The first thing I learned from Barry Harris

[@JoshWalshMusic]

‼️‼️‼️QUESTIONS: Most of the common questions coming up from this video have been answered in this follow up Q&A video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6DdeaWmiqiohsk

[@MrVesperatu]

So, to state this another way, on a one chord play a one chord. On a 4 chord, play a one chord. On a minor chord, play it's relative major. On a half diminished, play a 2 chord. On a five chord, play a 2 chord. And on an altered dominant, just play a minor 6maj7 a half step sharp of your root. Is that correct?

[@msafran]

This is so well articulated. My eyes and ears are crackling

[@JoshWalshMusic]

@@MrVesperatu Close. The half diminished works like the minor -- up a minor 3rd. You just play a minor6 instead of major. Am = C6 Am7b5 = Cm6

[@TheSteveberger]

I had spent two years in the music program at CCNY. Then moved to the Jazz performance program at NYU. Someone brought me to Barry's class. I got SO MUCH out of that one night at Barrys, that I dropped out of NYU the next day. I was working on a harmony book for guitar with Barry. I asked him where this whole thing came from. He told me "You're not going to believe this, Steve. I dreamt it" It really becomes obvious if you hang with it a while

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Agreed! Thanks for sharing.

[@jamesmmusic5806]

Why don't you have any videos!

[@Farvadude]

maybe it wasn't 50+ years ago, but if you can't make it online now on your own, you're not gonna make it big with a music degree. i don't understand what the purpose of getting one is with the resources that are online and available to everyone now--videos like this are a prime example.

[@kaynejohnson3239]

@@Farvadudethere’s a lot that you learn in an academic environment that may not seem directly related to exactly what you want to do but certainly will connect the dots sooner or later. Stuff like this is great as a supplement but isn’t necessarily a replacement

[@Dude8718]

@@Farvadudegood luck finding an actually structured guide for free tho online. It's hard to get the right order of things, and not get a ton of redundant info you already know, over and over again. University programs are structured thoughtfully(usually...) to make sure you're getting the next information that's relevant to what you already know, and makes sure you have prerequisite knowledge for more advanced things.

[@thomasfaraone4213]

As a bass player, the whole thought process of “on a C7, play the 6” is so mind blowing. Usually I’m not thinking of how the notes are all gonna sound together, but rather what notes I can play in that chord.

[@mechwarreir2]

it's just a C13... Barry harris actually prefers C(b13) because of the diminished flavor and parallel with minor/ diminished scales.

[@Reapwhatsown]

You ought not in my opinion. As mentioned if a C13 was intended or heard in the melody, its up to the individual and setting I suppose. Substituting the 6th for the 7th is not the point for sure. The 7th is funky, bluesy and a strong flavor

[@patrickkelcey2435]

Yeah I'm a sax player and actually DID make this mistake many many years ago. There's a scene in the Charlie Parker move "Bird"where he's struggling with some music and says" I can't make it fit...!! ". I was getting some very interesting looks there for a while until I realised that these things are only guidelines not rules....

[@simondavid3546]

So does the bassist play C7 or Gm6?

[@Furniturefosters]

@@simondavid3546 IMO the bassist should think more about the written chord and its chord tones. In this case C7. The bassist has to hit that C root first to create the underlying quality of the chord. I think the 6th on the 5th approach is more practical for the ensemble comping the changes on top while staying out of the bassists way. I could be totally wrong.

[@dananthony6258]

Omg playing the 6 over the tritone minor is awesome. This is so cracked. Who would have ever figured that out ? Wow there’s so much to learn.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Yes! So useful

[@ScottMillerGuitar]

I’m not quite sure how I went decades and was unaware of the brilliance of Barry Harris’ method. The past couple of years, I’ve delved deep, watched videos from the master himself, and have, as a guitar player, checked out some great guitar resources online on Barry’s method. Your video is one of the best, clear, concise videos for anyone to start using this beautiful method. Thank you!

[@dxaminal777]

As another guitarist, I concur! Very clear.

