Barry HarrisThe method

Learn with Chris Parks · Volume VI of XIII

6Small phrases and the masters’ phrases

Half steps below, nap backs, surrounds and 5-4-3-2, then phrases by Bird, Bud and Sonny Rollins taken apart and played from every degree.

Show
Map of this module what each idea builds on
Half step belowNap backSurroundsThe minor third surroundPivot then surround5-4-3-25-4-3-2 in minorFive chromatically to t…Every note is a target …What can I do from each…Dissect the masters' ph…Charlie Parker's thirds…Bird's Night in Tunisia…Bud Powell ideasBud Powell's Anthropolo…Bud Powell's pure-scale…Bud Powell's chromatic …Sonny Rollins's surroun…Chord up: Barry's 'chor…The descending half-ste…Take it up every degree…Feel the 'and'The three important arp…The half-step rules for…PivotsPuzzle piecesThe scale every way: up…ThirdsThink the dominant: put…Triads up and down the …Eighth- and sixteenth-n…
Ideas in this module 18
  1. 1Half step below
  2. 2Nap back
  3. 3Surrounds
  4. 4The minor third surround
  5. 5Pivot then surround
  6. 65-4-3-2
  7. 75-4-3-2 in minor
  8. 8Five chromatically to three
  9. 9Every note is a target note
  10. 10What can I do from each degree?
  11. 11Dissect the masters’ phrases
  12. 12Charlie Parker’s thirds with a triplet
  13. 13Bird’s Night in Tunisia break phrase
  14. 14Bud Powell ideas
  15. 15Bud Powell’s Anthropology phrase
  16. 16Bud Powell’s pure-scale phrase
  17. 17Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet
  18. 18Sonny Rollins’s surrounds in thirds

Idea 1 of 18

Half step below

Put a half step below a note before playing it. Barry’s set drill puts it below the first note of every third, triad and chord up the scale, and it also goes below every note of an arpeggio or scale, below the top note coming down, or on notes of a voicing. Some of those half steps are scale notes and some are not, so the line gets a chromatic colour while the chord tones still land; Chris calls it one of the prettiest devices, hears it constantly in Bird and Bud Powell, and much prefers it to the half step above.

Practise it: Go up and down the scale in thirds, triads and chords with a half step below the first note, in eighths and then as a triplet; then below every note, then below the top note coming down, then start them on the ‘and’.

Line
𝄞♭♭♯♯
C4BCDEFGAD♭E♭G♭A♭
  1. B
  2. C
  3. D♭
  4. D
  5. E♭
  6. E
  7. E
  8. F
  9. F#
  10. G
  11. G#
  12. A
D7
𝄢♯♯
C3DC4D♭G♭
  1. C#
  2. D
  3. F#
Line
𝄞♯♯
C5DAC6D♭G♭
  1. C#
  2. D
  3. F#
  4. A

Builds onThe scale every way: up and down, thirds, triads, chords

Barry’s own pages6.6 Chromatic pickups and the well-placed half step6.5 Surrounding notes (approach from above and below)

More on this 32 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called A half step below, A half step below the first note, Half step below the first note, chromatic approach from below, half step below thirds, triads and chords, thirds with a half step below, chords with a half step below, half step before, lower neighbour, chromatic approach to thirds, triads and chords

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 4:06Thirds, triads, chords and Barry’s chromatic scale · Episode 4
    Thirds, then triads, then chords in B flat, each with a half step below the first note.
  2. 6:06Chords in the Major Scale · Episode 26
    Thirds in C with a half step below each note, combined with the 3-to-6 chord exercise.
  3. 6:05Charlie Parker Idea #2 · Episode 32
    Five-note chords with a half step before the first note, from a Bird phrase.
  4. 5:15Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas · Episode 43
    Bud Powell’s idea on a G major triad: half steps below the G (twice), the B and the D, then inverted.
  5. 9:37Endless ways to play a minor I-VI-II-V with the scale of chords · Episode 47
    On A minor 7 flat 5 (as C minor 6), a C minor arpeggio with a half step below each note.
  6. 1:49Yet Another Very Important Arpeggio · Episode 53
    Half step below each note of the A minor arpeggio over D7.
  7. 1:44How to create lines from scales · Episode 60
    D7 scale in triads with a half step below the first note of each triad.
  8. 2:17How to create lines from scales · Episode 60
    Then a half step below the top note coming down.
  9. 2:14How to create lines from scales, part 2 · Episode 61
    A half step below the first note of each four-note chord.
  10. 5:47How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    G major arpeggio with a half step below each note; a half step above sounds stranger.
  11. 4:47Making lines with the tritone’s minor · Episode 66
    Half step below each note of E flat minor over D7.
  12. 0:32Half step below is beautiful: scales and sixth chords · Episode 72
    C major scale with a half step below every note.
  13. 3:52Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    Starting phrases with a third that has a half step below.
  14. 7:03Barry’s scale outline for a C minor blues · Episode 85
    Minor blues: triads coming down with a half step below
  15. 2:38Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    A three-note pattern: half step below each note of D7 (Eb to E, F to F#, F# to G, Ab to A...)
  16. 4:33Small things: the first bar of Body and Soul · Episode 95
    Half step below each note of the diminished, and below each of its thirds
  17. 0:39We Don’t Know D7 · Episode 97
    D7 in thirds with a half step below the first note
  18. 1:15We Don’t Know D7 · Episode 97
    The same with triads, and with a half step below the top note coming down
  19. 3:21We Don’t Know D7 · Episode 97
    The triad from the fifth with a half step below, then half steps and the C major important arpeggio
  20. 8:34What can I do from the 3rd? · Episode 114
    Triads with a half step below the bottom note, harmonising E in C.
  21. 3:25Something old is new again: fresh ways to pivot · Episode 132
    A half step below the first note of each triad: C-sharp, D, F-sharp, A.
  22. 3:59Something old is new again: fresh ways to pivot · Episode 132
    Or D, C-sharp, D then up the triad.
  23. 0:35Half step below is beautiful: C minor 6 diminished · Episode 134
    Never heard Barry talk about a half step above; the half step below sounds better to him.
  24. 1:10Half step below is beautiful: C minor 6 diminished · Episode 134
    Each note of C minor 6 diminished with a half step below and back.
  25. 2:57Half step below is beautiful: C minor 6 diminished · Episode 134
    Thirds with a half step below the top note, then the bottom note; Jerry’s idea, both notes at once (282).
  26. 7:53Half step below is beautiful: C minor 6 diminished · Episode 134
    Triads with a half step below the top, bottom, middle or all three notes.
  27. 9:50Half step below is beautiful: C minor 6 diminished · Episode 134
    Starting with the half step below before the third.
  28. 4:44Harmony versus soloing: what you’re getting wrong · Episode 154
    Thirds with a half step below used as one small piece in a D7 line
  29. 5:02Barry’s secret to soloing: puzzle pieces · Episode 156
    ‘Go back to thirds, put a half step below the first note of each third’; then triads and chords
  30. 6:10Barry’s secret to soloing: puzzle pieces · Episode 156
    As eighths, or starting a triplet as Barry had them practise; Bird and Bud play it
  31. 9:33Pivots, pivots and more pivots · Episode 161
    Half step below the second note, or the top note, of a pivot
  32. 9:54Scale outlines: the first step to improvising · Episode 163
    A chord up from the 3rd with a half step below, used in a Cherokee phrase

