According to Barry Harris’ rules, when descending through a scale or chord progression, adding an extra half step before reaching a target note enhances the melodic and harmonic richness of the line. This additional chromatic approach note provides a smooth and sophisticated transition, creating a more engaging and colorful musical phrase.

Harris’ “extra 1/2 step” rule has become a valuable tool for jazz musicians looking to infuse their improvisations with a heightened sense of melodic expression and harmonic interest.

In this free sheet music download, provided by Paul Tobey, you’ll get an complete explanation and written exercise for the three 1/2 step rules, plus 4 arpeggios in the dominant 7th scale that resolve to these descending lines.

This is a valuable resource for any musician looking to learn how to improvise using the bebop language!