For the instrumentalist or composer ready to move beyond conventional patterns and unlock a new world of melodic and harmonic freedom, The Intervallistic Concept offers a clear, if demanding, path. It is a testament to Eddie Harris's genius, providing not just exercises, but the tools to develop a truly personal, fluid, and expressive voice on your instrument. To study it is to engage with one of jazz's most original minds, and to emerge from the process a more complete and liberated musician.
Studies in syncopation and complex rhythmic cycles. How to Practice the Concept
Injecting just one or two intervallistic ideas into a standard bebop solo instantly modernizes your sound. 5. Listening Examples
Analyze how Eddie Harris applied this to his famous composition eddie harris intervallistic concept pdf
Here’s a helpful feature summary of what that concept generally entails, based on references from his educational materials (like his book Intervallistic Concept for the Saxophone ):
The core methodology of the book involves taking a specific interval—for example, a major sixth—and sequencing it chromatically, diatonically, and through various symmetric scales across the entire range of the instrument. 3. Core Exercises: How to Practice Intervallistically
Moving stepwise (seconds) through major, minor, or dominant scales. For the instrumentalist or composer ready to move
Expand your triads. Instead of playing a C major triad as C - E - G, play it as C - G - E (octave higher). This simple voicing change transforms a basic chord into an intervallistic statement. The Legacy of Intervallistic Jazz
While you will find links on blogspot.com, MediaFire, or various jazz forums, proceed with caution. Many are dead links, password-protected zip files, or simply malware. There is no official "Eddie Harris Intervallistic Concept PDF" for sale on Amazon or Apple Books.
Due to copyright held by the Harris estate, the original PDF is not legally available for free on most public domains. However, the knowledge of the concept has been transcribed and discussed in depth by jazz educators like David Baker and Jerry Coker, and reprints occasionally surface through educational archives. Studies in syncopation and complex rhythmic cycles
Harris was a master of the altissimo register. Wide interval practice builds the exact voicing control needed to hit high notes effortlessly.
Pages of continuous cycles moving strictly in 4ths, 5ths, Tritones, and 6ths.