I would say that when you use Barry Harris voicings (also called "block voicings"), you are essentially tonicizing whichever chord you are on at the moment. Relationship between block voicings and functional harmony The specific chord voicings chosen will depend on the context, with the goal of having a ii7 sound on the downbeats and a passing chord on the upbeats.
If the ii chord is held for a long time, you can also form a "dorian bebop scale" by adding a ♭6 or major 7. (Occasionally, one note can be swapped around in order to create smooth voice leading changing the E here to a E♭ to form F♯☇ is a natural choice.) The two chord shapes outlined are G7 and F♯ø7, and a well-constructed melody usually again has G, B, D, and F on downbeats, so the F♯ø7 acts as a passing chord. In C, that's G A B C D E F F#, adding a major 7. Over ii and V, we generally use the mixolydian bebop scale. This principle of alternating between the main chord and passing chords is central to Barry Harris's harmonic concept, and also used widely in big band arranging. This is because the stable scale degrees (1, 3, 5, and 6) tend to sit on the downbeats, so we'll hear the sound of the I chord on the downbeats and a passing chord, vii☇, on the upbeats. Over the I chord, the voicings come from the major bebop scale and alternate between the major I6 and vii☇ chords. This of course vanished when we re-harmonize.Ī different set of voicings, derived from the appropriate bebop scale, is used for each chord. Harmonizing a Major scale in triads is what gives our characteristic chords (our ii-dorian, iii-phrygian, IV-lydian, V-Mixolydian, etc). What are typical ways of applying Barry Harris voicings (as described here) to jazz standards?ĮDIT: While writing this I came to the conclusion that the biggest challenge for me is to make coherence between the Barry Harris voicings and functional harmony.
Even the thought of applying this to a 2-5-1 makes little sense to me.
#THE BARRY HARRIS HARMONIC METHOD FOR GUITAR AUDIO EXAMPLES HOW TO#
However I don't really know how to use this theory and apply it to functional harmony chord changes in jazz standards. This on its own creates beautiful sounds, and its fun to play around it in a "modal" setting. Same can be constructed for minor, and dominant scales. So every note belongs either to (C,E,G,A), or (D,F,A♭,B). We harmonize each note using only the I-Maj6 or the vii-diminished chords (which is the rootless V7♭9). In essence, these are harmonizations of the bebop scale using the I and V7b9 (vii dim7) chords. It could be either the ii of D major with a borrowed note: d is borrowed from the chord above instead of the c# of the usual diminished chord.The Barry Harris diminished 6th voicings are popular voicings in Jazz, often related to Bill Evans when using drop 2 's.
It took me a while to wrap my head around the idea ) The basic premise is that from one chord in a tune you get a lot of options for harmonising it and therefore melodic possibilities. If you are looking to reharmonise a tune I would try to tinker with the chapter about the monk quote. I really liked the book as well and also follow the “Things I’ve Learned From Barry Harris” channel.įrom what I understand there are a few center ideas from which you can tackle different problems concerning a tune but the main benefit of what the book offers is to have all the voicings in one place and he explains the movement between two chords with a diminished chord in between. Anyway, curious what people of all skill levels and experience think of the book and overall method, and how it’s affected their playing. more tunes and melodies) as I think it would help explain the material a lot better than just showing a movement in isolation. It could use more contextual examples (e.g. My overall opinion of the book is it’s pretty good, though if I were coming at it as a beginner I think I might be confused.
I posted an arrangement of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” last month that makes heavy use of some of these ideas and was wondering if anyone else had examples of their use of the method. After reading this comment I was wondering if anyone else was into the Barry Harris method? I have a strong background in what I guess is the more traditional way jazz theory is taught but I’ve been working with this book, as well as following Thomas Echols (Labyrinth of Limitations) and the ‘Things I Learned From Barry Harris’ on YouTube.