Barry HarrisThe method
Volume III · Harmony Stage 9, sixth chords and the scales of chords Idea 9 of 1012345678910
9.9

Chords from the diminishedRaise or lower one or two notes

Barry’s four chord types all come from a diminished chord with notes moved a half step: lower one note for a dominant 7th, raise one for a minor 6th, move two neighbouring notes for a major 6th, two opposite notes for a 7♭5.

In plain words

Play a diminished seventh chord and drop one note a half step: you have a dominant. Do it to each note in turn and C diminished gives B7, D7, F7 and A♭7, the four dominants that are brother and sister to each other. Barry learned this years ago where he came from, from other players and from records; only later did he find that Schoenberg had written it down. He thought guitarists especially should know it.

Jazz theory, part 3: four dominants from one diminished8:369:10Believe: a talk to musicians20:5121:26

Barry’s question was why Schoenberg only said to move the note down. Raise it instead: raising the C of C diminished gives an F♯ minor 6, and any one note raised gives a minor sixth, which you might also call a half-diminished.

Jazz theory, part 4: borrowing diminished notes3:206:18Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:36

Then move two notes. Two consecutive notes of the diminished, lowered or raised together, give a major sixth: lower C and E♭ for D6, raise them for A6. Two notes that are not neighbours give a seventh with a flat five. In his 2003 class in The Hague Barry added that every seventh with a flat five is two dominants, so that learning six of those scales gives you all twelve.

Eyes of the Masters: the first progression1:54Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:361:15Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶42

So the dominant 7, minor 6, major 6 and 7♭5 all grow out of the diminished, which is where the four scales of chords come from. The point is movement: Barry’s first progression is a minor sixth going down to the diminished and on down to the dominant it comes from, and he wanted the progressions these moves make learned, not just the chords.

Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale4:265:03Eyes of the Masters: the first progression0:021:54Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶42

Step by step

  1. Lower any one note of a diminished chord a half step: the lowered note is the root of a dominant 7th. From C diminished (C E♭ F♯ A):

    Lower C: B7
    𝄞♯♯
    1. B
    2. D♯
    3. F♯
    4. A
    Lower E♭: D7
    𝄞♯
    1. D
    2. F♯
    3. A
    4. C
    Lower F♯: F7
    𝄞♭
    1. F
    2. A
    3. C
    4. E♭
    Lower A: A♭7
    𝄞♭♭♭
    1. A♭
    2. C
    3. E♭
    4. G♭

    Jazz theory, part 3: four dominants from one diminished8:36Believe: a talk to musicians20:51Howard Rees, Evolutionary Voicings, Part I: Barry Harris Keeps Things Movin’ ¶11

  2. Raise any one note a half step: you get a minor sixth chord (the same notes as a half-diminished).

    Raise C: F♯ minor 6
    𝄞♯♯♯
    1. F♯
    2. A
    3. C♯
    4. D♯
    Raise E♭: A minor 6
    𝄞♯
    1. A
    2. C
    3. E
    4. F♯
    Raise F♯: C minor 6
    𝄞♭
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. G
    4. A
    Raise A: E♭ minor 6
    𝄞♭♭♭
    1. E♭
    2. G♭
    3. B♭
    4. C

    Jazz theory, part 4: borrowing diminished notes3:20Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:36Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶54

  3. Move two neighbouring notes together, down or up: you get a major sixth chord.

    Lower C and E♭: D6
    𝄞♯
    1. D
    2. F♯
    3. A
    4. B
    Raise C and E♭: A6
    𝄞♯♯
    1. A
    2. C♯
    3. E
    4. F♯

    Eyes of the Masters: the first progression1:54Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:36Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶54

  4. Move two notes that are not neighbours (they lie a tritone apart): you get a seventh with a flat five, which can be named from either of two roots.

    Lower C and F♯: B7♭5 (the same notes as F7♭5)
    𝄞♯
    1. B
    2. D♯
    3. F
    4. A

    Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale1:15Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶42

  5. Turn the moves into movement. Barry’s first move: raise a note for a minor sixth, bring it back to the diminished, then lower it once more for the dominant.

    C minor 6
    𝄞♭
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. G
    4. A
    C diminished
    𝄞♭♯
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. F♯
    4. A
    F7
    𝄞♭
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. F
    4. A

    Eyes of the Masters: the first progression0:02Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶42

  6. His next move works with two notes: raise F♯ and A of C diminished, move them back down to the diminished, then down once more.

    C E♭ G B♭ (C minor 7 = E♭6)
    𝄞♭♭
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. G
    4. B♭
    C diminished
    𝄞♭♯
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. F♯
    4. A
    C E♭ F A♭ (F minor 7 = A♭6)
    𝄞♭♭
    1. C
    2. E♭
    3. F
    4. A♭

    Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶42

How he said to practise it

  • Lower each note of C diminished in turn and name the dominant, as Barry had a pianist do; then go back and raise each note and name the minor sixth.

    Jazz theory, part 3: four dominants from one diminished8:36Jazz theory, part 4: borrowing diminished notes3:20

  • Move pairs: neighbouring notes up and down for the major sixths, then opposite notes for the 7♭5 chords, and learn the progressions they make.

    Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:361:15Eyes of the Masters: the first progression1:54

  • Play the first progression until it is in your hands: minor sixth, down to the diminished, down to the dominant it comes from.