[@guitarmusic524]

Ronny Ben Hur wrote a book based on Barry Harris's concepts applied to guitar called Talk Jazz Guitar that I bought. It was NOT well-edited by the publisher, but nevertheless provided some valuable material.

[@guitarmusic524]

Sometimes half the job of a good instructor is being an editor. After all, music books don't get the same editing attention as do medical journals, flight manuals, etc. I'm ok with that, I reckon.😉

[@markdomanico7936]

Agree. Decades! And the joy of Barry’s simple ideas makes sense of things I heard but couldn’t quite pinpoint. As a guitar player there are some incredible videos to learn from but I love this idea of the 6th on the 5th. Right away it opened up melodic voice leading ideas. Same shapes new sounds. Thank you.

[@ScottMillerGuitar]

@@guitarmusic524 I bought this book, and I’m immensely enjoying it: Alan Kingstone The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar

[@asylumofglass]

Guitarist here. Only five mins in and this is already amazing. You have a gift for explaining stuff in a pleasing and clear way. This stuff is blowing my mind. I think I've heard Barry mention Charlie Christian a few times. I think he had a lot of respect for Charlie because he knew about the kind of stuff you are explaining in this vid!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks so much!

[@derekmccoy-d7e]

Top marks for calm clarity. Appreciated.

[@Bobby007D]

"Everytime we say goodbye" I cry a little ! Great melody .

[@cilantroshrimp6177]

This blew my mind. The stuff KZbin recommends while taking a dump is gold.

[@elizaramsey9748]

Thank you so much. Just returned to piano practice 12 yrs of health/parenting recovery etc. I'm sure my tutor (jazz degree) Gareth Williams touched on some of this, but I lost alot of memory....you are so good at explaining....thank you so much x

[@blapis89]

I'm a simple guy, I see a good teacher, I subscribe :)

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Glad to have you here!

[@jdt1581]

Thanks Josh! Long time guitarist here. You have a gift for keeping the “simple” simple! Most often these kinds of break downs end up more complicated than when it started! I’ve seen other guitarists explain what they’ve learned from Barry Harris - but using the piano to explain this was much more useful to me-but that’s just me, no fault of their own. Looking forward to working this into my playing. 👍🙏

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thank you JDT! I’m a student here as much as a teacher. I learn a lot myself by breaking these down to discuss. I appreciate your comment.

[@DiamondRidgeMusic]

As a guitarist first and pianist second I agree totally. Theory has always been a little easier for me to grapple with on the keys and then once mastered I can lift that experience to the guitar much easier. At least for me, theory is easier on piano except for the few tricks we have as Ana advantage on guitar such as the ease of sequencing and transposing (most of the time).

[@i_chatoglou]

Long time guitarist here too. I could not agree more.

[@tommydoggettsaxophone]

This is amazing. You explain it so well. Long live Barry Harris’ legacy.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Thomas

[@JayBrekken]

I'm a hobbyist bass player and this is really awesome. I started practicing again recently (studied music theory back in junior college but I'm pretty rusty). This is such a fun way to open up my ears and add a little color to the woodshed.

[@johnhartley3022]

Never could imagine something so simply explained could lead so quickly to such a truly satisfying rabbit hole. Awesome!

[@AiMR]

I'm thinking this is like distilled Barry for beginners, EXTREMELY useful. Then as I learn these methods, I can watch what's available from the man himself. Thanks Josh!

[@larryhall2805]

I'm an R&B/Rock guy but I have a natural curiosity about Jazz. The fact that I could understand this lesson is encouraging for me and also a credit to this instructor and Barry Harris.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Larry. All the credit for this technique goes to Barry. I'm just sharing my own understanding as a student to pay it forward.

[@seanperkinsmusic]

I wouldn't say the m2 is bad, but is dissonant. Great explanation!

[@dolittle6781]

A beautiful lesson. Love that song. It tells so many nostalgic stories-happy and sad moments!

[@SFLogicNinja]

Thanks!

