What Barry Harris taught me about tension & release.

Barry Harris taught us how to borrow notes from the 6th diminished scale to create tension and release.
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00:00 - Demonstrating Borrowed Diminished
00:12 - Introduction
01:19 - What is 6th Diminished?
02:08 - Constructing the scales
03:12 - Creating Tension & Release
05:29 - George Shearing Example
06:04 - Misty Example
07:02 - Up the Scale
08:32 - Demonstrating on Moonlight Serenade
12:03 - Like & Subscribe!

[@thingsivelearnedfrombarryh2616]

Pretty examples Josh!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Chris for your comment, but also for your encouragement and support of this new project.

[@TheRealSandleford]

@@JoshWalshMusic Yes glad you are helping too, its great!

[@abuventertainment2856]

This channel is currently a hidden gem

[@veco5731]

@Abuv Entertainment agreed

[@JoshuaRuffolo]

I've watched a lot of videos of both Barry Harris himself teaching as well as others explaining his theories and these past two videos you've put out are some of the most approachable, concise, and practical explanations I've seen of his work. Thank you, looking forward to the next video.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks Joshua. Is there a topic in particular that would help you?

[@JoshuaRuffolo]

@@JoshWalshMusic I think while I understand the scales and block chords, it'd be great to break down how to utilize Barry's borrowing techniques with proper voicings (I think he uses lots of drop 2), voice leading, and his contrary motion ideas too. I'm not a very experienced pianist so whenever I play Barry's 6dim scale stuff it just sounds very basic because I don't know how to "pretty it up" so to speak.

[@ericboberic]

Keep the Barry Harris content flowing. The world needs all it can get from this genius

[@ewallt]

What you said around 11:30 was a bit confusing. You said “F6 could also be C Maj 6” but I think you meant F7 could also be C Maj 6, since if you put and F in the base below a C Maj 6 chord you get an F Maj 7, so you could use the C Maj 6/D dim scale over the F in the base, and that would work. An F Maj 6 would have a D in it, which C Maj 6 doesn’t have, so you can’t substitute C Maj 6 for F Maj 6. I assume I got this right. I love resolving D dim over C in the base to F, especially with an E or G in the melody. Hadn’t tried it with an Ab. Good stuff! Hope you keep doing these.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

I see why you are confused, though I meant what I said in this case. I played a C6 on top of the F6. Take a look at the music when I perform it around 11:50, and you’ll see I play C6 in my right hand over an F6 shell in the left. This stuff is obtuse sometimes! I’m so glad to have you here, thanks for the thoughtful comment.

[@blindteo5808]

Excellent work my man. As said in other comments very concise and clear with beautiful musical examples. Continue the great work and please benefit us all. Much appreciation, from a blind Bebop bass player

[@theyapsta]

I watched "the first thing I learned from Barry Harris"... I was incredible. Thank you. This video is amazing because before I even knew who Barry Harris was I had been playing around with Gm6 inversions.... I then tried to see if I could find chords that would fit "in between" the inversions. I started at A and of course the chord I put there was Adim7... then of course at C I put Cdim7.... etc... I think it was the spookiest thing I ever "came up with"... But of course I didn't come up with it... I'm a guitar player so of course I'm trying to jam on that... and that's when I realised it isn't a chord "progression"... The uncanny thing was the 8 note scale that came out of it.... It is the Barry Harris diminished 6 scale... My ear had been leading me there for a long time being a big fan of Django and a fascination I had with m6 chords and dim chords. It was inevitable I would "discover" something... This video was like watching all the lights come on in a dark hallway.... I need to go fully Barry. Cheers mate. Your videos are absolutely amazing!!!!!!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thank you! I’m glad you took these ideas and practiced them, and didn’t just watch.

[@dylanmorrisofficial]

My man I love these videos. You’re great at finding notes that sound meaningful without adding anything unnecessary. Learning a lot!

[@josephpelaccia749]

Josh, your two videos area right to the point and very easy to follow. Thank you and waiting for the next video.

[@mokrodrigues4515]

Another excellent video! Thank you very much!

[@Nathanaelsun22]

You are so good! To the point and soothing, musical and its wonderful!

[@GerryLSmith]

Another clear explanation, thank you..

[@danjoban]

Very educational! Excellent told. thank you very much

[@CharlesAustin]

Righteous simple clarity, well spoke .. looking for your next video..Thanks ..

[@Chilajuana]

Awesome tutorial Josh!!!!!!

