Little Labyrinth 46: Using Barry Harris's Scales to Move Through Major 7th Chords

Get The Labyrinth of Limitations App:
www.thomasecho...
PDFs:
www.thomasecho...
Patreon:
/ labyrinthoflimitations
#daddario
For zoom lessons:
[e-mail]

[@dananthony6258]

I have all 4 sets in drop 2 and drop 3 . It’s only been about 2 or 3 weeks. It like playing a memory puzzle. This channel and tilf Barry H are the greatest guitar videos and lessons I’ve had ever.

[@Mathilde3219]

Looking forward to learning with you through 2022

[@MuñozFerreyro]

That makes two of us!

[@raulluccaroni1369]

Hola amigo! Gracias por compartir con nosotros tus conocimientos. Saludos desde Argentina

[@Storkwearingshorts]

It's like Roald Dahl's "the great glass elevator" which could move not only from floor to floor but from room to room, sideways and slantways. I'm starting to see how monophonic lines I've previously heard or have come up with are dancing around parts of the elevator sequence. Very exciting! Thank you Tom!

[@thingsivelearnedfrombarryh2616]

Awesome.

[@johnrothfield6126]

Cmaj7 ~= G with some borrowed notes. Not often discussed...(I think). I like this way of thinking because it gives a lydian feeling, also gives the b3 which is so important in American music.

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

We discuss and practice it quite a lot, actually. It's the major 6 on the 5: Gmajor6 is just the upper 4 notes of C major 9. I have a few episodes on lydian sounds that discuss it. It’s one of the first things Barry would teach. It's a bit off from the actual subject of this episode, though, which is simply showing the benefits of seeing it within the C major 6 diminished scale, and putting it into practice

[@themidger1]

@@TheLabyrinthofLimitations my biggest question on that is: which diminished is correct? 6 on fifth here implies g6 and C dim 7 pair while going with the root makes c6 and D dim 7 pair. Which diminished makes the most harmonic sense to borrow from and use as dominant voices? Depends on what the original C maj 7’s function and relation is to the song’s key? I’m hearing echoes of Barry’s infamous “how many keys is a Cm7 in?” video. My current take is if the maj7 is on the 4th degree of the current tonal center I’m in then use the 6 on fifth “flavor” to keep it enharmonic and Lydian sounding unless I’m trying to play further out or doing a key change on that chord

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

@themidger1 I view this more in terms of organizing principles that can be intermingled. Check out my videos on lydian sounds and Bill Evans' "Blue in Green". I did the lydian one first, then did a bigger thing around BnG. The question of "which diminished" connects to the different structural layers at play, and comes into the conversation also with the "scale of scales" over V7 chords. It's a bit difficult to address in a comment, because it gets into some real subtlety. I have tried my best to discuss it as it comes up. The scale of scales, the "every note is diatonic" video. . . here's an example of the IV chord consideration, though. In Autumn Leaves, the IV chord that comes up in the 4th bar sounds great if you just continue to play the Major 6 scale for the preceding I chord. It also sounds great, to my ears, with the Major 6 scale for the IV chord. If I"m playing the melody and harmonizing, I'm probably going to play the latter. There's a kind of musical multivalence at play, and it isn't all one thing or the other. I do find that these questions resolve themselves, so to speak, if we spend enough time mastering the fundamentals --or at least that's been my experience!

[@themidger1]

@@TheLabyrinthofLimitations fantastic thank you for your reply, that and the video REALLY clears it up. I’ve been studying Barry pretty intensely for the past several years and never thought of or saw reference to using 6 on fifth for the maj6 form of the m7. Opens up a lot of doors for borrowing (especially since it uses the diminished that is the parent of the V chord and I’m sure many other interesting connections). Gives a more modal sound than the original maj6 without having to leave the paradigm we are operating in which is very valuable since all the little moves and voicings I’ve cooked up and/or learned from others can be used. Nice example for autumn leaves I can hear what you mean. I love how we can stack and layer these simple symmetrical structures like whole tone, augmented, diminished, and 6th chords and get all kinds of sounds that aren’t particularly jazz or pop or classical just music fundamental harmonic relationships and their derivatives

[@kirklorange]

The guitar is drowning out your commentary. I wish I could hear it properly.

[@evanlebow-wolf6035]

Great exercise. It’s helping me connect the elevator to different positions. And lots of beautiful sounds that will be easy to apply. Thank you!

[@idnemgk]

Wonderful to discover this video and your teachings! Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge. I've been familiar with Barry Harris' work for a long time, but this really opens it up for me. I'm very interested in seeing how far I can take it.

[@evantaucher]

Sick thumbnail!!

[@tommyecho]

Hahaha I’m slowly getting it together

[@johnrothfield6126]

6:10 Don't blame me - Beautiful!

[@tbird-music]

Yes yes yes! This channel is amazing I’ve been having so much fun exploring. Happy new year good sir

[@bidbinary]

So helpful and inspiring - what a remarkable way to understand and explore major 7 chords. Thank you for your videos!