[@bobryan8793]

You are awesome...thank you ..ive been steeped in 6ths because of country swing and gypsy music...I love the resolve and just the feel of 6ths...appreciate you sir

[@FornusSomeFornit]

As someone who has been trying to wrap my head around Barry’s ideas for awhile now, this video helped immensely. RIP Barry Harris

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Bools. Glad it was helpful.

[@GerryLSmith]

Most concise explanation I've seen, thank you. I think there's a lot to be said for getting this down and then working back through the full explanation, imho.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Gerry. With as much as there is on KZbin about Barry’s teaching, this concept has been missing. That’s surprising to me given what a huge impact it had on my playing. Thanks for watching.

[@bill3837]

Nicely explained. BH would be proud

[@johnnewell552]

“You’re gonna have to practice it to get comfortable. Just do it”. #RealTalk. Great video, Sir.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks John!

[@paulmann1289]

I've been thinking along similar lines regarding Am7 is a tonal anagram of C6, this just blew my mind and gave me a whole lot more to ponder. Thank you.

[@labuti17]

Yes, at the end of the day this is a voicings video, but the real gold is in how we think of these chords and how we approach them, not so much about the notes themselves

[@jingleskhanaudioproductions]

11:40 yeah I pretty much learned the core of Jazz harmony with "Autumn Leaves". It contains so much information to draw inspiration from. Thanks for this video! Barry was truly a master of his craft.

[@mitchhare1936]

Nice work explaining this by charting out the 7th to 6th conversions. Very helpful. Thanks so much for posting!

[@bepis_real]

6:24 was when I realized this is the chord in Zelda’s Great Fairy theme, just arpeggiating & inverting up. Ocarina of Time’s version even begins on the same key of G. Thank you for teaching me what I’ve wanted to learn for years in this single video

[@WilliamFriedson]

Thanks!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

William - Thanks so much for your support. I appreciate it!

[@southernchillacoustic]

Chords pay the bills! Thank you for this 🙏

[@derekjones8944]

I've seen and heard a lot of mumbo-jumbo in other tutorials of B.H.'s teachings, but this is about the first really ineligible and practicable thing I've seen and heard yet! This is something I can put into use immediately! Thanks so much!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Derek thanks! Means a lot. This is an old video, check out one of the newer Barry Harris ones on the channel. There’s a whole playlist of Barry stuff!

[@michaelmaggard2857]

Thanks Josh. I’m a self taught tenor banjo player that has been attempting to distill and incorporate some of Barry’s teachings into my playing. The breakdown/simplification is appreciated. I’ve listened to this a half a dozen times. I’m a slow learner. Will work through Autumn Leaves as suggested. More please. You are an effective teacher.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

More is coming! Thank you for sharing this. Please reach out wherever I can be helpful.

[@suntowers1178]

have you heard of bela fleck? jazz progressive rock banjo player?

[@tonguedrumandgroove3495]

I love how Barry communicated.. I'm not a trained musician but can understand his thru the lingo.. thank you for sharing!

[@martinbecklen6486]

This is a deceptively elegant and important lesson. For me, this is the first time -- after watching scores and scores of other 'learn-jazz' videos -- where the WHY to learn chord conversion becomes absolutely necessary. Others have mentioned the importance of chord conversions, but you, Josh, have made it clear why it's both necessary and not as difficult (in the long run) as I first thought. Maybe it's just me, and other people/students understood the importance of chord conversions after watching only one or two videos from different jazz artists; but I again thank you for a wonderful lesson. Happy New Year, to you, as well.

[@indirajayaraman4758]

Great ideas. I took out my notebook for music and wrote down the gist of what you explained so nicely. Thank you. I am an 8th Grade Trinity pianist I love piano jazz and classical.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Nice! Get it my dude!

[@Usdval]

I’m a guitar player and stumbled upon this video. This is a great concept; thank you.

[@frankvaleron]

Superb lesson. You broke down a concept that I've always felt I didn't get very well

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Frank.

[@pjlabarge]

Thank you for outlining this and explaining it in a way that is approachable. I've been really struggling to approach my instrument lately, and this inspires me to sit down and get back to the shed. Social media has a way of making us compare, which in my mind, makes me not want to try at all. All really discouraging. Anyways, thanks for giving me a reason to keep trying.