Idea 2 of 18

Nap back

Hit a note, go a half step below it and come back to it, then carry on. The name was coined at Open Studio, but Barry used the figure constantly, and Chris hears it in Charlie Parker and in a Coleman Hawkins phrase that does it on the root, third and fifth of a G major arpeggio, often leading into a third or a five-note chord. Placed on any note of a scale, third, triad, chord or pivot, it shifts the rhythm and changes the colour of a line.

Practise it: Put a nap back on each note up the scale, then do the Hawkins pattern on the full triad from every degree; then try it on the first, second or last note of a pivot, or on the top note of a chord up.

Builds onHalf step below

Barry’s own pages6.6 Chromatic pickups and the well-placed half step6.5 Surrounding notes (approach from above and below)8.9 Bird’s devices

More on this 15 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called Note, half step below, back, Note, half step below, back to the note, half step below and back, upbeat neighbour, the Coleman Hawkins phrase

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 1:16Charlie Parker Idea #3 · Episode 33
    From Bird’s Star Eyes phrase: start on an upbeat, a half step below, back, then a third.
  2. 3:13Charlie Parker Idea #3 · Episode 33
    Worked down the G major scale from every degree, then joined to a five-note chord.
  3. 12:21Movement: Major to the Sixth Dominant · Episode 35
    Bird’s intro to Beyond the Blue Horizon: fifth, half step below, back; tonic, half step below, back.
  4. 8:10How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    Playing the note, a half step below, back to the note; Bird does something like it too.
  5. 4:03How to create lines from V to I · Episode 64
    On the fifth of G: half step below and back up to it.
  6. 6:27How to create lines from V to I · Episode 64
    Hitting the note, down a half step, back up, then coming up a chord.
  7. 0:00Transcribing with a Purpose · Episode 75
    Coleman Hawkins on G major: arpeggio note, half step below, back, up a scale note; then the third and fifth, then tonic and back to the fifth.
  8. 1:58Transcribing with a Purpose · Episode 75
    Taking it apart: start on a note, half step below, back up, moved up the scale and down.
  9. 2:34Transcribing with a Purpose · Episode 75
    The full triad version on the second, then every degree.
  10. 2:24We don’t know triads · Episode 147
    The same figure on triads: start on the note, half step below, back
  11. 11:38Barry’s secret to soloing: puzzle pieces · Episode 156
    Nap back defined; up the scale, with the rhythm running so one falls on the beat and the next on the ‘and’
  12. 12:14Barry’s secret to soloing: puzzle pieces · Episode 156
    A nap back added at the end of a three-piece phrase
  13. 10:39Pivots, pivots and more pivots · Episode 161
    Nap back on the first, second and last note of an F7 pivot
  14. 13:56What is a puzzle piece? · Episode 166
    Half step below the first note, then a nap back on the top note, taken up the scale
  15. 8:23The 3 scales you need for Barry’s scale outlines · Episode 169
    Barry never used the term, but the class adopted it because the figure happens so much

Idea 3 of 18

Surrounds

Barry’s word for what others call enclosures: approach a target note from the scale tone above and the half step below (or the reverse) before landing on it, so on D7, E, C sharp, D. You should be able to surround every degree of the scale, on and off the beat, and each note of an arpeggio, as Bird, Bud and Barry do; done to every degree it makes a beautiful scale. Barry also likes a half step above for the fifth of a minor chord.

Practise it: Surround every degree of a dominant scale in both orders, then in thirds or triads up and down the scale, starting on the beat and on the ‘and’; then surround each note of the tonic arpeggio.

