Customer Reviews

The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For serious musicians only, but I think its hard to be a serious musician without a grasp of these concepts. Barry Harris may have done more to publicise these ideas than anyone, but noone owns them - they're right at the heart of bebop (especially Bud Powell and Charlie Parker). Be prepared to throw out everything you thought you knew - modern harmony is NOT based on seventh chords and two/five/ones, but on sixth chords and major and minor sixth diminished (chord) scales. Unending movement is the order of the day.

After spending a couple of weeks with this one, it seems that there are endless possibilities for musical exploration using the concepts and guidelines put forth in this book. Kingstone's writing style is refreshing and fun, and the organization of materials allows you to instantly become immersed in Barry Harris's brilliant ideas, while also making it easy to find, with a few page turns, any particular concept for review and deeper study. The big payoff is the solo on "Like Someone in Love" at the end of the book: the solo is lovely, and it is also pedagogically tight in that he manages to display many of the ideas from the book in a musical context. There is a beat by beat analysis showing readers which concepts were put to use at any given point. I have a strong musical background, and was very skeptical at first about the Barry Harris method in general. I am very glad that I went ahead and gave it a shot, and I think my improvising will never be the same! I think debate over whether this is the only way to do things is beside the point. Everyone should try this out for themselves and see what they think! This doesn't make you sound like anyone in particular, it just helps you to explore a vast amount of musical possibilities in a fun and accessible way, and, in this case, that can't be overstated. I gave this a well-deserved five stars, and I think you should order it now. . . Or maybe I should be telling folks to pass this one up (who needs the competition, right?)

I expected a lot from this one and after practicing it a bit, I didn't find it that innovative and usable...
No disrespect for the author or Barry Harris, but it didn't make it for me !

I think the ideas presented here are good and clever, but not the only way to understand harmony and bebop (hopefully !). You can give it a try and see for yourself.

It could have been a great book if they would have given you some examples on how to use these voicings in different jazz standards.
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