[@anatol1204]

Very nice lesson.Jazz is like the kitchen it has its recipes..

[@susannasani5559]

Thanks

[@Nathanaelsun22]

This was Excellent!!! I've always known that sound instinctively such a breakthrough to see it this way, and your teaching was pure, direct, practical, just wonderful. Thank you!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Nathanael - you made my day!

[@rodeofrancisco6130]

I played a triad chord just like that when I was playimg keyboard more frequently and really had a dope melody going with it. It's become one of the first songs I play when I sit down at a piano.

[@GreyHorse019]

Excellent, now we begin the fun task, transposition to guitar. Great Job, Josh, Thank You 👏 🙏

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Definitely check out my friend Chris Parks’s channel, Things I Learned From Barry Harris here on YT. Alan Kingston’s book for guitar is great too.

[@slowfinger2]

To a non-pro, long-time, jazzy blues/rock guitarist, this is gold for rhythm chops. 😎That Maj7 Min7 tension. "A Hah!" Thanks for the clear explanation. Already knowing theory and chords, this is going to help discriminate where to use them, and as leading voices.👍👍👍

[@slowfinger2]

Thanks for the heart. I came back and watched again.✨

[@fredrickmendelsohn606]

John I have watches several folks try to teach this very difficult topic but you do it best. Thank you!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thank Fredrick! - “Josh” 😉

[@SearchfortheMeaning]

What a magical trick! What a gift. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@davidmiller3652]

Great job guy. Clear, concise, insightful. Barry's guidance is a game changer for most.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks David

[@JoeLinux2000]

With you C maj 7 you play an open Maj 7th in your left land with a closed voiced C th in your right hand. As for the G 6th over an open C maj 7 it's really really just adding a maj 9th to the C maj 7. It seems to be about dividing the voicings up between the hands. Barry's sound is very smooth. Your explanations are very good.

[@jackbombeeck4958]

After your detailing out the rules i decided to have a look at a Cm7/11 (a favourite chord), and applying the m7 rule gives a Eb6/9 (also favourite) :-) Thanks for a great explanation!

[@seanonel]

What an outstanding lesson! This has definitely earned my subscription. Thank you! Acquiring the music sheets was totally hassle free as well...

[@babs3899]

No way to describe how helpful this video was! I would be super interested in some videos on the more technical side to Barrys teaching, and am sure others are too

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Babs. There’s more coming very soon! Thanks for being a subscriber.

[@johnnewell552]

Yeah! What Babs said! I mean, this dude could spend a year trying to integrate this video alone, but now you’ve made me hungry. Looking forward to where you are going to take this channel.

[@freddecker2407]

Thank you for a fascinating video! I am going to have to re-watch and take notes, so I can try out these ideas!

[@rmatson]

Thanks for putting these together. My piano teacher is/was one of Barry's long-time students and this gives me a way to repeatedly review and re-attempt to absorb his theories.

[@piyanoogreniyoruz]

Excellent explanation. Thank you. I think left hand 1-7 and right hand , for minor chords P4 interval from m7 following major7 shape, for major chords P4 interval from M7 following minor 7 shape . For unaltered dominant chords , triton interval from m7 and minor 7 b5 shape . finaly for m7b5 chords same with major 7 except not m7 but m6 shape. I guess when i use sixth chords instead of seventh will be ok.

[@ArthurRosch]

You present this material with great clarity. It is very useful.

[@richardolynn]

Beautiful playing, lesson and explaining.

[@markanthony5897]

I only saw the videos shared of Barry in class. Being said, you're doing a justice.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Mark. I'm trying to share as much as I've learned from his teaching as I can. More to come!

[@Bassic778]

Fascinating!!!! I've never heard anyone say or do this before!!!

[@chaiayling9831]

hey man, i really appreciate how careful you are about presenting this as a bite sized chunk of info as opposed to understanding this from the diminished system he proposes. also the fact you try to make people aware of the perception difference its very sensitive to the nature of his work. Good stuff my man!

