Peter Bernstein
guitar
New York jazz guitarist of a younger generation than Barry; asked about him in his Almeria speech, Barry calls him pretty good but says he, like most guitarists, does not know the scale of chords.
- mentions
- 5
- recordings
- 1
- Barry speaking
- 4
What Barry says
Asked in the Almeria speech what he thinks of Joe Pass and Peter Bernstein, Barry says Bernstein is pretty good and that such guitarists can play, but there are things they do not know, above all the scale of chords, unless they have been in his class. Guitarists, he says, should be able to play that scale on the guitar.
He adds that he was recently around Bernstein, who was in the group at an event in the Azores, in Portugal. Again he calls him pretty good, and again says that most guitar players, good as they are, do not know about that scale.
Still on guitarists, he challenges those listening to practise the scale of chords, then listen to other guitar players and try to find one who sounds as though he knows it; he is sure they will not.
Believe: a talk to musicians54:53
In his own words
I was around Peter Bernstein just recently in the Azores... He was pretty good. Most guitar players are good, but they don’t know about that scale of chords.
They’re good, good, but they don’t know about the scale of chords. They do not know it, I’m telling you, unless they’ve been in my class.
Every mention
5 moments in the recordings, 4 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.
Believe: a talk to musicians
- 50:54
Speaker unclear
In the question time, someone asks Barry what he thinks of Joe Pass and Peter Bernstein (caption ‘Peter Burin’).
- 50:54
Replies that Bernstein is pretty good; guitarists like him can play but miss certain things.
- 51:30
What they lack is the scale of chords, unless they have been in his class.
- 52:05
Says he was recently around Bernstein, who was in the group at an event in the Azores, Portugal.
- 52:38
Calls him pretty good again; most guitarists are good but do not know that scale.
In the interviews and notes
Correcting another member’s memory, a forum member gives his own version of Barry’s words: Bernstein had been around him somewhere and is a pretty good guitar player, but such players do not know everything, chord scales for one. Neither Bernstein nor he, he adds, hears or needs that material.
jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Tom Jobim - Wave Analysis using Barry Harris Method ¶473jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Tom Jobim - Wave Analysis using Barry Harris Method ¶475
Another member had remembered the same remark more loosely, as Barry saying Bernstein is a good guitarist who does not know the eight-note scale, and found it funny.
jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Tom Jobim - Wave Analysis using Barry Harris Method ¶471
In a discussion of Barry’s view that minor tonic chords should be sixth chords, a member describes Bernstein’s path backwards through jazz history: from fusion as a teenager, to Grant Green and Wes Montgomery with their minor sevenths, to Monk and his minor sixths.
jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Official Barry Harris Thread (jazzguitar.be forum thread) ¶2421jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Official Barry Harris Thread (jazzguitar.be forum thread) ¶2438
Members of the Barry Harris threads pass on Bernstein’s own teaching: once you are at ease with Embraceable You, you can handle most moves in the standard repertoire; and if you can hear a tune’s melody and shape it at a given speed, you can play it at that speed.
jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Official Barry Harris Thread (jazzguitar.be forum thread) ¶1876jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Things I learned from Barry Harris Study Group ¶382
Method ideas nearby
Ideas of the method taught in the classes where they come up, with how many mentions fall in each.
- 1.4Triplets and thinking in six5
- 11.1Two hands together5
- 11.2Keep the left hand low and make it interesting5
- 12.2Know the song; learn many songs; find your key5
- 2.2The two whole-tone scales (‘man and woman’)5
- 2.3The three diminished seventh chords (‘the children’)5
- 8.3Four dominants from every diminished chord5
- 8.6The diminished scale as diminished chord + four dominant roots5