Fix Your 2-5-1s with This Barry Harris Practice Routine (Step-by-Step)

0:00 Hello jazz friends. If your 251s are still feeling a bit clunky, well, today's video is just for you. In this session, we're going to take you through 10 important variations of the 251 progression using the Barry Harris system. Each one of these exercises is designed to build fast natural reflexes in both your fingers and your ears. These are very short little exercises that you can do daily and they'll help you build up your jazz vocabulary as well as sharpen your ears. So without any further ado, let's get started. The 251 practice routine that I'll be

0:45 presenting in this session is designed around a 251 chord progression in the key of F. And although I'll be presenting some chord substitute ideas for the two chord and the one chord, the primary focus in this session will be to explore various ways of creating tension on the five chord. At the top of the screen, you'll see two sets of chords. The very top line is the standard 251 chord progression in F. The second line will represent the Barry Harris style variation that we're working on in each particular exercise. And at the bottom of the screen, you'll see the chord shapes that I'm playing. In this first

1:33 exercise for the G minor 7, I'm playing a B flat 6. And when we play a B flat 6 over a G base, it produces the sound of a G minor 7th chord. And that's the Barry Harris concept of a relative major 6th. For the C7, I'm playing G minor 6. When we play a G minor 6 over a C base, it produces the sound of a C dominant 9th chord. That's the Barry Harris concept of playing a minor 6 on the fifth of the dominant. And for the F chord, I'm playing F6.

2:20 [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] In this next example, I'm playing

3:06 exactly the same chords, except when I get to the third and fourth bar, instead of playing F6, I'm playing C6. And that's the Barry Harris concept of playing a major 6th on the fifth. When we play a C6 over an Fbass, the sound that's produced is that of an F major 9 chord. [Music] [Laughter]

4:07 [Music] [Laughter] In this next example, for the G minor 7, I'm playing F6. This is the Barry Harris important minor concept. The important minor in the key of F is G minor 7. The notes in a G minor 7 chord are G, B flat, D, F, which are exactly the same notes as a B flat 6 chord. It's just a different inversion. The notes in a B flat 6 chord are B flat, D, F, G. If

4:54 we apply Barry's concept of playing a sixth on the fifth, the fifth of B flat is F. Therefore, we can play an F6 over a G as a substitute for G minor 7. Let's have a listen to that. [Music] [Laughter] [Music]

5:51 [Laughter] And now here's that same progression again, only this time we're changing the chord in bars three and four to C6 over F. And as we mentioned in the earlier example, C6 over an F produces the sound of an F major 9. [Music]

6:41 [Laughter] for the G minor 7 chord. In this next example, I'm playing B flat 6. And that's the relative major 6 concept. In bar two for the C7, I'm playing B flat 6. When we play B flat 6 over a C

7:27 base, the sound that's produced is that of a C7 sus4 chord. And that's the Barry Harris concept of playing a major 6th on the seventh of the dominant [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter]

8:29 Here's that same set of chords, only this time in bars three and four, I'm playing C6. And once again, that's that Barry Harris concept of playing a major 6 on the fifth to produce the harmony of a major 9th chord. [Music] [Laughter]

9:24 [Music] [Laughter] In this next progression, for the G minor 7, I'm playing B flat 6. For the C7, I'm playing B flat minor 6. When we play a B flat minor 6 over a C bass, it produces the sound of a C7 sus4 flat 9 chord. And that's Barry's concept of playing a minor 6 on the seventh of the dominant. Then in the third and fourth bars, I'm playing F6.

10:15 [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] Next up, we have that same chord progression, only in bars three and

11:00 four. I'm playing C6 over an F base to create that F major 9 harmony. [Music] [Laughter] [Music]

11:47 [Laughter] In this next example for the G minor 7, I'm playing F6. And that's that important minor concept. In bar two for the C7, I'm playing D flat minor 6. And that's the Barry Harris concept of playing a minor 6 on the flat two of the dominant, which produces a C7 altered chord. And specifically in this instance, it's a C7 sharp five flat N chord. Then in bars three and four, I'm playing F6.

12:40 [Laughter] Here's that same chord progression, only this time I'm playing C6 over an F base

13:26 in bars three and four. [Laughter]

14:18 All right, then keep on cycling through those 251 progressions and you'll start to notice big improvements in the way you move and the way you hear music. Next week, we're jumping into something really special, Chad Baker's version of My Funny Valentine, and I'll be walking you through the harmonic moves that make this such a timeless classic. So, if you haven't already, hit that subscribe button, and I'll see you back here next time. Bye for now. [Music]