An important and highly useful aspect of Barry’s teaching of improvisation involves what he refers to as “The Rules”. The rules are an approach to running scales (almost always downwards in Barry’s examples, but the same approach applies when running scales up) so that the chord tones land on down beats.

Barry’s rules provide students with two solutions from each degree of a scale.

When starting a scale on a downbeat, and descending from the root, 3rd, 5th or 7th degrees of said scale, we add one or three extra chromatic notes (which Barry refers to as half steps, and as we will too from now on).

When starting a scale on a downbeat, and descending from the 2nd, 4th or 6th degrees of said scale, we add zero or two half steps.

Barry favors different places to add half steps when playing over a major scale than he does when playing over a dominant scale.

Watch this video where Barry describes the half step rules, then practice the exercises below.

 

Major Scale Half Step Rules

On a major scale descending from the root, 3rd, 5th or 7th, add one half step between the 6th and 5th.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

Note: On the major scale descending from the 7th degree, the half step between the 6th and 5th occurs at the bottom of the scale.

 

On a major scale descending from the root, 3rd 5th or 7th, Barry also adds three half steps; between the 6th and 5th, the 3rd and 2nd, and the 2nd and root.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

Note: On the major scale descending from the 7th degree, the half step between the 6th and 5th occurs at the bottom of the line.

On a major scale descending from the 2nd, 4th or 6th, Barry runs the scale without adding any half steps.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

On a major scale descending from the 2nd, 4th or 6th, Barry also adds two half steps; between the 2nd and root, and the 6th and 5th.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Dominant Scale Half Step Rules

 

On a dominant scale descending from the root, 3rd, 5th or 7th, Barry adds one half step between the root and 7th degree.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

On a dominant scale descending from the root, 3rd, 5th or 7th, Barry also adds three half steps; between the root and 7th, the 3rd and 2nd, and the 2nd and root.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

On a dominant scale descending from the 2nd, 4th or 6th, Barry runs the scale without adding any half steps.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

On a dominant scale descending from the 2nd, 4th or 6th, Barry also adds two half steps; between the 2nd and root, and the root and 7th.

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

Listen:

 

All Half Steps On A Scale

Another very useful approach Barry used for adding chromatic notes to scales played in 1/8th notes was to put a “half step” between every note of the scale.

However, in a major scale, for instance, there is no half step between the 3rd and 4th degrees, and the 7th and Root. Here Barry would most commonly insert the scale tone above, in place of an in-between note, and he sometimes also used (as a variation) the chromatic note below when descending.

Listen:

 

Listen:

Listen:

 

Listen:

Listen:

Listen:

 

Listen:

You must be logged in to view your results.