D7
𝄞♯
C3EC4DD♭
  1. E
  2. C#
  3. D
Line
𝄞♭♭♭♯
C4ACDEFGB♭D♭E♭
  1. C
  2. B♭
  3. A
  4. B♭
  5. E♭
  6. D
  7. C#
  8. D
  9. G
  10. F
  11. E
  12. F
Bb7
𝄞♭
C3ACB♭
  1. A
  2. C
  3. B♭

Builds onHalf step below

Barry’s own pages6.5 Surrounding notes (approach from above and below)

More on this 20 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called Surrounding notes, Surrounding, enclosures, scale tone above, half step below, surround the note

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 12:43Creating lines on the movement from I to the flat III diminished · Episode 41
    On the diminished: come a half step above the next diminished note and surround it.
  2. 3:38Yet Another Very Important Arpeggio · Episode 53
    A minor over D7: scale note above and half step below for root and third; half step above for the fifth.
  3. 4:20Yet Another Very Important Arpeggio · Episode 53
    Surrounding all three notes, then backwards; lines from the root, third and fifth.
  4. 6:41Playing with the family of dominants on All the Things You Are · Episode 59
    Surrounding the fifth of G and coming down 4-3.
  5. 6:27How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    G major: surround each note with the scale tone above and half step below; the fifth gets the major sixth and flat fifth.
  6. 7:01How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    Bud Powell’s version: note, half step below, note, whole step above, back to the note.
  7. 7:05How to create lines from V to I · Episode 64
    Landing on the second of G, which is also the whole step above G, and surrounding G.
  8. 4:04All the Things You Are with Minor Arpeggios · Episode 67
    Surrounding the minor arpeggios on All the Things You Are.
  9. 6:29IV Minor (Just Friends) · Episode 88
    Surrounding the 3 of F with the 5 and 4 of Eb7
  10. 1:18Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    Surrounding on D7: a scale tone above, then a half step below
  11. 1:53Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    For each degree: E for D, F# for E, G for F#, A for G, B for A, C for B, D for C
  12. 3:49Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    Surround, then come up a triad, all the way up the scale
  13. 9:01Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    Surround, then come down from the note with half steps, adding a triplet
  14. 7:39Don’t Be Bored of the Blues · Episode 91
    E7 into Eb7, surrounding the fifth of Eb7
  15. 2:34Do You Know Rhythm Changes? · Episode 101
    Bird, Bud and Barry surround each note of the Bb arpeggio over the first bars of rhythm changes
  16. 1:12A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    On the Bb7 scale: half step below, scale tone above, then the note; Bb starts on A
  17. 1:46A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    C starts on B, D starts on Db; do it on every degree
  18. 5:54A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    Jonathan’s reversal: scale tone above first, then half step below; or mixing the two orders
  19. 0:00Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround · Episode 165
    Surrounds as Barry’s word for enclosures, a puzzle piece
  20. 6:21What is a puzzle piece? · Episode 166
    Sonny Rollins ends with a surround of Bb: scale tone above and half step below

Idea 4 of 18

The minor third surround

A surround Chris hears in Charlie Parker and Bud Powell: a scale tone above the target, then always a minor third below that upper note, then the target. The fixed minor third means a whole-step target gets a whole step below (C-A-Bb, Eb-C-D). Bird filled the gap chromatically as a triplet; it can also start from the lower note and go up.

Practise it: Play it on every degree of Bb major going down, then going up, then with the chromatic triplet fill; then connect it to a chord up or a third.

Line
𝄞♭
C4ACB♭
  1. C
  2. A
  3. B♭
Line
𝄞
C3BCD
  1. D
  2. B
  3. C
Line
𝄞♭
CDC5E♭
  1. E♭
  2. C
  3. D
Line
𝄞♭
C4GAC5B♭
  1. B♭
  2. G
  3. A

Builds onSurrounds

Barry’s own pages6.5 Surrounding notes (approach from above and below)6.9 Triplets in lines (eighth- and sixteenth-note)8.9 Bird’s devices

More on this 6 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called minor-third enclosure

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 1:06Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround · Episode 165
    Surround Bb: C, a minor third below it (A), then Bb
  2. 1:38Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround · Episode 165
    Surround C: D, B, C
  3. 2:11Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround · Episode 165
    Surround D: Eb, C (not Db), D; then F-D-Eb, G-E-F, A-F#-G
  4. 2:43Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround · Episode 165
    Surround A: Bb, G, A; then Bird’s version with all the chromatics as a triplet
  5. 3:53Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround · Episode 165
    The upward version, starting on the minor third below
  6. 4:28Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround · Episode 165
    On D, a variant going from C up through Db to D

Idea 5 of 18

Pivot then surround

Taken from Barry’s 1979 Perdido solo with Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie. A pivot ends on the ‘and’, and instead of stepping straight to the next scale note on the beat, Barry surrounds that note with a half step above and a half step below. Barry called this surrounding (others say enclosure). When you are already on the half step above, come up chromatically from the scale note below instead.

Practise it: Do it from every degree of C7: pivot, then surround the next scale note down. Add a sixteenth-note triplet on the surround note, then chain two or more in a row.

