Chris Parks · Stage 6: Line devices
Barry’s beautiful chromatic scale, part 2
Chris revisits Barry’s chromatic scale: fill each whole step of a scale with the note between, and where two scale notes are already a half step apart, jump to the next scale note and come back, so the scale tones fall on the beats. Because that only works for lines that start on a beat, he adds his own fix for starting on an ‘and’: skip the first half step and carry on with the rules, so the scale can serve phrases that begin anywhere in the bar, as Bird’s and Barry’s do.
Step by step
- 0:00A refresher on the chromatic scale Barry came up with in about 1996 or 1997, shown on F7; it works with any scale, major or minor
- 0:39Where two scale notes are a whole step apart, play the half step between (F, F sharp, G); where they are a half step apart, jump to the next scale note and come back (A, C, B flat)
- 1:24The whole F7 scale up: F F# G G# A C Bb B C C# D F Eb E F; coming down, use the same half steps
- 2:37Practise it as Barry had you practise any scale: in thirds, F to A, G to B flat and so on, all with the chromatic notes
- 3:17Then triads (F, A, C) up the scale; mix them with Barry’s descending half-step rules, pivots and half steps below thirds, triads and chords to make your own lines
- 4:29With the metronome at about 140, play the scale, the triads and the chords: each is built to start on a beat
- 5:08The catch: your lines will all start on a beat, while Bird and Barry start phrases anywhere in the bar
- 5:40Chris’s fix: when a line starts on an ‘and’, skip its very first half step, then carry on with the rules (F to A without the F sharp), which puts the scale notes back on the beats
- 7:44Descending in C minor (think Perdido or Autumn Leaves): start on the second on the ‘and’ of 2, skip the half step down to the tonic, then go chromatic
- 8:59Start on the fifth on an ‘and’: skip the first half step, then carry on with the chromatic half steps from the fourth down; Chris finds this a big help for his rhythm
Chords and notes in this video
Tap a time to jump to it in the video.
Barry’s own words on this
In the course
Transcript
- 0:00Hello, and welcome to episode 96 of Things I Learned from Barry Harris. And today I thought we would talk a little bit more and in depth about Barry’s beautiful chromatic scale. I made a couple of videos about this previously, but just to refresh, just as a refresher, Barry in the 90s, I think about 1996 or so, my friend Axel kind of corrected me on it, but I think it’s 96 or 97, came up with this chromatic scale, which is pretty... it’s actually an easy concept. So if we take F7, let’s say, to use for the... and it works with any scale, but let’s take F7.
- 0:39The idea behind it is, any place that you have a half-step in between two notes, you use it. Any place where you don’t have a half-step between the two notes, you jump up to the next scale tone. So for instance, if we played F7 scale, or F mixolydian F dominant scale, in between F and G, you have a half step. So you use it. F, F sharp, G. In between G and A, you use it. You have G, G sharp, A. In between A and B flat, you do not have a half step. So you jump from A to C, then hit B flat. So so far we have F, F sharp, G, G sharp, A, C. Now we jump back to B flat.
- 1:24Now in between B flat and C, we do have one. B flat, B, C. In between C and D, we have one. C, C sharp, D. In between D and E flat, we don’t have a half step. So we have to jump up to F. So we’ve got D, F, E flat. And then in between E flat and D and F, we have one. E flat, E, F. So our whole scale would be. and the same thing going down, descending. We’re going to use the same half steps. So in between F and E flat, we have one, which is the E natural.
- 2:01Now in between E flat and D, we don’t have a half step, so we’re going to jump back up to F, and so on. So we’re going to say here’s the scale going up, then down. Now that’s the concept for Barry’s chromatic scale. And you can use it for a major scale, you can use it for a minor scale. It’s brilliant. It’s another Barry Harris brilliant thing. So the way he had us practicing it was, for instance, you could practice it in thirds. So just like an F7 scale, or any scale we’re playing, we play in thirds.
- 2:37Well in thirds, in the chromatic, we would have to say F to A. So it’s going to be, and the next third would be G to B flat note B, and so on. So you’re going to say, sorry, last one. Now, if you could do an upper third, sometimes the next thing you do is a triad when you’re
- 3:17practicing the normal F7 scale. So what you have to do is do the triad, which would be basically F, A, and C. So you’re going to do that with the chromatic scale. The next one would be, which would be, next one. the triads up. And these are brilliant and you use them as part of your, just using them in combination with Barry’s original descending half-step rules, in combination with pivots,
- 3:54in combination with half-step below thirds, half-step below triads, half-step below chords, and so on. And as you chain some of these things together, you can create really beautiful lines that are your own as opposed to just copying Sonny Rollins or Charlie Parker or even Barry. Now the thing that I was interested in for myself was since I’m an extremely on the beat player I’ve constantly noticed that about myself that I always create things or lines that start on a beat as opposed to on the end.
