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To understand the intervallistic concept, you must first understand the man behind it. Eddie Harris (1934–1996) was a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist who primarily played tenor saxophone, but was also a highly accomplished pianist and vocalist.
Eddie Harris always carried a notebook the size of a cassette case. It was worn at the corners, the pages soft from a thousand late-night fingers tracing figures, arrows, and shorthand that meant something only to him. Musicians called it eccentric; scholars called it inscrutable. To Eddie, it was a map.
Pattern-based exercises that force the mind to think through changing harmonic centers.
Harris was a master of building lines out of perfect fourths (quartal) and perfect fifths (quintal). Instead of playing a C Major triad ( ), an intervallistic approach might utilize (fourths) or eddie harris intervallistic concept pdf
Eddie Harris's The Intervallistic Concept is far more than a simple method book; it is a comprehensive philosophy of improvisation. It teaches a musician to think not in terms of scales, but in the infinite possibilities of the intervals that connect them. It replaces the fear of "wrong notes" with the creative confidence of making meaningful "connections."
Harris's Intervallic Concept is evident in many of his compositions and improvisations. A prime example is his iconic recording of "Sankarumba," which showcases his mastery of intervallic relationships and melodic contour. Other notable examples include "Charging/Discharging" and "Minced Meat," which demonstrate his use of symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns.
If you are waiting to get the PDF, here is the core philosophy of what Harris was teaching. To understand the intervallistic concept, you must first
Take a simple jazz standard (like "Autumn Leaves") and attempt to improvise using only the specific intervals you practiced that day. The Lasting Legacy
Musicians hunting for an will typically find a dense, exercise-heavy curriculum spanning three core areas: 1. Advanced Technique & Altissimo Dominance
If you are analyzing or searching for an instructional guide or PDF on this concept, you will find that Harris’s methodology is broken down into structured, rigorous exercises. 1. The Fourth and Fifth Obsession It was worn at the corners, the pages
At first it was harmless—students downloading, a few comments in online forums debating a lesson. Then musicians from distant cities began quoting Eddie in interviews, using his interval-dialogue to structure entire sets. A producer remixed a track with an Intervallistic bassline and turned Eddie's diagrams into synth arpeggios. The PDF circulated like a rumor, copied and recopied until pixels blurred and the odd margin note acquired a footnote no one had ever written.
The Intervallistic Concept is typically presented as a three-volume edition packed with hundreds of specialized studies:
Word spread in whispers. Some claimed the concept could turn any mechanical run into speech. One drummer said it let him hear melody in his left foot. A pianist swore the charts taught her to color chords like stained glass. Eddie laughed and kept writing, loving the way a pattern revealed a new route through a solo the way a city alley revealed a mural at its end.
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