Builds onPivotsSurrounds

Barry’s own pages6.5 Surrounding notes (approach from above and below)6.7 Pivoting6.9 Triplets in lines (eighth- and sixteenth-note)

More on this 7 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called surrounding, enclosure

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:32Master-level phrasing: a pivot, then a surround · Episode 126
    Barry on a 1979 Benny Carter live recording with Dizzy Gillespie: Perdido, bridge as in I Got Rhythm.
  2. 1:08Master-level phrasing: a pivot, then a surround · Episode 126
    Barry puts a pivot together with surrounding; some call it enclosure.
  3. 2:49Master-level phrasing: a pivot, then a surround · Episode 126
    The pivot ends on an ‘and’; the next scale note down falls on the beat.
  4. 3:23Master-level phrasing: a pivot, then a surround · Episode 126
    He surrounds that note (G) with a half step above and below; Barry also put three half steps first.
  5. 4:32Master-level phrasing: a pivot, then a surround · Episode 126
    From the tonic you are already on the half step above, so play the scale note below and come up chromatically.
  6. 7:23Master-level phrasing: a pivot, then a surround · Episode 126
    Adding a sixteenth-note triplet on the surround note, and doing two in a row.
  7. 5:54Three very important arpeggios · Episode 137
    Surround the D, then come up the D major arpeggio.

Idea 6 of 18

5-4-3-2

Barry’s shorthand for four small phrases on a major scale, named after the degree that triggers them (‘when you get to five, do five’): five drops to the major 7, then plays tonic, 4, 3; four jumps from 4 to 2 and climbs chromatically to 3; three lands on 3 and comes up a triad from the fifth below (5, 7, 2); two goes from 2 to the major 7 and chromatically back up to 2. It is 5-4-3-2, not 5-4-3-2-1, and the phrases are meant to be chained and used as connecting pieces inside longer lines, not as licks.

Practise it: Play each phrase, then all of them chained, in B flat, then through the keys in fourths in one position and in several. Then run into each trigger from different starting notes and combine it with the half-step rules.

Line
𝄞♭♭
C4FAC5DB♭E♭
  1. F
  2. A
  3. B♭
  4. E♭
  5. D
Line
𝄞♯
CDC6D♭
  1. C
  2. C#
  3. D
Line
𝄞♭
C4ABCB♭
  1. A
  2. B♭
  3. B
  4. C
Line
𝄞♯
C4DGBCG♭
  1. D
  2. F#
  3. G
  4. C
  5. B

Builds onTriads up and down the scaleThe half-step rules for the major scale

Barry’s own pages6.8 The 5-4-3-2 (and 4-3, 5-4-3-2-1) phrases5.7 Coming down to the fourth

More on this 22 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called five four three two, the rules for 5, 4, 3, 2, ‘do five’, ‘do four’

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:345-4-3-2 · Episode 3
    ‘5’ in B flat: the fifth, down to the major 7, tonic, 4th, 3rd.
  2. 1:095-4-3-2 · Episode 3
    ‘4’: from five run down to four, then two chromatically to three.
  3. 1:525-4-3-2 · Episode 3
    ‘2’: run down to two, then from the seventh chromatically to the second.
  4. 2:275-4-3-2 · Episode 3
    All four chained together, then used over the B flat - F7 of rhythm changes.
  5. 4:595-4-3-2 · Episode 3
    Practised in class moving in fourths through all 12 keys, metronome on 80.
  6. 7:25Scales for Cherokee · Episode 8
    Ending a Cherokee bridge line with ‘4’ from the fifth.
  7. 11:34Playing the movement from major to relative minor · Episode 34
    5, 4 and 3 used over two bars of E flat major before the relative minor.
  8. 2:53Movement: Major to the Sixth Dominant · Episode 35
    ‘4’ then ‘3’, where ‘3’ is a pivoted triad up from the low C, in an F major to D7 line.
  9. 7:42Creating lines on a minor II-V · Episode 38
    Ending a line on four-three of the A minor.
  10. 0:37How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    Refresher: landing on a note triggers something else to happen.
  11. 1:07How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    In G major, 5 goes to the major seven, tonic, four, three.
  12. 1:42How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    2: down to the major seven and chromatically up to two.
  13. 3:30How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    Combining 5-4-3-2 with half steps placed in different spots.
  14. 2:44How to create lines from V to I · Episode 64
    From the fifth of G major after a D7 line: 5, or 4, or 3.
  15. 3:26How to create minor lines · Episode 65
    In minor: landing on 5 of G minor goes down to the major seven, tonic, four, three.
  16. 4:00How to create minor lines · Episode 65
    In minor there is no chromatic note between 2 and 3, so 4 jumps up to reach the 3.
  17. 0:00What 5-4-3-2 really means: a reply
    It’s 5-4-3-2 with no 1; Barry’s call on I Got Rhythm: ‘...a half step between six and five, when you get to five do five’
  18. 0:34What 5-4-3-2 really means: a reply
    Practised alone and through the keys (C, F, Bb), but always meant to connect to other things
  19. 1:53What 5-4-3-2 really means: a reply
    The names aren’t arbitrary: ‘five’ is 5, major 7th, tonic, 4, 3
  20. 2:29What 5-4-3-2 really means: a reply
    ‘Four’: from the 4th go to the 2nd and chromatically to the 3rd; reached from the major 7th by two half steps
  21. 11:34Scale outlines: the first step to improvising · Episode 163
    In a Cherokee phrase: chord up from the tonic with a half step below, two half steps, then ‘five’
  22. 1:17What is a puzzle piece? · Episode 166
    ‘Run up to the fifth and when you get to the fifth, do five’

Idea 7 of 18

5-4-3-2 in minor

The minor version of the 5-4-3-2 phrases, for minor 6 chords and tunes in minor. ‘5’ drops to the major 7, tonic, 4, flat 3; ‘4’ runs to 4, hits 2, back to 4 then flat 3; ‘3’ runs to 3 then a major triad up from the low fifth; ‘2’ runs to 2 then major 7 chromatically up to 3 with a triplet.

Practise it: Play all four in A minor, then move through D minor, G minor, C minor and on in fourths; use them over a minor turnaround such as Love Me or Leave Me.

