Episode 16: The Elevator Sequence (Barry Harris Scales of Chords)

#daddario
I've decided it was time to make a more thorough pdf and episode that focuses only on the Elevator Sequence. It's been present in every episode of the Labyrinth, and is one of the most fundamentally important things for guitarists to practice with the scales of chords.
There is an extensive PDF for this episode that is strongly recommended:
www.thomasechols.com/scores/t...
Download the Labyrinth app here! It's deep (I still learn from it myself), but is also accessible and helpful for people new to this material:
www.thomasechols.com/labyrinth
Patreon:
/ labyrinthoflimitations
For zoom lessons:
[e-mail]

[@thingsivelearnedfrombarryh2616]

Thank you for doing this man. Best content on Barry's scales of chords on KZbin. My goal is to see this stuff as quickly as you do. Congratulations on 3k. Should be 300k.

[@KennethGonzalez]

Absolutely!

[@ianleemusic]

Yes to all the above!

[@chrisinglik4115]

You both guys do awesome stuff. Really precious. Thank you.

[@jojobeanz2981]

Imagine Barry Harris himself zoning out practicing this stuff by himself

[@removemental2873]

You're channel is one of the best things on KZbin. Thanks man.

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Thanks, Kyle!

[@jkaznosky]

Between you and Chirs, I need little else as learning material other than my record collection. Well done.

[@rillloudmother]

thanks for the heads up on TILF 98! cheers to both of you guys for preaching barry's good news!

[@jimh77]

Great stuff, Thomas. I’ve been trying to adapt the elevator to ukulele (which tops out at drop 2), and this episode is really going to help. (And Chris is absolutely right: you should have 100x the subscribers you do.)

[@chrisinglik4115]

Thank you Thomas. This knowledge is pure gold!

[@jadenavery2341]

Love your lessons Thankyou so much for sharing your knowledge the PDFs are amazing to go along with each lesson

[@js0550]

I really enjoy every episode of Thomas Echols prime material and Mr Echols really enjoy what he is doing, thanks

[@jakelee7639]

This is freakn gold!!!!!....wonderful expansion of harmony with endless practical applications.......I will be subbed to your channel until dead.....thank you so much

[@jakegillespie6811]

great video again mate this is incredible stuff. ive been learning and trying to use some very basic barry harris ideas on and off for a couple of years after getting a hint of the possibility of diminished and augmented intuitively a few years ago, then more recently been on a labrynths' and tilf barry and its been so beautiful and inspiring to learn so many wonderful lessons, methods, techniques, ideas and style from your channel and tilf. you two are are truly new masters of the craft of guitar and the broader musical legacy and tradition that comes down through barry harris and beyond.

[@piggyfly00]

needed this video. tied everything together

[@BTB25647]

Thank you for what you are providing. Your efforts ar truly appreciated.

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Thanks, Darcena!

[@KennethGonzalez]

This is your best treatment of the elevator concept yet. I think that your thought of starting with the unison and moving outward is *perfect*. Your method of organizing this is just fantastic! The thing that Iove the most is being able to get used to the sound of the different types of motion so that you're not locked into "fingerings." I also really appreciate your subset/superset concept. There are so many possible ways to find beautiful motion, it's simultaneously staggering and inspiring. I think it really comes down to what you say in your close for the episode -- this is about playing, not being an "armchair philosopher." In my view, this makes your Tesseract even more useful. I highly encourage anyone who doesn't have it yet to get on-board. It's well worth it! You continually raise your game in both your analysis and application of Barry's teachings. That alone is inspirational! I'm really looking forward to diving into the PDF this weekend! Thank you!!👍😉👍 /kengon

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Thanks kengon! I really appreciate the feedback:) you mean the labyrinth app, which has the tesseract within it, yes? I totally agree that it makes the usefulness of the app more evident -folks can go to any floor of the elevator of any of the scales of chords and then move up and down that floor in the way I did in this episode. And I’m very glad to hear the developing game is being noticed:) trying to make things clearer and clearer as I go

[@KennethGonzalez]

@@TheLabyrinthofLimitations Yes, exactly -- the app!

