part 1, Spain, 2007–08. Spain 2008 clinic clip on the whole-tone scale, with an interpreter. 1:07 Watch on YouTube at 1:07

Monk played the whole-tone scales a lot. It gave him a certain sound.

Barry Harris on WKCR-FM. Interview with Ted Panken, on how Monk influenced Bud Powell. ¶333

Where this comes from

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

Every moment he teaches it11 moments in 9 recordings

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

Student performances and coaching

New York City, 2004 — 45 min On YouTube

  1. 28:45

    Two whole-tone scales first, every way; they give the 7♭5 and 7♯5 chords.

    Watch on YouTube at 28:45

  2. 30:58

    Names the C and D♭ whole-tone scales and the two notes C diminished takes from each.

    Watch on YouTube at 30:58

11 March 2016, part 2: the diminished as ruler

Rome, 2010–19 — 7 min On YouTube

  1. 4:22

    Whole-tone work on a dominant into C: not five to one but like a tritone substitution (poor captions).

    Watch on YouTube at 4:22

The whole-tone scale, part 1

Spain, 2007–08 — 2 min On YouTube

  1. 1:07

    Whole-tone scale practice: throw out book fingering rules about the thumb on black keys.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:07

Practising the sixth diminished scales

The Hague, 1989–98 — 31 min On YouTube

  1. 6:20

    In the I’ll Keep Loving You class: practise the whole-tone scale in thirds.

    Watch on YouTube at 6:20

  2. 7:36

    Mirror image, the same thing in each hand; play the scale any kind of way.

    Watch on YouTube at 7:36

Practising the blues with the horns, part 2

The Hague, 1989–98 — 8 min On YouTube

  1. 1:20

    Adds the augmented arpeggio on B♭7, then the second and tonic of E♭.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:20

The 1998 workshop, part 1

The Hague, 1989–98 — 80 min On YouTube

  1. 39:34

    Another very important arpeggio when going home: the augmented.

    Watch on YouTube at 39:34

Jazz theory, part 1: key families a minor third apart

New York City — 12 min On YouTube

  1. 4:58

    Whole-tone scale gives major thirds, the diminished gives minor thirds.

    Watch on YouTube at 4:58

The 2016 workshop, part 3: Monk’s tunes, not his style

Rome, 2010–19 — 39 min On YouTube

  1. 2:50

    Monk used the whole-tone scale a lot; Bud Powell was close to Monk.

    Watch on YouTube at 2:50

The last train to Monk: an interview

various, 1987–2019 — 34 min On YouTube

  1. 20:28

    Bud Powell took the whole-tone scale right from Monk.

    Watch on YouTube at 20:28

From the lessons1 lesson, 2 points

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

The two whole-tone scales: parents of the diminished chords

  1. Idea

    Using a creation story, Barry divided the 12 notes into two groups of six, the two whole-tone scales, which he called man and woman. Learn the two whole-tone scales first, and every way to play them. Built in major thirds, a whole-tone scale gives two chords: a dominant seventh with a flat five and a dominant seventh with a raised five. He called one of them the most important, but the recording does not make clear which.

    Student performances and coaching27:2728:0028:3329:12

  2. Idea

    The couple’s children are the three diminished seventh chords (12 divided into three groups of four). Each diminished seventh takes two notes from each whole-tone scale, so, as Barry put it, there is no mistaking where it comes from. In C, E-flat, G-flat, A: C and G-flat belong to the C whole-tone scale, and E-flat and A belong to the D-flat whole-tone scale. For him the whole-tone and diminished scales together are where most of the music comes from, and he presented all this as logic.

    Student performances and coaching29:5330:34Believe: a talk to musicians5:45

In writing5 notes

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

How other teachers explain it7 videos, 2 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.

Bebop-JazzGuitarTV at NYC

The Labyrinth of Limitations

Read further3 links

These open on the web.

Free to read

Books and paid courses