    Eyes of the Masters: the first progression0:02Vera Marijt (research coach Jarmo Hoogendijk), Barry Harris: Exploring the Diminished (MA research paper) ¶42

In Barry’s words

Each one plays from the moment he says it. Every other moment he teaches it is listed below.

That diminished seven... you dropped it one note at a time, you’ll find out that you got a dominant.

Believe: a talk to musicians, Almería, 2014. Talk in Spain, telling guitarists to learn the diminished 20:54 Watch on YouTube at 20:54

Why would you say move the note down and not move it up?

Jazz theory, part 4: borrowing diminished notes, New York City. His question to Schoenberg, after raising a note to get a minor sixth 6:18 Watch on YouTube at 6:18

If you want major sixes from a diminish[ed]... all you do is lower two consecutive notes or... raise those two consecutive notes.

Eyes of the Masters: the first progression, New York City. New School clip, before lowering C and E♭ for D6 1:54 Watch on YouTube at 1:54

That’s the minor six going down to the diminish[ed], down to the dominant that it comes from.

Eyes of the Masters: the first progression, New York City. What he calls probably the first progression to know on piano 0:02 Watch on YouTube at 0:02

Where this comes from

Everything above is drawn from these. Open any one to check it.

Every moment he teaches it10 moments in 5 recordings

Each time opens the transcript there; the video plays when you are online.

Jazz theory, part 3: four dominants from one diminished

New York City — 12 min On YouTube

  1. 8:36

    Lowers each note of C diminished in turn: B7, D7, F7, A♭7; the four are brother and sister.

    Watch on YouTube at 8:36

Jazz theory, part 4: borrowing diminished notes

New York City — 8 min On YouTube

  1. 3:20

    Schoenberg said drop the note; Barry raises it instead: C of C diminished up gives F♯ minor 6.

    Watch on YouTube at 3:20

  2. 6:18

    Asks why Schoenberg moved the note only down; every major six is also a minor seventh.

    Watch on YouTube at 6:18

  3. 3:58

    B in the bass under the chord, move a note down and go to E major: an early progression.

    Watch on YouTube at 3:58

Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale

New York City — 14 min On YouTube

  1. 0:36

    From C diminished: lower a note for a dominant, raise for a minor six, two consecutive notes for major sixes.

    Watch on YouTube at 0:36

  2. 1:15

    Non-consecutive notes, C and F♯, moved down or up give a chord with a flat five.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:15

  3. 4:26

    These four chord types come from two diminished chords; the third makes their scale.

    Watch on YouTube at 4:26

Eyes of the Masters: the first progression

New York City — 5 min On YouTube

  1. 1:54

    Lower C and E♭ of C diminished for D6, raise them for A6; then learn the progression.

    Watch on YouTube at 1:54

  2. 0:02

    First progression: a minor six down to the diminished, down to the dominant it comes from.

    Watch on YouTube at 0:02

Believe: a talk to musicians

Almería, 2014 — 60 min On YouTube

  1. 20:51

    Guitarists should drop one note at a time to find the dominants; he learned it in the street.

    Watch on YouTube at 20:51

From the lessons1 lesson, 4 points

Notes taken from Barry’s classes, each tied to the moment it comes from.

One diminished chord, many chords

  1. Exercise

    Play a diminished seventh chord and lower one note at a time by a half step: each time you get a dominant seventh chord. Barry credits Schoenberg with stating the rule: lower the C of C diminished (C, E-flat, F-sharp, A) to B and you have B7. He called the guitar the best instrument for really learning the diminished, and said guitar players especially are supposed to do this.

    Believe: a talk to musicians20:1520:51Jazz theory, part 4: borrowing diminished notes3:20Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:36

  2. Idea

    Barry learned the lower-one-note trick years ago, from other players and from listening to records where he came from, long before he found out that Schoenberg had written it down. He could not have afforded Schoenberg’s book back then.

    Believe: a talk to musicians20:51

  3. Idea

    Barry asked why Schoenberg only said to lower the note. Raise it instead: raising the C of C diminished gives C-sharp, E-flat, F-sharp, A, a minor sixth chord on F-sharp. Raising any one note of a diminished chord gives a minor sixth chord, which you might also call a half-diminished.

    Jazz theory, part 4: borrowing diminished notes3:206:18Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:36

  4. Exercise

    Now move two notes at once. Lowering or raising two neighbouring notes gives a major sixth chord: on C, E-flat, F-sharp, A, lowering C and E-flat gives B, D, F-sharp, A (D6), and raising them gives C-sharp, E, F-sharp, A (A6). Moving two notes that are not neighbours gives a seventh chord with a flat five. So one diminished chord leads to dominant sevenths, minor sixths, major sixths and seventh-flat-five chords. Then learn the progressions these make.

    Jazz theory, part 5: the sixth diminished scale0:361:15Eyes of the Masters: the first progression1:201:54

In writing5 notes

What his interviews, his students’ class notes and other teachers’ articles add.

How other teachers explain it3 videos, 14 series episodes

Barry’s students, and their students, teaching it their way. A second opinion, not Barry.

In the teaching series

Episodes on this idea in the long series by other teachers. Each name opens that whole series in order.

Connor Jones

Isaac Raz

Kay Benyarko

Mike Hayes Guitar

The Labyrinth of Limitations

Read further5 links

These open on the web.

Free to read

Books and paid courses