Barry HarrisThe method

Chris Parks · Stage 6: Line devices

Surround or enclosure? The minor-third surround

Episode 165 · 10:31 · On YouTube · In the lesson player

Chris shows a surround (what most people call an enclosure) heard in Bird and Bud: the scale note above, then always a minor third below it, then the target, worked up a B flat major scale. He adds Bird’s chromatic triplet version and an upward version, then treats the surround as a puzzle piece to connect at once to others, such as a chord up.

Step by step

  1. 0:51Surround B flat in the B flat major scale: the scale note above (C), the note a minor third below that (A), then B flat
  2. 1:38Do it on every scale note, always using the minor third: D, B, C; E flat, C, D (not D flat); F, D, E flat; and so on up
  3. 2:43Bird’s version: fill the space chromatically as a triplet, go back up to the note you started on, then land on the target
  4. 4:10Reverse it: start on the minor third below, go up to the scale note above, then land on the target
  5. 5:41Treat the surround as a puzzle piece: surround B flat, then go up a chord (B flat, D, F, A), from every degree
  6. 7:50Connect it to other pieces too, such as a jump up a third, a fifth or a sixth after the target
  7. 8:27Practise every piece joined to another, e.g. up five notes with a ‘nap back’ (half step below and back) on the first note, until it comes out naturally

Chords and notes in this video

Tap a time to jump to it in the video.

Line1:06
𝄞♭
C4ACB♭
  1. C
  2. A
  3. B♭
Line1:38
𝄞
C3BCD
  1. D
  2. B
  3. C
Line2:11
𝄞♭
CDC5E♭
  1. E♭
  2. C
  3. D
Line2:43
𝄞♭
C4GAC5B♭
  1. B♭
  2. G
  3. A
Line5:35
𝄞♭
C4C5DFAB♭
  1. B♭
  2. D
  3. F
  4. A

Barry’s own words on this

6.5 Surrounding notes (approach from above and below)6.9 Triplets in lines (eighth- and sixteenth-note)7.2 Building phrases from small pieces (class phrases)

