A concept that Barry referred to often when dealing with arpeggiated triads and chords was what he called “pivoting”. Pivoting described the practice of playing one note of a chord or triad, and then dropping down to the next note, rather than ascending. One can also pivot on descending triads and chords, though Barry used this practice less frequently, one exception being in the case of diminished chords.

Here is a demonstration of the major scale played up in triads, first in standard form, then in pivoted form:

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Here is a demonstration of the major scale played up in triads, first in standard form, then in pivoted form:

Listen:

Here is a line that demonstrates pivoting with a diminished chord:

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Barry would describe the first line in the following way:

“Run from the 5th of G7 down to the 3rd of E, then go up a diminished chord, and resolve to the 5th of Am.”

In the second line we do the same, but when we reach the 3rd of E, we pivot and drop down to the second note of the diminished chord before continuing to ascend the chord, and resolve to the 5th of Am, this time an octave below the original version of the line.

Barry often emphasized the importance of pivoting for instrumentalists negotiating material that caused issues of register.

Here are the first two bars of a line that Barry loved from a recording of Charlie Parker playing Sweet Georgia Brown on the tenor saxophone.

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In this line Bird runs up an Fm arpeggio from the 5th and then runs the Eb7 scale down the the 3rd of C, then continues down the same scale, resolving to the 3rd of Fm. The line continues on, and goes as low as a concert A Natural, making full use of the lower register of the tenor saxophone. A natural is well out of the range of the alto saxophone and trumpet and Barry’s solution is to pivot up in the second bar of the line after it arrives at the 3rd of C.

Demonstrate line