- 4:29I started to think about well how can we use this scale since this entire scale is predicated on the fact that we start on a beat. So for instance, if I put this on, I have it on about 140. So this would be the scale. 1, 2, 3, 4. Triads. 2, 3, 4. And so on. See? Or you can even do chords which would be to this so it would be two three four next one
- 5:08and so on and so on again it’s predicated on the fact that we’re starting on a beat but then what starts to happen is you realize well wait a minute now all of my lines and all my creations are always going to start on a beat whether There’s the first beat, second, third, fourth. So I noticed for myself in my own playing, when I see a transcription of Charlie Parker or a transcription of all the great players, you don’t see that they start phrases on the same beat, on one or two.
- 5:40They start phrases anywhere. Same thing with Barry. I’ve seen people transcribe Barry and they start phrases anywhere. So I just thought, well, this scale is not going to be good for that because it’s predicated on starting on the beat. but I want to use this scale. So I said, what would be a good way to do it? And I realized if you start on an and, all you do is skip the very first half step. So let’s say for instance, instead of us doing a third from F to A using Barry’s chromatic scale, and we say, that’s on a beat. So this is what it would be. One, two, three, four. So now, a good rule is, if you start on an and,
- 6:26just skip the very first half step, whatever that is. So let’s say I’m going to go from F to A. Now, if I start on an and, I’m going to skip the F sharp. So instead of playing this, I’m going to play this. So watch this. One, two, three, four, one. Next one. Next one. Next one. So each one of those examples, I skipped the very first half step. So the first example was this is
- 7:04normally it, but now I changed it to this, because now I’m starting on the and. The next one, if I did a third from G to Bb, it would be normally, but since I’m starting on the and, instead of saying one, two, three, four, I’m going to say one, two, three, four, one. Oh, I’m sorry. That’s the second ones. So one, two, three, four, which is really pretty. Next one, one, two, three, normal would be, that’s normal. But now it’s going to be one, two, three, four, one. So you skip the first half step,
- 7:44which would be between the third and the fifth. So when I started doing this, I realized, oh man, there’s a million things to practice. A million things to practice. So let’s say we’re doing a song that starts on C minor. Like, like, um, Perdido or Autumn Leaves or anything like that. So you could start from any degree. So let’s start, let’s do some descending stuff, maybe. Let’s say, so normally, if we started on the second, we would do. So let’s say one, so let’s try.
- 8:25That’s normal. So we started on a 1, 2, 3, and we started on the 3rd beat. So maybe let’s start on the and of 2. So let’s try that. So that was starting on the and of the 2. So instead of using the half steps going, which would be pretty easy, starting from 2nd all the way down to flat 7, where you’re just totally chromatic.
- 8:59Now I’m starting with just on the 2nd, and I’m skipping the first half step between the 2nd and the tonics. Now I’m saying... I mean, that’s so pretty. That is some pretty stuff. Or if I started on the 5th, let’s say. 1, 2, 3... That’s starting on the beat, but now let’s start on the end. So that time I just used... I just did one half step.
- 9:33But now maybe let’s do starting on the five and skipping the first half step, but then when I get to the four, I do the four’s half step. And between four and three, you have to put the five again. So one, two, three, one, two. I mean, that is so pretty. One, two, three. That is pretty stuff. One, two, three. I mean, that stuff is so pretty.
- 10:11So these kind of little things, to me, are complete game changers for myself, at least. And perhaps it’s going to be for you, too. because I’m the type of person that one of the weak things in my playing is the rhythm. One of the weak things. Many weak things, but one of the weaknesses I have is rhythm. But I find if I really practice these in this fashion, it’s really helpful, super helpful. And Barry’s chromatic scale has always been one of the, I mean, of all the wonderful things he’s come up with, it’s one that I really enjoy practicing, and I can see it quickly, and I’m able to make up lines with it.
- 10:50but now that I’m able to see it for starting on an and, and it was such an easy solution to just don’t do the first half step, just play it normal scale, and then continue with his half step, chromatic half step rules after that. It’s perfect. But it’s another instance where Barry’s, he just gives us these tools that we can use to really become fluent improvisers. It’s a real blessing. Anyway, until next time, I hope you enjoy practicing Barry’s beautiful chromatic scale. See you soon.