Practice Jazz Standards Like THIS! | Barry Harris Concepts

Applying Bebop Concepts to “How High the Moon”

The lesson demonstrates how to turn Barry Harris–inspired bebop concepts into practice material for the jazz standard “How High the Moon.” The instructor’s central point is that learning a concept in isolation is only a starting point. Players should combine scales, half-step rules, arpeggios, and other devices to build lines through a tune’s changes.

1. Start with a scale outline

A scale outline simplifies the tune’s harmony into material a player can use to begin forming lines. The instructor’s outline for the sections discussed is:

• Two bars of G major: Play the G-major scale up and down.
• A ii–V leading to F: Use C7, the V chord, up and down.
• Two bars of F major: Play F major up and down.
• A ii–V leading to E-flat: Use B-flat 7, the V chord, up and down.
• The E-flat–to–G-minor passage: Play E-flat major ascending, then F7 descending to the third of D. For the G-minor-six/diminished portion, ascend to the sixth.
• A half-diminished ii–V passage: Again, use F7 descending to the third of D. The instructor explains that the half-diminished chord can be viewed as the chord built from the third of F7.
• G major moving to E7, then A minor to D7: Play G major up and down to the third of E, then D7 up and down.
• Later repetitions: Revisit similar material, adjusting the scale directions and destinations as the harmony moves through E-flat, G, E7, D7, and back to G.

This outline is a foundation for understanding the tune’s harmony, not a finished solo.

2. Apply half-step rules to the outline

Once the scale outline is familiar, practice the half-step rules through the changes:

• Apply the one-half-step rule, beginning from the root of each scale in the outline.
• Expand the exercise by starting from each chord tone and working through the different rules.
• Try the three-half-step rule, demonstrated from the third of each scale.

These exercises help generate and organize melodic lines; they are not the only way to play over the tune. Working through every starting note and rule can take considerable time, so the lesson offers examples rather than covering every permutation.

3. Add triplets

After practicing the rules on their own, incorporate rhythmic variation. One example begins from the root of each scale, places a triplet on beat two, and then continues down the scale using the half-step rules.

4. Combine scale practice with Barry Harris–style arpeggios

The lesson uses Barry Harris’s specific definition of an arpeggio: a triad plus an octave. This definition also applies to triad inversions. For example, an arpeggio built from the third of G is a B-minor triad plus an octave.

A suggested practice approach is to:

• Use an arpeggio built from the root of a chord.
• Combine it with scale rules to create a longer phrase.
• Connect the arpeggio to other musical elements rather than treating it as a complete line by itself.

The instructor’s examples also include devices such as enclosures, pivoting, and four-note chords. The broader exercise is to choose one starting idea, such as a scale run or arpeggio, and find other elements that connect to it naturally.

5. Modify arpeggios with turnbacks

A turnback, or neighbor tone, adds motion around a chord tone within the arpeggio. The lesson first applies this to the arpeggio built from the root of G major and its inversions.

Practice the turnback arpeggio, then connect it to another element that reaches the third or fifth of G, creating a phrase that spans two bars.

6. Integrate the ideas across the tune

In the final exercise, begin each two-bar phrase with a turnback arpeggio, connect it to another bebop element, and resolve the phrase on beat three. This brings together the lesson’s main practice principle: working on a jazz standard generally involves synthesizing multiple concepts, rather than practicing only one device at a time.

Speakers and sources featured

• David Shore — The lesson’s speaker and instructor.
• Barry Harris — Cited as the source of the soloing concepts and the specific definition of arpeggio used in the lesson.
• “How High the Moon” — The jazz standard used for the demonstrations.