In the realm of jazz education, few names carry as much weight as Barry Harris. A revered figure in the jazz community, Barry Harris was not only an accomplished pianist and composer but also a highly influential educator. His teachings have left an indelible mark on countless musicians, shaping the way they approach harmony, improvisation, and musical expression.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into Barry Harris’ Major Scale Half-Step Rules, exploring their significance and practical applications. Whether you’re a seasoned jazz player or just starting out in jazz, understanding and utilizing the half-step rules is guaranteed to unlock new creative possibilities and enrich your improvisational skills.
The Major Scale
Before we get into the half-step rules, let’s do a little recap of the major scale.
The major scale is a seven-note sequence of pitches that follow a pattern of whole and half steps (WWHWWWH). Here is an example of a C major scale.
Barry Harris’ half-step rules focus on descending improvisational lines derived from this scale. The half-steps themselves serve as rhythmic placeholders so that chord tones can land on strong beats (1, 2, 3, and 4) which is a defining element of bebop language.
Half-Step Rules For Scales Descending From 1-3-5-7
When descending from the chord tones (1-3-5-7) , there are two half-step rules that can be applied.
One Half Step: You can place a half-step between the 5th and 6th.
3 Half Steps: You can place three half-steps between 3rd and 2nd, 2nd and 1st, 6th and 5th.
Half-Step Rules For Scales Descending From 2-4-6
When descending from 2-4-6, there are also 2 rules that can be applied.
No Half-steps: You can just play the regular major scale descending.
2 Half-steps: You can place 2 half-steps between the 2nd and 1st & 6th and 5th.
Extra Rules
The Half-Step Can Be Any Note!
Similar to the dominant 7 scale rules, your half step note can be any note. In the example below, we started on the 2nd scale degree, but instead of putting a half step between 2 and 1 (as stated in the second half-step rule for descending lines starting on 2-4-6), we ran up to the 4th and used that note as our “half-step”.
For this extra rule, you have to follow the rule for the note you play after your “half-step note”.
In the example above, the half-step note was F, and the note after it was E, so we can follow any of the half step rules for the 3rd. I chose to follow the simplest one with one half-step between the 5th and 6 scale degrees.
3-5-7 Rule
In this rule, you can put 3 half-steps between the 3rd and 2nd, 7th and 6th & 6th and 5th.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Barry Harris’ Major Scale Half-Step Rules unlocks thousands of melodic possibilities for improvisation.
They can seem a bit confusing and intimidating at first, but through consistent practice and application in the music that you play, you will see a drastic improvement in the quality of your melodic ideas.
If you would like to hear other explanations of this topic, “Things I Learned From Barry Harris”, “Isaac Raz”, and “Jazz Skills” are a few practitioners of Barry Harris’ concepts and teaching style that you can find online.
Always take your time to absorb and experiment with new concepts. Exhaust all your options. Who knows? Maybe you will come up with some rules of your own!
Until then, happy practicing!