Line
𝄞♯
C4EACDA♭
  1. E
  2. G#
  3. A
  4. D
  5. C
Line
𝄞♯
C4EBC5A♭
  1. E
  2. G#
  3. B

Builds on5-4-3-2

Barry’s own pages6.8 The 5-4-3-2 (and 4-3, 5-4-3-2-1) phrases4.3 Minor

More on this 4 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called minor rules for 5, 4, 3, 2

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 1:225-4-3-2 in Minor · Episode 37
    ‘5’ in A minor: hit 5, down to the major 7, tonic, 4, flat 3.
  2. 2:025-4-3-2 in Minor · Episode 37
    ‘3’: run down to 3, jump to the lower fifth and come up a major triad.
  3. 3:175-4-3-2 in Minor · Episode 37
    All chained, then practised through A, D and G minor.
  4. 4:045-4-3-2 in Minor · Episode 37
    Using them over a minor turnaround like Love Me or Leave Me.

Idea 8 of 18

Five chromatically to three

The back end of a Bird phrase: descend a third chromatically, filling every note in between (5 to 3, 4 to 2, 3 to 1...). Practised from every degree, up and down, it gives chromatic lines that still land on scale tones.

Practise it: Work it down the whole scale and back up, changing strings where needed; on major thirds play both half steps.

Line
𝄞♯
C3BCDD♭
  1. D
  2. C#
  3. C
  4. B

Builds onHalf step below

Barry’s own pages6.6 Chromatic pickups and the well-placed half step8.9 Bird’s devices

More on this 3 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called sliding down the third

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 2:01Charlie Parker Idea #2 · Episode 32
    On D7 in G: 5 chromatically to 3.
  2. 2:35Charlie Parker Idea #2 · Episode 32
    Down the scale: 4 to 2, 3 to 1 (both half steps), 2 to 7, and so on.
  3. 9:50Charlie Parker Idea #2 · Episode 32
    Combined: a chord up with a half step below, then sliding down the third from the top.

Idea 9 of 18

Every note is a target note

Chris argues against learning set ‘target notes’ for each chord, with rules such as never starting on the 4th of a minor 7: if you think of C minor 7 to F7 as F7 you can start anywhere, and Bird does it constantly. Barry would let the class call out any of the twelve notes and start a phrase on it that sounded right, to show that any note can be made pretty or hip. The half-step rules are a foundation, not a limit on where a phrase may start, and a note outside the scale can be explained by a substitute such as the tritone.

Practise it: Over A minor to D7, thinking only D7, start phrases on outside notes such as C sharp, the sharp 9, the flat 5 and the sharp 5, and use surrounding notes and half steps to make them resolve.

Builds onThink the dominant: put the ii awaySurrounds

Barry’s own pages8.1 Put the ii chord away0.3 Rules matter more than scales; everything by logic7.2 Building phrases from small pieces (class phrases)

More on this 11 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called Call out any note, don’t learn target notes, start a phrase on any note, all 12 notes are equally important

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 8:19Major Scale Half-Step Rules · Episode 25
    The class exercise: call out a note, including notes outside the scale.
  2. 10:20Major Scale Half-Step Rules · Episode 25
    G sharp on C7 heard as the second of F sharp 7, the tritone; come down a chord from it.
  3. 12:06Major Scale Half-Step Rules · Episode 25
    A 20-minute class of Barry starting phrases on called-out notes.
  4. 1:28Don’t Learn Target Notes; Barry’s Beautiful Chromatic Scale · Episode 80
    Target-note teaching on C minor 7 to F7 and its rules, such as never starting on the 4th
  5. 2:52Don’t Learn Target Notes; Barry’s Beautiful Chromatic Scale · Episode 80
    A chord up from any degree works, and Bird starts on F over C minor all the time
  6. 12:09Don’t Learn Target Notes; Barry’s Beautiful Chromatic Scale · Episode 80
    Starting on the sharp 9 of F7, which is just the 6th of B7
  7. 13:19Don’t Learn Target Notes; Barry’s Beautiful Chromatic Scale · Episode 80
    Barry’s game: call out any of the twelve notes and he starts a perfect phrase on it
  8. 0:00Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    Follow-up: the video should have been called ‘every note is a target note’
  9. 5:10Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    Starting on C# and on D# (sharp 9) over A minor to D7
  10. 6:22Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    Starting on the flat 5 and the sharp 5
  11. 8:15Every Note Is a Target Note (Follow-Up) · Episode 89
    Every one of these notes works over D7

Idea 10 of 18

What can I do from each degree?

When you chain phrases you land on all sorts of scale degrees, and each landing note tends to trigger the same habit, such as always coming up a chord from the third or always pivoting from the seventh. So Chris builds a set of things to do from each degree: half-step rules on and off the beat, the arpeggios the note belongs to, pivots, triads and chords up, the chromatic scale, and starts on non-scale notes as well. Barry could start the Cherokee bridge from any note a student called out, and the same idea applies to harmonising a single melody note many ways.

Practise it: Choose one degree and list everything you can play from it, test yourself in tempo over a blues to find the habits you fall into, then repeat for every degree.