[@albertplaysguitar]

Mind blown! Very well explained and presented. Thanks, man!

[@wazeaway71]

Great lesson! Thanks.

[@KennedyAPlus]

So jam packed! I'm going to enjoy unpacking this, pausing the video a LOT

[@dreamwever87]

Fantastic! Barry is the man. He made me see the diminished scale as a vehicle and this is yet another great tid-bit I will keep forever. Thanks!

[@petermcmurray2807]

This video contains enough information for an entire course on its own. I love it THANKYOU

[@jorgeparr3002]

Awesome stuff dude🎉🎉🎉🎉THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR 🎉🎉🎉🎉😂

[@leighallannewton]

Love it. I was classical trained, then accompanying myself on piano but never got far with jazz chords. This could be my breakthrough.

[@DayuhansDiary]

I feel your pain. I am also classically trained and anything outside of playing what I’m reading is so challenging.

[@bibiboitedalu]

Clear, simple, not too must talk, perfect ! 👍

[@bradforddavis6497]

That was well presented. Sounded good too. Thanks.

[@jorgeleyton1474]

Just excellent...!! it seems to me that the piano lends itself for a more visual and practical way which is great. I bought a 200 pages note book and taken extensive notes of all of this (very concise BTW) and now its time to transfer all this to the guitar. Thanks immensely..

[@DiamondRidgeMusic]

Soooo juiiicyyyyy Thank you so much. I will not be leaving the piano tomorrow I’m quite sure.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

How’d you do?!

[@simonpaulengland7833]

Very cool, beautifully explained & presented Josh....Thank you...Nice Musical wishes, Simon

[@RobHaccou]

I took your voicings of "Every time" over on guitar if you don't mind: it's absolutely gorgeous! GREAT lesson. Thank you!

[@jmmariatti]

Thanks for this! You explained it very well. Kind regards from Uruguay. Long live Barry! I'm transcribing his amazing solo in Moose the Mooche.

[@Gustavo_Weckesser]

Wow this video is mindblowing!!! Thank you for the perfect explanation.

[@Learn_Listen_Love]

Thanks for you time and professional teaching style .

[@edgarmatias]

This totally genius! By adding the 6th, you’re adding the root of natural minor, thus embedding an inverted minor triad into the major chord. All that with just 1 extra note. :-)

[@normanspurgeon5324]

It would be very nice to see the chords you're describing verbally stacked up on the staff- I can't agree with adding the A natural to a C minor- the tritone is the most unresolved interval- of course it's done, but with a particular purpose. It's not an available color tone for something you're regarding as a "tonic", or a resolved chord. The G 6th over a C major makes perfect sense. It's actually an inversion of the 3 minor 7th- an E minor, which is a nice sub for C major in any case. Thanks for this video

[@chrisdurhammusicchannel]

Thanks for the Barry stuff! Subscribed.

[@RyanBrodie]

Love your candor about practice. More videos explaining potentially unintuitive concepts need that.

[@fornoreason8822]

I'm new to jazz. Thank you Barry Harris and thank you Josh.

[@coloaten6682]

Really interesting concept explained very clearly, thanks Josh! I like that you gave an example and worked through it. I'm new to Jazz so that really helped me as sometimes these concepts can be hard to grasp when not explained thoroughly. What you said in the beginning about small things that you can practice in isolation, which then build over time to give the player their own sophisticated sound really resonated with me. I LOVE stuff like that so please keep doing more of these videos. Very happy to be a new subscriber :) Happy Christmas to you!!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Col - Happy Christmas to you as well. If there's ever a small thing you'd like to know more about, I would love for you to contact me to suggest it.

[@nram3930]

Definitely going to rock this exercise for a while, looks like a great intro to the Barry theory stuff I always wanted to get into. Great video!

[@bassmonk2920]

Thanks as a bass player that uses the piano for composing this helps me communicate to piano players better

[@clydespace411]

these shapes fit visually so intuitively on the guitar, nice substitutions and fresh sounds...hope guitar players watch your video. The 6 substitutions are like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Whether use to full on barry harris way or not, these are great use..and for arpeggiating too improvising.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Have you read Alan Kingstones book for Barry’s method on guitar?