In the course

SurroundsThe minor third surroundPractise pieces connected to other pieces

Transcript

  1. 0:00Hello and welcome to episode 165 of things I learned from Barry Harris and today I thought we would talk about another one of those things that I’m calling puzzle pieces which is some people refer to them as enclosures. Most people do. Barry used to call them surround. So I’m going to show you this kind of interesting one that I like which is this minor third surround every time. But before we get started, I just wanted to point out uh I’m starting another 7-day free trial over at my school. So if you haven’t had a chance to come over and check it out, now’s the
  2. 0:33perfect opportunity. Uh so you can check it out. It doesn’t cost you anything to look and see what’s happening over at that uh community which has been fantastic. We’re having a blast. So definitely check it out. I’ll put the link in the description. And uh yeah, hope to see you over there. So surrounds. Most people would call these enclosures. Like if we take let’s say B flat major scale. Now you have to have the ability to enclose or as Barry would refer to it surround
  3. 1:06each one of those notes. You have to be able to surround B flat, C, D and so on. So a nice way that used to hear Charlie Parker and Bud Powell surround is they would take this concept of a minor third, always a minor third. Okay? No matter what note we’re doing. So let’s say we’re going to surround B flat. The concept is a scale tone above and then always a minor third below that note, whatever that note is. So let’s say we say here’s B flat. We’re going to start it with C. I always have to go a
  4. 1:38minor third below that, okay? >> [music] >> So there’s our surround. Okay? Of B flat. So we have B flat, a minor third I’m sorry, C, a minor third below the C which is A, B flat. You have to be able to do that for every note. So now we got the same thing for C. It’s going to start on D, minor third below D is [music] uh B natural to C. So, that’s a nice one. That’s the second one. The next one, and this is why it’s a minor third. Watch.
  5. 2:11E flat instead for D, you’re going to go E flat, and then normally if we surround with a half step below, we would do the D flat. But, in this case, we want to do the C because it’s a [music] minor third, okay? And I’m going to show you why in a second. The next one, the same thing, the E flat, we’re going to surround with F, D E flat. The next one, G, we’re going to surround the F with G, E F. The next one, we’re going to surround um the G with A [music] um G flat G or A F sharp G. And then again, this is one of those where normally if we were surround, we
  6. 2:43would do B flat, and then we would surround it with a half step below. But, we want to do a minor third always. >> [music] >> So, we got B flat G A, and then back to the first one which is uh C >> [music] >> A B flat. Okay, now, what Charlie Parker used to do or Bud Powell or the people in that period of time, I don’t know who came up with this, but it’s a pretty one. Watch this. So, instead of playing just the first one again, C to A to B flat uh Bird would start and put all the chromatics in between and make it a triplet. Watch.
  7. 3:18So, this is the way he would play it. And then go back up to the note you started on, which would be C which would be C. And then you got the B flat. See how pretty that is? So, now you got this. Now, for the next surround, which is the C, we had the D, and then we had the the B. So, you’re going to do the same thing. Really pretty. Next one. We’re going to surround the D with like I said before, the E flat and the B uh the E flat and the C. That’s why we need the minor third. See?
  8. 3:53Next one, E flat. Next one, F. G. >> [music] >> A. That’s why we need the minor third, you see? And then back to the B flat again. Very nice. Now, besides going down, we’re going down and then back up and then back around. We could start on the on the minor third below and go up. So, you just make it opposite. So, instead of playing the first one [music] is C down to A up to C back to B flat. This one starts on A
  9. 4:28back [music] to A and then B flat again. Listen how pretty that one is. So, we have two ways of doing it, either down or up. Here’s down or up. >> [music] >> Next one is the C. That’s down, here’s up. Next one is the D. Again, here’s down but here’s up. Now, what’s interesting is on this one, the one that you could do usually a half step below the note, I like to play the minor [music] third and now instead of starting on C going up to E flat, I then change it to D flat
  10. 5:03and then D. That’s a pretty one, too. Either is fine, though. Both of those are fine. Now, back to E flat. Here was the one that we did before down. But let’s do up. >> [music] >> Next one is the um F or up. All these are pretty. Watch. Here’s G. >> [music] >> Or here’s A. Up. Do the same thing with A. I like that note instead.
  11. 5:35>> [music] >> And then back to this one. Or those are really pretty. Now, that is what I would consider a puzzle piece. Now, you’re not just going to play this and stop. There’s going to be something that it’s connected to it. So, what the only way in my mind that you start to really learn if you really know these is if you connect them to another puzzle piece and practice those connected to something else. Like for instance, if we take this surround, we do it down.
  12. 6:07And let’s say when we get to the B flat, let’s come up a chord. So, remember in Barry’s world, a chord is what most other people refer to as an arpeggio. It’s just play a note, skip a note, play a note, skip a note, play a note, skip a note, play a note. So, now we got this. So, that’s coming up a chord. B flat D F A. So, we have to do that from each degree, but we’ll start with a surround. That’s really pretty. Or how about the other way? >> [music] >> Same thing for the C. Chord up from the C with a surround or
  13. 6:42Next one, the D. We’ll surround it again. Or That’s a nice one. The E flat uh the the um the E flat. Or >> [music] >> F. We’ll surround it like we’ve been. Or The G. Or The A. Uh Or
  14. 7:15And back to the first one. >> [music] >> You see how pretty those are? Watch. >> [music] >> You see how pretty those are? Listen to how pretty that is. Or >> [music] >> Listen to the one on the three. Uh let’s see. Uh Oh, sorry. Watch. Those are really pretty.
  15. 7:50Do the one from the three guys. >> [music] [music] >> Those are beautiful. So surrounds with this minor third are really special. But connect them to something else. That’s a nice way to nice way to practice it. Even if it’s just practicing them up a third. Watch. Just went up a third from the B flat. That’s nice. Or I could have gone up a fifth. W- Whatever. A sixth.
  16. 8:24Also. Put something else with it. That’s how you really know if you have it or not. See, sometimes I practice these puzzle pieces individually and I go up the scale with them. Like whatever it is. If I start on a thing and I go up five notes. That’s a puzzle piece, right? And I learn how to play that. Up the up five notes of any scale and back down five notes. But then you have to connect it to something else to know if it’s really s- if it’s if it’s really sunk in. If it’s really part of your playing yet. And I know for myself, it takes me
  17. 8:57a while before I can get a puzzle piece and then say, “Oh, I can just put it into my playing.” It just comes out naturally. The way that I find that it helps the most is by practicing it with other puzzle pieces right away. So if I took if I took five notes and let’s say I want to go up five notes and then down a third. Whatever that is. Or let’s say I wanted to go up five notes and then up a third. See, now I’m practicing it with
  18. 9:32something else. What if I said I want to practice that up five notes, but I one to do let’s say what we refer to as a nap back on the first wasn’t Barry and refer to it but we call it a nap back nap back meaning you hit a note you [music] go a half step below it and then back to that note. So here’s five notes. Suppose I did nap back on the first note. That’s two puzzle pieces I’m putting together to see how they feel in my hand. You see that’s what happens. So it’s just a series of putting these little
  19. 10:05things together becoming familiar with different things to do on the scale. So but this minor third surround thing is really beautiful. Um that’s all I wanted to show you today and just to remind you about the 7-day free trial. Just come over and give it a shot see what you think. I’d be curious to see what everybody thinks. Uh enjoy practicing your surrounds. Until next time.