Builds onPivotsThe three important arpeggios of a dominantThe descending half-step rules for the dominant

Barry’s own pages14.2 Every key, every degree, every way7.2 Building phrases from small pieces (class phrases)7.4 Seeing the phrase before you play it; feeling the shape of the melody

More on this 14 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called Starting a solo from any note, what can I do from the second, every degree, every way, soloing from every degree

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 12:04Using the pivot to make lines on I Got Rhythm · Episode 42
    Barry: the fingers only want to do what they feel comfortable doing.
  2. 0:00Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    Hitting a certain note triggers the same thing every time.
  3. 1:05Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    Inspired by a phrase Barry improvised in an online class on Chi Chi.
  4. 3:18Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    From the tonic: thirds, a third with a half step below, triads, three notes up then a third.
  5. 6:06Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    From the second, then the third.
  6. 9:34Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    Barry starting the Cherokee bridge (F sharp 7) on any note called out by the class.
  7. 11:12Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    Chris always comes up a chord from the third; skip a chord note to change it.
  8. 12:18Starting a solo from any note · Episode 76
    Starting on F sharp and the flat five over a B flat blues.
  9. 0:00What can I do from the 2nd? · Episode 113
    Take one degree of D7, the second (E), and ask what you can do from it.
  10. 0:40What can I do from the 2nd? · Episode 113
    Phrases end on all kinds of degrees, so you need options from each to keep the line joined up.
  11. 7:43What can I do from the 2nd? · Episode 113
    Beyond D7 to G: break it down to what you can do from each degree.
  12. 8:23What can I do from the 2nd? · Episode 113
    A test against always doing the same thing on the second, third or seventh.
  13. 0:00What can I do from the 3rd? · Episode 114
    The same idea harmonically: end on a degree (the third) and build harmony around it.
  14. 9:22What can I do from the 3rd? · Episode 114
    Think a step ahead: what can I physically do from the third of C?

Idea 11 of 18

Dissect the masters’ phrases

Copying a Bird or Bud Powell phrase note for note is a first step, like a child repeating words. Barry’s way is to break the phrase into the pieces it is made of (a chromatic third, a chord up with a half step below, a surround) and play each piece, and the whole recipe, from every degree of the scale. Then vary it by starting on the ‘and’, dropping a note or adding a triplet, so you learn the master’s thinking and the result sounds like you rather than a quotation.

Practise it: Transcribe a short phrase, name each step (chord up, half step below, up a third, and so on), play it from degrees 1 to 7, keep the ones you like and fit them into a tune.

Line
𝄞♭
C3ACDFB♭
  1. D
  2. F
  3. C
  4. A
  5. B♭

Builds onTake it up every degree of the scalePuzzle pieces

Barry’s own pages14.3 Learn from the masters by ear; study the small things8.9 Bird’s devices14.2 Every key, every degree, every way13.4 Monk’s and Bud’s tunes; learning from records

More on this 24 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called Stealing a phrase the slick way, Take the phrase through the whole scale, Transcribing with a purpose, Dissect the masters’ phrases into pieces, take a master’s phrase to every degree, learning from Bird, dissecting a phrase, transcribing as puzzle pieces

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:00Charlie Parker Idea #3 · Episode 33
    A Star Eyes phrase from Bird at the Apartment, broken down and played from each degree.
  2. 6:07Charlie Parker Idea #3 · Episode 33
    A chord up from the third then down a scale tone, also taken through every degree.
  3. 0:37Charlie Parker Idea #2 · Episode 32
    Why not just reuse a Bird lick: Barry takes it apart and has you do it on the entire scale.
  4. 7:38Charlie Parker Idea #2 · Episode 32
    Bird’s D7 phrase rebuilt from a half step below, a five-note chord skipping the fourth note, and a chromatic third.
  5. 11:22Charlie Parker Idea #2 · Episode 32
    Barry does this with Bud, Dizzy, Monk and Hawkins too.
  6. 7:52Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas · Episode 43
    Credit Bud Powell for the idea, then practise it on the whole major scale.
  7. 2:37Don’t Ever Do This: Dotted ‘Swing’ Eighths · Episode 62
    Transcribing showed Chris the masters play straight eighths.
  8. 1:20Transcribing with a Purpose · Episode 75
    Don’t just duplicate Coleman Hawkins’s phrase on How High the Moon; take it apart.
  9. 5:06Transcribing with a Purpose · Episode 75
    Take one little thing from a solo and see if you can use it.
  10. 7:40Transcribing with a Purpose · Episode 75
    Use it somewhere else entirely, perhaps only on a minor.
  11. 8:54Transcribing with a Purpose · Episode 75
    Language: we repeat at first, then put our own thoughts together.
  12. 1:42Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    Paying homage is fine, but stealing a phrase outright is different; steal it in a slightly different way.
  13. 3:20Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    Barry’s way: do it on every degree of the scale and see what happens.
  14. 6:37Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    Make it your own: start on the ‘and’ and leave out the third note of the chord.
  15. 9:27Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    Do the work: every degree, a different start, one note changed.
  16. 4:21Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    Barry took a Bird phrase and had it done from every degree.
  17. 6:21Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    To be slick about thievery, learn the phrase on every degree of the scale.
  18. 8:44Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    Not just inserting Bud, Bird or Rollins phrases at every ii-V.
  19. 7:16Harmony versus soloing: what you’re getting wrong · Episode 154
    Barry broke a Bud Powell phrase into pieces: a half step below, a chord up as a triplet, a jump up a sixth
  20. 10:22Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Bud, Bird and Rollins are the creators worth working out, for both rhythm and note choice
  21. 3:15What is a puzzle piece? · Episode 166
    Transcribing Sonny Rollins on ‘Come, Gone’ (Way Out West), a line over ‘After You’ve Gone’
  22. 3:57What is a puzzle piece? · Episode 166
    The phrase D, F, C, A, Bb over F7 to Bb
  23. 5:10What is a puzzle piece? · Episode 166
    Rather than counting intervals, see a Bb triad started from its 2nd note, then a surround
  24. 6:54What is a puzzle piece? · Episode 166
    Triad shape plus surround on every degree

Idea 12 of 18

Charlie Parker’s thirds with a triplet

Descending thirds down the scale where each first note is played as a triplet with the scale note above it before dropping the third. It sits well on the I chord or a ii chord, used once or in a chain, and Bird uses it on My Little Suede Shoes.