[@clydespace411]

I will have to look into it. I've been aware of Barry Harris as a method, but have found some confusion along the way and I'm just starting to feed the ideas into my playing as fresh ideas. This was such a useful video. As an additional use outside this method I did a little study of where all the 6th and m6 chords live fully in the diatonic scale. When using those notes as mini scale you wind up with personal phrases so thought it would have additional utility to have those in your palette (or "arsenal"!) for use outside over those maj7, m7, m7b5 chords@@JoshWalshMusic

[@alfredabate3176]

This is very well done. I have learnt so much. I’ll incorporate this in my playing. Thanks

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Awesome. There’s a whole playlist of other Barry concepts here on the channel. Glad to have you here.

[@pada443]

I'm better at working with 7th chords than 6 chords so instead of thinking of a GMaj6 over C, I find it easier to think of Emin7 over C, So instead of a 6 chord that's a fifth above the root it's a 7th chord from the 3rd. Same notes, just a different way of thinking about it.

[@edusala78]

Thank you a lot Josh. Your explanation is brilliant and really useful.

[@benkatof5852]

Pretty interesting - for a guitarist who is just scratching the surface of Barry Harris. Never made this connection before, but in the Mickey Baker book (jazz guitar) he uses minor 6ths in place of dominants for what would typically be a ii V.

[@ronaldmason5310]

I notice the same kind of substitution (min6 for a dominant) from the Mickey Baker book. Also recently found the same kind of progression in beginner classical guitar book I am working on (Aaron Shearer Vol. 2).

[@kenmorley2339]

There was a lot of great stuff in Mickey Baker's method but he did not explain it well enough , not for me , at least .

[@benkatof5852]

@@kenmorley2339 I agree - almost no explanation. I've learned lots of value from there and elsewhere that makes much more sense later, after exposure to the theory behind it.

[@abccmusicstudio]

Rest well Barry Harris. I miss you so much.Thanks for sharing your gift.

[@johnxaviermusic]

Mind blowing info!! This is very valuable information, even for a bass player. Thank you for sharing!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

ESPECIALLY for bass players :-)

[@holygroove2]

His way of approaching single lines is directly tied to what musicians of his day actually played. It was quite liberating when I was taught his approach because I was locked up in modes and Aebersold. It wasn't good.

[@janetkirk6266]

Thank you.

[@stefan1024]

Beautiful! Recently fell in love with 6th chords again, so this video came just in time. Also might be fun to subsitute in several steps (like take a IVMaj7, substitute, then interpret the resulting 6th chord as Maj7 and substitute it again) and this way come up with some unusual reharmonisations. Another cool substitution that I found recently was substituting a dom7 chord with a sharp min6 chord, which keeps the characteristic tritone. Anyway, cool channel, I subscribed :)

[@EvaPopStar]

Love this whole Barry Harris thing, it's interesting though as a guitarist I can tell when a Pianist is writing chords and a guitarist is writing chords. On the guitar we have to be very efficient and so we tend not to write out compound chords but perhaps a close equivalent when possible.

[@hunter00143]

But then you can pick up bass guitar and arrange your guitar lines and bass lines appropriately for more interesting harmony. If you're into writing/recording that is

[@allmotivation3827]

Great Video. The application made it so I had to think less!

[@danqodusk8140]

I bookmarked for later viewing. I'm out of time right now. I know Barry Harris knew his "stuff"!

[@savagetofu1]

Thank you. Great video. I’ll have to watch it twice.

[@RSTAR2009]

You play beautifully because it's not too over-the-top

[@ChoBee333]

I love this video! So clear and encouraging! Thanks for keeping Barry Harris teachings alive!

[@TedBoyRomarino]

I'm not a jazz musician and didn't know about this, yet, I find it amazingly beautiful and maybe useful for me. Thank you and merry Christmas.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Merry Christmas.