Eddie digitized the notebook because he wanted the Intervallistic Concept to be portable, searchable, eternal. He scanned pages at midnight, refining scans into a single PDF that pulsed with annotations: margin notes in green, tempo sketches in blue, a page where he'd taped a concert ticket and labeled it "Proof." He uploaded it to a small academic server run by a friend and sent a single email linking to the file: for collaborators only, he wrote.
A reliable source for the spiral-bound 3-volume sets.
Several jazz magazines ( DownBeat , JazzTimes ) ran features on Harris in the late 80s/early 90s summarizing the Intervallistic Concept. Back issues of these magazines are often scanned as PDFs on the Internet Archive. Search for "Eddie Harris DownBeat interview intervals" rather than the book title.
When you listen to modern saxophone giants like Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, or Jan Garbarek, you are hearing the stylistic lineage of Eddie Harris. His intervallistic approach bridges the gap between traditional tonal bebop and the completely avant-garde "free jazz" movements of the late 20th century.
Start at a incredibly slow tempo (e.g., Quarter note = 60) to ensure every wide interval speaks cleanly. eddie harris intervallistic concept pdf
: Physical and digital versions are available through major jazz sheet music retailers like Jamey Aebersold Jazz and Sheet Music Plus .
For horn players, the intervallic concept is deeply tied to mastering the altissimo register. Large interval leaps force the player to rapidly adjust their voicing, embouchure, and airstream. Harris’s exercises serve a dual purpose: building a cutting-edge melodic vocabulary while developing flawless physical technique across the entire range of the instrument. How to Practice Intervallistic Improvisation
The Complete Guide to Eddie Harris’s Intervallistic Concept: Revolutionizing Jazz Improvisation
Shifting away from standard scales to focus on larger leaps (like 4ths and 5ths), similar to Harris's famous composition "Freedom Jazz Dance" . Eddie digitized the notebook because he wanted the
Pick a base interval, such as a major third. Alternate jumping up a major third, then down a perfect fifth.
: Harris viewed musical sounds as a universal language that should not be overly "chastised" or restricted by rigid categorization. Access and Availability
Bebop relies heavily on stepwise motion with occasional leaps. Harris inverted this formula. His concepts force the musician to practice wide, angular leaps—such as jumping a major 7th up, dropping a tritone down, and ascending a minor 6th. This "disjointed" motion creates a highly modern, unpredictable melodic contour. 3. Digital Patterns and Permutations
While many search for an "Eddie Harris Intervallistic Concept PDF," the work remains a copyrighted publication. Physical copies and legitimate digital versions are typically available through: Several jazz magazines ( DownBeat , JazzTimes )
Before we discuss the elusive PDF, we must understand the philosophy. Published in the mid-1970s, Eddie Harris’s Intervallistic Concept was a radical departure from traditional jazz education.
Modern instructors often recommend starting with small pieces of Harris's vocabulary before attempting the full text. For example, Better Sax suggests practicing specific interval-based phrases repeatedly until they become second nature, much like learning common phrases in a new language.
: Lessons on polychords, superimposed triads, and chord substitutions.