Practise it: Learn the scale in thirds first, then add the triplet, in a comfortable key; then move it to D flat and on in fourths.

Line
𝄞♭♭♭
C4FC5A♭B♭
  1. A♭
  2. B♭
  3. A♭
  4. F

Builds onThirdsDissect the masters’ phrases

Barry’s own pages8.9 Bird’s devices6.9 Triplets in lines (eighth- and sixteenth-note)

More on this 3 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called descending thirds with a triplet

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:34A Charlie Parker Idea: Thirds with a Triplet · Episode 31
    A flat major in thirds, up and down, over about the third to eighth fret.
  2. 2:01A Charlie Parker Idea: Thirds with a Triplet · Episode 31
    The triplet with the scale note above, then down the third.
  3. 3:38A Charlie Parker Idea: Thirds with a Triplet · Episode 31
    Using it on the I chord and on B flat minor 7 to E flat 7.

Idea 13 of 18

Bird’s Night in Tunisia break phrase

From Charlie Parker’s famous alto break on A Night in Tunisia, in F major. Start with a half step below the root on the beat and go up a chord to the major 7th. Step down a scale note to the 6th, dip a half step below it and back, then go up a third: E F A C E D C-sharp D F. Barry would have it played from every degree, and Chris adds triplets.

Practise it: Practise chords up with a half step below and the note, half-step-below, note, third figure separately, then join them, then go through every degree. Then add a triplet at the start or a sixteenth-note triplet on the top note, which forces new guitar positions.

Line
𝄞♯
C4EFACDEFD♭
  1. E
  2. F
  3. A
  4. C
  5. E
  6. D
  7. C#
  8. D
  9. F

Builds onChord up: Barry’s ‘chord’Nap backDissect the masters’ phrases

Barry’s own pages8.9 Bird’s devices7.2 Building phrases from small pieces (class phrases)6.9 Triplets in lines (eighth- and sixteenth-note)

More on this 7 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called half step below, chord up, note, half step below, up a third

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:00Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    Taken from Bird’s double-time alto break on A Night in Tunisia, in F major.
  2. 1:18Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    Bird plays the half step below and chord up as eighth notes on the beat, not as the usual triplet.
  3. 3:43Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    The two ideas joined: E F A C E, then D C-sharp D F.
  4. 4:54Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    The same recipe starting on G, which sounds good over G minor to C7.
  5. 6:08Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    Making the first part a triplet, through every degree.
  6. 7:01Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    A sixteenth-note triplet on the top note, E.
  7. 8:23Bet you can’t play this: a Charlie Parker phrase · Episode 125
    The triplet changes the sound and makes the guitarist play it in different positions.

Idea 14 of 18

Bud Powell ideas

Small devices Chris learned from Bud Powell: a phrase that keeps returning to the second while the upper note falls (on Perdido), half steps below each note of a triad, the whole-tone line with half steps, and his surround. Each is taken apart and played on every degree.

Practise it: Play each device on every degree of the scale and in every key.

Builds onHalf step belowSurroundsDissect the masters’ phrases

Barry’s own pages13.4 Monk’s and Bud’s tunes; learning from records14.3 Learn from the masters by ear; study the small things6.6 Chromatic pickups and the well-placed half step

More on this 7 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called Bud Powell phrases

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:04Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas · Episode 43
    Perdido: F7 to B flat major, with the rhythm bridge.
  2. 1:15Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas · Episode 43
    Bud’s phrase on F7: up a third, then keep lowering the top note while going back to the second.
  3. 2:40Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas · Episode 43
    He does it from the seventh of F7 and the tonic of B flat; do it on the whole scale.
  4. 5:15Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas · Episode 43
    Half step below each note of a major triad, the root twice.
  5. 7:52Creating lines from Bud Powell ideas · Episode 43
    Credit to Bud, the source Chris learned it from.
  6. 11:45The Whole Tone Scale · Episode 44
    Bud’s whole-tone pattern on A7: thirds down with a half step in between.
  7. 7:01How to create major lines from scales · Episode 63
    Bud’s surround: note, half step below, note, whole step above, back.

Idea 15 of 18

Bud Powell’s Anthropology phrase

On the C7 of the Anthropology bridge (rhythm changes: D7, G7, C7, F7), Bud plays a chord up from the flat seventh, comes down a fourth with a half step below the target, goes up a third, then comes down the scale, landing on the third of F7. It is two simple things joined beautifully, which Chris says is what separates the masters.

Practise it: Know chords up from every degree and thirds with a half step below, then play the whole phrase from each degree. Try it from the fifth of each bridge dominant in I Got Rhythm.

Builds onChord up: Barry’s ‘chord’ThirdsHalf step belowDissect the masters’ phrases

Barry’s own pages7.2 Building phrases from small pieces (class phrases)13.2 Rhythm changes (‘seven songs in one’)14.3 Learn from the masters by ear; study the small things

More on this 4 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called chord up, down a fourth with a half step below, up a third

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:00Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    Anthropology’s bridge, D7 G7 C7 F7: on C7, beat three, Bud’s phrase lands on the third of F7.
  2. 0:36Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    Two simple things joined: a chord up from the seventh of C7, then down to the third with a half step below, and up a third.
  3. 5:30Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    Masters chain the simple parts of the language together in a beautiful way.
  4. 8:17Stealing a Bud Powell phrase from Anthropology · Episode 115
    He likes it from the fifth, so he plays it from the fifth of each bridge dominant in I Got Rhythm.

