The Barry Harris’s 6th Diminished Scale
The construction of this scale basically consists on adding a b6 on a major scale that unlike the bebop major scale, with similar construction, is treated as a scale degree and not simply as a passing tone:
The addition of the b6 creates an octatonic major scale with an even number of notes in the scale. This allows the composer to create and keep alternating between tonic and dominant harmonies whose notes are always wanting to resolve and can be used as passing chords; as you go up or down the scale. For example, in C major, you alternate between a C6 and a Dº7 chord and their respective inversions:
The minor 6th diminished scale shares the same characteristics as the major scale above and it is built by simply lowering the third degree of the major 6th diminished scale:
Below you will find this scale’s harmonization that alternates between a Cm6 and a Dº7 chord and their respective inversions:
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