[@twli]

nice one, more examples of practical, easy to follow, application of the concepts is super helpful.

[@Unit27]

I've always struggled figuring out how to create interesting jazz voicings out of a traditional understanding of harmony. These two videos are incredibly helpful!

[@user-sq4ff4zp9b]

Thanks a lot for a great video!🔥

[@theodorebryan2116]

Another extremely helpful video. I've been practicing the "dim 6th" scales and working with Mark Levine's Drop 2 book. I'll add those suspensions into my practice routine! Thanks Josh. cheers

[@marvinparadroid]

Nice man, really clear!

[@nhklog674]

Awesome ..keep it coming and a hapi meri xmas too

[@bobblues1158]

Super Josh! Thank you!

[@johnrothfield6126]

Very good!

[@108Jivatma]

So cool. Thanks.

[@MH-il1lk]

6:19 Holst uses this Eb Augmented 7th chord in Saturn.

[@realraven2000]

love this.

[@ewallt]

How do you start a scale on C and end on B? Reminds me of a story about Beethoven where someone ended on a dominant seventh and he couldn’t get to sleep so he went downstairs to where the piano was and resolved it. Nice material!

[@rullirosandi3281]

Thank you...I really need this ..

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Rulli - thanks. So glad to have you here. Happy Holiday.

[@juanbermudez8626]

Very interesting.

[@MrBreakstuff]

Can't tell you how helpful this has been. A lot of Barry videos seem to have disappeared and so the foundational stuff can be a bit tricky to find. I've been asking around jams about voicings and aside from one guy sending me to The Complete Keyboardist (with a warning about the scientology stuff) I didn't get much aside from "don't play the root or the fifth". These voicings still give the fifth but it just seems so natural I don't particularly care.

[@cabijista1]

I feel compelled to point out that the far more common vernacular for this scale (major add b6) is the major bop scale.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

It is indeed, but Barry would roast you for saying that so I kept my mouth shut. 🤐

[@teefdrummer]

Barry also taught the dominant 7 diminished scale and dominant 7 b5 diminished scale. Nice video

[@eduardo_botelho]

Valeu! Bro! Thanks!!

[@parnegg]

Thanks!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Peter, thank you so much!

[@georgespaththroughimprovis6230]

I like to think of that move this way: If you play a G root tone on the LH when you play the D-F-Ab-B on the RH, you have a G7(b9) then if you play a C root tone on LH when you play the C-E-G-A on the RH you have a C6 chord. So when you toggle back and forth between the two, you basically are playing a V7(b9) - I cadence. Dominant (b9) to Tonic.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Yup, I think about this the same way!

[@kencory2476]

The V7b9 over I is a beautiful suspension that harkens back to the time of Bach and Mozart. I use it as a bit of spice in my playing.

[@darylhoyt5012]

Really…Josh…thank you!

[@kennyb1063]

Hi Josh two very interesting video. I have suscribed at your channel hope you 'll make others teaching videos Regards

[@aliceleer6561]

❤ interesting

[@kristerman]

Great stuff! Can we have a video on how to use Barry's dominant family theory for lines as well?

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Great idea. I’ll put that on my list. Check out the Things I’ve Learned From Barry Harris channel. Chris has (no joke) 100 videos on this topic.

[@kristerman]

@@JoshWalshMusic Have checked his channel, very helpful, just would be even better to see them on piano as well which is my instrument 😁

[@frankfeldman6657]

Do you know the actual genesis of diminished 7ths in baroque/classical harmony? What the interval of a dim7 is and does?

[@johnnewell552]

These two companion videos (so far) remind me of a baby eating a bowl of dry cheerios. Every time the baby gets a few in their mouth (watching the video), more are left around the bowl to find and pick up later (watching the video again). Clean that area up and do it all over again. When I chat to the jazz cats, one thing that they tend to say is they are moving from scale to scale with relation to the lead sheet chords. When I attempt this style, it sounds like I am doing exactly that and it’s super obvious. These dudes, make it sound smooth and I’ve never latched on to why. I think I have been trapped in the “vertical” approach and now am beginning to see movement prioritized over what is on the lead sheet. I have no idea where this is going to take me as a RNR type, but I’m excited for the journey. What I am not sure of is do I have the faculty to process and apply enough of these ideas to bring out MY voice. And….will my current crowd go there with me?

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Very interesting analogy. Thanks!