[@MuñozFerreyro]

Always inspiring and enkindling! Best of all for this 2022. Cannot thank you enough for your teachings, Thomas! Of course, the borrowing fact was clear to me, however, never dawned on me to approach it with movement! I'm studying and internalising the elevator, now feeling more comfortable and think it's to be under my belt soon.

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Happy new year! I recommend little movements of the elevator like I described in the big Elevator episode I recently did. Great to hear you're getting more comfortable with it:)

[@MuñozFerreyro]

@@TheLabyrinthofLimitations Thanks a lot, Thomas. Actually kept on with Episode 16 "The Elevator Sequence" and immediately got the 14-page PDF. I'll devote myself to imbibe your teachings and Chris'. Best of all and blessings!

[@benthomasguitar]

Thank you for sharing this idea and expanding the chords to movement and melody!

[@robertphillips9972]

If someone is truly open minded and dedicated to understanding the deep waters that are present beyond common EZ fun guitar, one will become immersed/ baptized in this material and add another decade of life in his or her playing experience. In most guitar regimes there exists a hyphenated or stuttered GRIP TO GRIP sound which can also be beautiful but become very boring even barren and isolated sounding and cause boredom to set in deceiving a player to into a false belief of "mastery"...that said, solving the mysteries of varied guitar styles has kept me going , im 72 and still enamored with the beauty of a 6 string standard tuned guutar. And Teachers like you torchbearers! THANK YOU

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Wow! Thank you for this wonderful comment, Robert. Totally made my day :) sounds like you’re living right, my man

[@davidsummerville351]

Very cool. Thanks 😎🤓

[@w1o2l3f4i5e]

Although the sounds from the guitar are wonderful I don’t understand a word of what he is saying. 😢

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Hi! Thanks for commenting. You’ll have better luck going from episode 1:)

[@sandrocavali9810]

Great video

[@selfreferentialhumor]

I don't understand the justification of moving a dissonance to a new dissonance (e.g. moving an initial major 7th through the scale of chords). There are many ways to add colours to your harmonies, what makes this method special? I think this must be a jazz specific idiom ("harmonic displacement"?)

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

This is not about adding color to your harmonies. It’s about seeing contrapuntal movement that consequentially creates all kinds of harmonic color, which is what makes this approach special. It’s a horizontal, linear, contrapuntal perspective that is the dominant perspective here, while also appreciating and conceiving of the resulting harmonies. It’s not at all dogmatic but, rather, very freeing

[@selfreferentialhumor]

@@TheLabyrinthofLimitations Ah okay - the harmonies are made "logical" by linearity, perfect :) Thanks!

[@jorgejewsbury]

Muchas gracias!!!

[@TheRealSandleford]

I like taking Jimmy Brunos 5 fingerings and seeing the different ways to alter them. It was fun to realize the relative minor with a raised 7th and added sixth is the same as a major sixth diminished with a lowered 5th

[@threetorches100]

I just hopped over from greg's link which really helped me to be ready to understand your more elaborate take on movement. the minimizing/maximizing note count within the movement was quite enlightening. thank you.

[@SetMiner]

Wow! Beautiful example, I have a million questions but this is helping....

[@jazzsecrets]

That's refreshing and beautiful, thx for sharing.

[@apzzpa]

beautiful stuff man. that is some serious commitment to that thumb nail

[@NeverTalkToCops1]

NO, this is all useless. You must learn augmented diminshed 12ths.

[@MC-mi4ck]

Thanks Thomas! Great idea. Happy New Year

[@Taporeee]

The chord Diagrams are really helpful

[@daveydoodle1916]

What kind of Guitar is that?

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

It’s a Raphael Granados. Wonderful luthier and friend

[@Web4Panama]

That is really excellent. Thanks Thomas.

[@JohnHorneGuitar]

Lovely and getting my mind blown on day 1 of 2022 is great!

[@Malcolm.Y]

I really appreciate your opening comments. For me too, this is "reinventing wheel," which unsettles everything that has been riding on those wheels for decades. Are you familiar with John Duarte? He arranged jazz standards for classical guitar, Very lush. He used a full array of jazz devices, including counterpoint, but not "Barry" 6-dim scales.

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

I'm not a huge fan of classical guitar arrangements of jazz standards, but I'm familiar with Duarte. The only ones I really like are Dyens' and Takemitsu's. Both are visionary. Still, I used to play Dyens's round midnight but I prefer to do it from scratch. Hi Felicidade is my favorite and is exquisite.

[@albrin]

great concepts! very well explained and great tone too

[@twitcheyspleen]

these movements are exquisite - a bit above my pay grade right now, but I am looking forward to getting some of these under fingers and expanding through the concept of 'process' as you mention at the end

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

😊

[@Publicjon21]

Beautiful. Thanks for the elegant teaching style.

[@TheLabyrinthofLimitations]

Thank you! 😊

[@kyle2ist]

Beautiful movement man!

[@Guitarisalways]

Brilliant‼️👌🙏

[@unclenote]

Great stuff !

[@PeteMartinMandolin]

Excellent!

[@douglasscharnberg3883]

Barry Harris added one altered tone to a scale and then acted like he "invented" something. That's pure hype. There are only 12 tones; add them as you see fit but remember, they are mathematically pre-existant ( just ask the Library of Congress). No one owns anything.