How can the transcriptions I made of Barry Harris workshops and recordings be incorporated in my playing, in order to develop myself in a bebop style.I transcribed two DVD boxes containing 8 discs of over 8 hours of workshops by pianist Barry Harris that were recorded and published by Howard Rees.
![]() Barry Harris talks in his workshops a lot about one important chord; the diminished. He explained how chords are related to the diminished and how we can use the diminished to connect chords and create movement. Two important scales are the major and minor 6 diminished scales. Exercises I got out of the transcriptions and experimenting with this, opened a new world of sounds, voicings, harmonic knowledge and ideas for improvisational lines for me. I apply the material to existing pieces and wrote a composition in which these techniques are used. In the presentation I will explain about the major and minor 6th diminished scales and how they can be applied to tunes. As the pattern continues down the C major 6 diminished scale, note that nice, crunchy major 7th sound that happens before the borrowed tones resolve to the diminished 7th. Also derived from the chromatic scale are the three diminished 7th chords (bottom staff). Note that each includes two tritones: one from each whole-tone scale. Just pick a note and lower it one-half step; this note then becomes the root of the dominant 7th chord. Did the math already Thats right, three diminished 7th chords means twelve dominant 7ths in all. You can use them as substitutes for one another or choose one as the basic voicing and combine it with any of the others to make an extended dominant. These chords sound the same as their corresponding minor 7th and minor 7 flat 5 chords, respectively. For functional reasons that well cover in subsequent examples, think of them in their 6th forms. You can even think of the minor 6 diminished scale as an altered scale when you use it this way. With the latter two examples, thinking in terms of 6th voicings opens up the possibility of moving voicings along a corresponding major or minor 6 diminished scale and then resolving to the next chord, rather than to simply hold a static voicing. Here is B flat 7 resolving to E flat maj7, and voiced with three substitutions over a shell voicing in the left hand: a) an E7 resolving to a B flat 6 voicing over the E flat maj7, b) a G7 resolving to another inversion of the B flat 6, and c) a D flat 7 resolving to yet another B flat 6 inversion. Where are the chord symbols, you ask We could include them as they appear with alerations in Example 4, but Barry wants you to focus on the basic structure of the voicings. As well see momentarily, this makes them easier to move along a scale. Using the C major 6 diminished scale, start with a unison, and then as you move up and down the scale stepwise, fill in the voicings between the outer voices. Youll find that youre always alternating between the major 6th chord and the diminished 7th chord, which is in effect a I to V motion. The result is alternating minor 6th and diminished 7th chords. Experiment with dropping or octave-displacing certain notes to obtain open voicings, as shown on the bottom staff. Here, weve replaced the 6th of the tonic minor 6th chord with the major 7th. Youre likely to hear sounds you havent heard before as you take this voicing up the scale. The first chord has two borrowed notes (the Bs), which resolve in contrary motion to chord tones. That upward resolution in the left hand can be a useful device for those who cant reach the interval of a tenth. These resolve to the E flat m6D7 on the fourth beat, and then on to the Dmaj6Gmaj7. This serves to illustrate that you dont have to wait until the dominant chord to start creating movement with your voicings. Barry Harris Diminished Theory Full Diminished 7ThThey resolve upwards to the full diminished 7th chord on the second half of the beat.
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