Idea 16 of 18

Bud Powell’s pure-scale phrase

A Bud Powell phrase on D7 built only from scale notes. Come down four notes as a triplet, go up a third, step down to the note you skipped, then pivot. Chris loves it because it uses no chromatics, like much early Bird on Dial.

Practise it: First practise scale groups: three, four, five or six notes up and down, and each pattern continuing up the scale or reversing direction. Then play the full phrase from every degree.

Line
𝄞♯♯
C4DEGC5G♭
  1. G
  2. F#
  3. E
  4. D
  5. F#
  6. E

Builds onPivotsEighth- and sixteenth-note triplets in linesDissect the masters’ phrases

Barry’s own pages7.2 Building phrases from small pieces (class phrases)6.9 Triplets in lines (eighth- and sixteenth-note)6.7 Pivoting

More on this 7 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called down four notes as a triplet, up a third, pivot

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 1:42Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    Scale groups: up three, four, five, six notes; up three notes then up a third.
  2. 2:21Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    Up and up, up and down, down and up: pure scale.
  3. 2:55Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    Bud plays down four notes from G (the fourth of D7) as triplets.
  4. 4:06Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    Down four notes, up a third, then the skipped scale note: G F-sharp E D, F-sharp, E.
  5. 4:39Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    Bud’s full phrase from the second: down four in a triplet, up a third, down a note, then a pivot.
  6. 5:47Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    Pure scale, like much of the early Bird on Dial.
  7. 6:55Stealing from Bud Powell, on every degree · Episode 144
    The same pattern from the root, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.

Idea 17 of 18

Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet

On the rhythm changes bridge of ‘Bud’s Bubble’ (also called ‘Crazeology’), Bud Powell plays the dominants G7, C7 and F7 with a fully chromatic run from the third up to the flat seventh, as two triplets, so the flat seventh lands on the next downbeat. Seen as the outer notes of a diminished triad filled in chromatically, it can be taken to every triad of the scale. Perfect fifths have one note too many, so you leave out one chromatic (Thomas leaves out the first).

Practise it: Take it up and down the triads of F7, choosing which chromatic to omit on each perfect fifth and sticking with one fingering; then use it on the rhythm changes bridge. Scale-wise from tonic to seventh also fits the triplet with no added half steps.

F7
𝄞♯♭
C4FGABCG♭B♭
  1. F
  2. F#
  3. G
  4. A
  5. B♭
  6. B
  7. C
Line
𝄞♯♭
C4FGABCA♭B♭
  1. F
  2. G
  3. G#
  4. A
  5. B♭
  6. B
  7. C

Builds onTriads up and down the scaleEighth- and sixteenth-note triplets in linesDissect the masters’ phrases

Barry’s own pages6.9 Triplets in lines (eighth- and sixteenth-note)6.10 Barry’s chromatic scale (chromatic runs with chord tones on the beat)13.2 Rhythm changes (‘seven songs in one’)14.3 Learn from the masters by ear; study the small things

More on this 9 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called Bud’s Bubble phrase, third to flat seventh chromatic

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 0:00Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Bud’s Bubble (Crazeology), a rhythm changes tune with a detour to F# major
  2. 0:35Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Bridge: D7, G7, C7, F7; on G7, C7 and F7, chromatic triplets from the 3rd to the flat 7th
  3. 2:20Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Seen as the lowest and highest notes of a triad, filled with chromatics
  4. 3:35Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    From F the fifth is perfect, so leave one chromatic out
  5. 4:11Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Thomas leaves out the first half step
  6. 4:47Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    G to D, Bb to F, C to G, D to A, each with one chromatic left out
  7. 7:25Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Going down: C to F, leaving out the first or second chromatic
  8. 9:16Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Diminished triads are always a flat fifth, so they are fully chromatic
  9. 11:00Bud Powell’s chromatic triplet, taken up the scale · Episode 162
    Without half steps: tonic to 7th (or 2nd to tonic, 3rd to 2nd) scale-wise fits the triplet

Idea 18 of 18

Sonny Rollins’s surrounds in thirds

Sonny Rollins surrounded notes a third apart: surround Bb, then surround D, then back to C and Eb, and so on, also going down in thirds and in triads. His version starts the first surround on an ‘and’ so that the second lands on the beat. Chris takes it up every degree, flips the rhythm, uses Jonathan’s reversed surround, and plays it in other keys.

Practise it: Play it in thirds up and down, first surround on the beat, then on the ‘and’; then in triads; then in other keys (F7, Eb7).

Builds onSurroundsThirdsFeel the ‘and’

Barry’s own pages6.5 Surrounding notes (approach from above and below)7.5 Rhythmic placement14.2 Every key, every degree, every way

More on this 5 moments where Chris teaches it

Also called a beautiful Sonny Rollins idea

Where Chris teaches it

  1. 1:46A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    Surround Bb, surround D, back to C and Eb, then D, in thirds; also down thirds
  2. 3:06A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    Rollins starts on an ‘and’: surround the Ab (flat 7), then the fifth, with the second surround landing on the beat
  3. 4:41A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    From every degree, first surround on the beat, then off it; applied to a blues
  4. 7:45A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    The phrase down triads: off the beat, on the beat, back on the ‘and’
  5. 8:50A beautiful Sonny Rollins idea: surrounds in thirds · Episode 149
    In F7 and Eb7 as well