[@PhilipZilfo]

12:04 I downloaded the sheet, already subscribed to you.. the sheet was something else and not what you were showing on screen.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

That’s strange. If you reply to the email from the one you got with the download links I’ll help you sort it out.

[@charlesperforms]

next time you should talk about the other diminished you can use too! the famous Misty chord using the i diminished as the tension: Eb Gb A D -> Eb G Bb C

[@charlesperforms]

oh you do talk about this near the end with the F6 could also be a C6 idea

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Yeah, I agree. There’s more we could unpack here. Thanks!

[@francisrichard5282]

It would be great to hear more about this. The F6 C6 equivalence is not straightforward for me. Thanks

[@divotcollector]

I like and understand how the Harris diminished pairing/borrowing system works on a one Maj 6 chord , II-7, and in relative minor VI-6. Could you explain how the chord/dim pairing idea works over a V7 chord in this system? In C major, doesn't seem correct that a G7 chord is treated as a D minor 6. Becoming the relative minor of F, using D min/E dim pair. (pairing with D-F-A-B with E-G-Bb-Db) In C Maj, is there a pairing for G7. Or for G7b9? D-6 + E dim + F dim -> Cmaj ? Hope this isn't an idiotic question. Thanks

[@JoshWalshMusic]

It’s not an idiotic question. As I understand Barry’s methodology, you would use a Dm6 for the G7 in the key of C as you said. But, I notice the same issue pairing Dm6dim scale with that G7 in the key of C. It’s too far out. In other contexts, Barry demonstrates how the major6dim scale has 2 dominant chords within it, the V7 being one of them. And so, I usually play the Cmaj6dim scale over G7 in the key of C. But this could very well be a gap in my understanding. So much of this wisdom is buried in corners of his videos and go by so fast. I’ve learned much by talking with others of his students. You may be interested in his brothers / sisters concept for dominant chords. I find it super useful in this context. I have a video on that (dominants come from diminished in my Barry playlist on the channel).

[@divotcollector]

@@JoshWalshMusic I am familiar with the 4 dominant chord family. An amazing pianist who studied with Tristano showed me this long ago. Four dominant chords (and alts) in the diminished scale. 4 minor chords as well as four half diminished chords. Perhaps some is simply renaming the same structures. I believe that some of this relates back to the ambiguity of the "Tristan chord" that the classical theorists agonized over for decades. That ties in with dizzy Gillespie and others discussing minor chord with six in the bass. But regarding the five chord issue I have not seen anything explicitly discussed in the Barry videos. A lot of his material goes by too fast to get everything when he demonstrates, he does not explicitly explain all. The students in the room get to see his hands on the keyboard which helps.. the "borrowing" is very interesting. A V7 with a natural 9 is awkward to fit it to a pair like the other types. I'll continue to look for what Barry may have said. Otherwise I'll just have to stick with what I know already! I enjoy your videos, thanks

[@foxybrown2]

what are you talking about i have heard of a major 7 sharp 5. You make it sound like people don't play that chord 🤔

[@JoshWalshMusic]

You are totally right. Adam Neely even has a whole video on it. I was being cheeky, but I guess that didn’t come though! 🤣

[@saxfish]

< Tomorrow I´ll be sober >

[@gloriabrinkworth939]

U put the Ab in wrong place comes after G in scale.

[@JoshWalshMusic]

It does come after G. Maybe I misspoke… thanks for pointing it out. I’m far from perfect LOl

[@LA-cy1zj]

1:23 - I wish to correct you there are 4 major 6 diminished minor 6 diminished dom 7 diminished dom7b5 diminished anyone reading this, be sure to check them out mind blowing

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Yes, indeed! But too much for one video. Thank you!

[@asylumofglass]

The thumbnail on this vid is tripping me out. The third chord has a line through the bass note which shouldn't be there!

[@JoshWalshMusic]

You are the first to notice! I saw it when I first uploaded this video a year ago, and thought I’d leave it in to see if anyone paid attention! Haha.

[@brothercaleb]

The visuals of keyboard are not the best. It’s hard to see when a black note is pressed. Better with your human fingers demonstrating. Poor choice 😏

[@JoshWalshMusic]

Thanks. I had the opposite feedback on my last video so I tried an experiment here. Personally, I think you are right. I prefer the live view as well. Appreciate the feedback.

[@charlesperforms]

another option is to do the colored notes. but I think the live view is sufficient and also easier for you editing wise lol