[@cmcgoun]

Inspiring. Thank you.

[@jorgejewsbury]

Muchas gracias!!! Excelente material Maestro!!" muy generoso de su parte!!!

[@raulluccaroni1369]

Muchas gracias por compartir tus conocimientos, son muy valiosos.

[@boboscurse4130]

Chris mentioned you in class today. So here I am. :)

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Welcome!

[@4gcole]

Wow so much to do! Thx!

[@LokeyeMC]

Wow I didn't even realize Floor 4 existed. I've been practicing the drop 2, drop 3, and drop 2 + 4, all these years. And of course practicing floors 1, 2, and 3 as well. It just never occurred to me to play a 6th chord or it's related diminished in a closed position. I'm going to go play with that now =)

[@TheRealSandleford]

Thanks Thomas, so much! Would keep one busy infinite between life/death I'd say doing these on all four scales!

[@piggyfly00]

still working through this video when i have time... for some reason im applying this concept to melody notes that are descending, which is making me think of everything in reverse... like in bar 4 of body and soul

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

I understand the concept well enough, but still wrapping my fingers around it and working on ways to put it to use. Looking at things this way is very exciting! I am so used to things always being 2-part, 3-part, 4-part, etc. With a logical way to move between these textures I am really hoping to add variety and interest to my ideas. Also, am I correct that by using the different variations of "floors" and expanding and contracting in different ways (as shown on page 2 of the PDF) that I can theoretically smoothly shift from higher to lower registers and vice-versa?

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

You are correct, John. I use the elevator to access all areas of the guitar. Also, when looking. at works from the classical repertoire, I can place everything I come across into some configuration of elevator floors. It’s worth noting that you can add a floor or two beyond the double octave, depending on how much your technique can reach. I can always reach a bit past the double octave, which just countinues the logic (double octave plus a major third is just a drop 2 with the bass down an octave, though you could use other voicings). So it’s pretty exhaustive, when you start to explore all the little tricks that unfold with familiarity. Hope that makes sense

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

@@TheLabyrinthofLimitations Thanks for your detailed reply! Time to practice!

[@BlueMelodyB]

Thank you for adding the chord charts I really appreciate you and your work🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️❤️

[@benwhitaker5802]

hi there, I am really intrigued by your channel. I dont know anything about barry harris though, should I start from episode 1? Or are videos not necessarily meant to be watched in order?

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

I’d recommend going to episode zero through 3 early on in your study of it all. Once you get basic concepts down there, you can jump around. I do work progressively through things in this channel, but the whole thing is a language of extended tonality, and I use the channel as an informal workshop for collecting my thoughts. Because of that, there isn’t necessarily a “beginner to most advanced” track. The whole channel is geared towards a musician who is relatively informed about the rudiments of music theory, though I think a person with virtually no theoretical knowledge could do alright if they are willing to google certain things that might come up (like "what is a dominant chord", for instance). Welcome!

[@piggyfly00]

i think i asked you this question months ago...just wanted to confirm your thoughts when you move from chord to chord, say II-V 1) move from ON chord of II to ON chord of V 2) OR move from OFF chord of II to OFF chord of V IF they share the same diminished? Is this right? Are there more "rules"?

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Maybe something more like this, for general "rules" (for which you can find exceptions) 1. You can always move from ON to ON chord 2. When two scales share the same diminished chord within them, you can move directly from that diminished chord, which is the OFF chord, to the ON chord of the second scale. Otherwise, it doesn't normally work to move from the OFF to the ON of a different scale (there are exceptions to this, though) 3. When two scales do not share the same diminished, there are ways of moving from the from the OFF chord of one scale to the OFF chord of the second scale (i've discussed this in little labyrinths --see the night in tunisia studies)

[@piggyfly00]

@@TheLabyrinthofLimitations amazing 🤩