Barry Harris Extra Half Step Rules for Descending Lines | Bebop Gold 🔔

Summary

Paul Tobey explains Barry Harris’s extra-half-step rules for descending bebop lines. The central purpose is to place chord tones on the beat. Practicing the lines helps a pianist’s hand become familiar with those positions, making them more automatic and leaving more room for creative soloing.

The rules are based on the dominant seventh scale. Tobey demonstrates with C7 in the key of F, describing the scale as seven notes with the root repeated at the top and bottom. In a plain descending scale, chord tones do not consistently land on the beat; adding chromatic notes shifts the line so they do.

The three rules

1. Start on the root, third, fifth, or seventh

   • Add one half-step between the root and the seventh.
   • The extra note changes position in the line depending on the starting note.
   • The aim is to make chord tones fall on the beat.

2. Start on the second, fourth, or sixth

   • Rule 2A: Descend the scale without adding half-steps. Chord tones will fall on the beat.
   • Rule 2B: Alternatively, add two half-steps: one between the second and the root, and another between the root and the seventh. This also aligns chord tones with the beat.

3. Start on the third, fifth, or seventh

   • Add three half-step notes between the third and the seventh, creating a more chromatic descending line.
   • This version does not apply when starting on the root.
   • The transcript later refers to “two extra half-steps” while discussing the exercise, although the rule is introduced earlier as involving three.

Practice and application

Tobey turns the rules into a swung exercise in B-flat, using F7 as the dominant chord. The exercise moves through different starting notes and rule variations, including the optional two-half-step version of Rule 2.

He recommends practicing in several keys—or, for a more ambitious routine, all twelve keys. He then demonstrates how the lines can be used in a real tune, playing ideas over “Autumn Leaves.”

The broader lesson is to combine these descending lines with dominant-chord arpeggios to create more varied bebop phrases. The video points to a follow-up lesson on four types of arpeggios.

Speakers and sources featured

• Paul Tobey — Instructor and pianist presenting the lesson and demonstrations.
• Barry Harris — Jazz musician whose descending-line half-step rules are taught.
• “Autumn Leaves” — Used for the piano demonstration; the video metadata identifies Joseph Kosma as its composer.