The Jazz Harmony Book By David Berkman Full ❲CERTIFIED❳
"The Jazz Harmony Book" by David Berkman stands out as a valuable resource for jazz musicians and composers. Its comprehensive coverage of jazz harmony, coupled with practical advice and musical examples, makes it an essential tool for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of jazz harmony and enhance their musical creativity. Whether used in self-study or as part of a formal education program, Berkman's book offers insights and techniques that can help musicians explore new harmonic and melodic possibilities in their work.
The Jazz Harmony Book " by New York pianist and educator David Berkman
is widely considered a modern classic and an essential text for anyone looking to go beyond basic lead sheets. Published by Sher Music Co. , it’s not just a dry reference but a "witty and engaging" course on how to breathe life into melodies. Core Philosophy: Harmony as a Destination
Berkman argues that many students rely too heavily on "fake books," which can lead to a static understanding of jazz. His approach focuses on:
The "Moving Tradition": Chords aren't just blocks on a page; they are harmonic destinations that can be reached via many different routes.
Re-harmonization: A central theme is learning to add, subtract, and change chords to create drama and color—much like legends such as Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonious Monk did.
Melody-First: The book is structured as a "course in adding chords to melodies," showing how one simple melody can support vast harmonic variations. What’s Inside?
The book covers a broad spectrum of concepts, ranging from foundational to highly advanced:
The Basics: Functional harmony, diatonic substitutes, and secondary dominants.
Intermediate/Advanced: Tritone substitutes, passing chords, and diminished harmony.
Modern Techniques: Quartal harmony, non-functional approaches, slash chords, and "unavailable" tensions.
Unique Perspectives: It features a highly regarded explanation of Barry Harris’s unique harmonic language. Why It Stands Out
Hands-On Learning: It often uses familiar tunes (like "Silent Night") to demonstrate how to layer in increasingly sophisticated harmony, from basic 7th chords to complex tensions.
Practical Tools: Readers often highlight the "Tips for Composers" as being worth the price of the book alone.
Audio Examples: The "full" package typically includes two CDs (or downloadable audio) of Berkman playing through the book's examples, making it easier to connect the theory to actual sound.
Endorsements: It has been praised by heavyweights like Kenny Werner, who noted that while jazz rhythm has evolved, harmony has sometimes "devolved"—and this book is the antidote.
You can find the book and its audio supplements at major retailers like Amazon or directly through Sher Music Co..
Are you planning to use the book for composing original music or for re-harmonizing standard jazz tunes? The Jazz Harmony Book by David Berkman | Sher Music Co. The Jazz Harmony Book By David Berkman Full
The Jazz Harmony Book by David Berkman: A Complete Guide to Re-harmonization
The Jazz Harmony Book by New York pianist David Berkman is a definitive, 206-page spiral-bound course designed to bridge the gap between basic theory and professional jazz re-harmonization. Rather than focusing on soloing, this text explores the process of adding chords to melodies, demonstrating how a single melodic line can support vast harmonic variations. Core Philosophy: The Concentric Circles of Harmony
Berkman organizes the "harmonic universe" into a hierarchy of seven "circles," moving from foundational functional harmony to advanced, non-functional techniques: Circle 1 & 2: Covers basic IVcap I cap V chords and their diatonic seventh chord substitutes. Circle 3: Explores secondary dominants and related progressions.
Circle 4 & 5: Introduces passing chords and modal interchange.
Circle 6 & 7: Deals with advanced tritone substitutes and the harmony of minor tunes. Key Features and Content
The book is structured into two main sections: one discussing the tonal universe and another covering non-functional approaches like quartal harmony and slash chords.
Topics Covered: Includes basic functional harmony, diminished harmony, harmonizing basslines, pedals, and "unavailable" tensions.
Practical Exercises: Provides a "piano primer" for non-pianists and "tips for composers" that are highly regarded by professional educators.
Audio Support: Readers can download audio files from Sher Music Co. featuring Berkman playing many of the written examples, helping to internalize the sounds of the re-harmonizations.
Interactive Approach: Berkman encourages musicians to view chord progressions as a series of destinations reachable through various "routes," similar to the styles of Bill Evans or Herbie Hancock. Critical Reception
What is your favorite book on jazz harmony? - Jazz Guitar Online
Report: Analysis of " The Jazz Harmony Book " by David Berkman Executive Summary The Jazz Harmony Book
by David Berkman, published by Sher Music Co., is widely regarded as a definitive modern text for musicians seeking to bridge the gap between static theory and expressive performance. Rather than focusing on rote memorization of riffs, the book presents harmony as a process of adding chords to melodies and understanding how single melodies can support rich, diverse harmonic variations. Key Educational Frameworks
The book is structured around a personal model that categorizes harmonic actions into a nested hierarchy of "concentric circles". This system builds outward from three central functional archetypes: Tonic, Subdominant, and Dominant. The Harmonic Circles First Circle: Fundamental IVcap I cap V V7cap V to the seventh power chords that establish basic tonality.
Second Circle: Diatonic seventh chord substitutes, introducing richer colors while maintaining basic functions. Third Circle: Secondary dominants and related progressions that resolve to non-tonic diatonic chords.
Fourth Circle: Passing chords and their role in creating linear motion.
Fifth Circle: Modal interchange chords, providing common practical substitutions from parallel scales. "The Jazz Harmony Book" by David Berkman stands
Last Circle: Tritone substitutes and more advanced non-functional approaches. Core Topics and Pedagogical Features
The text covers a broad spectrum of jazz practices beyond basic theory:
Reharmonization: Focusing on reinterpretation as an "idiom-defining" skill for jazz musicians.
Geography of Standards: Analysis of typical cadences and turnarounds found in the Great American Songbook.
Alternative Chord Perspectives: An approach that views chords as combinations of sixth chords and diminished chords rather than just stacked thirds.
Specialized Harmony: Includes diminished harmony, quartal harmony, color chords, harmonizing basslines, and pedals.
Companion Media: Features downloadable audio tracks (originally two CDs) of Berkman playing the book's examples to reinforce aural learning. Critical Reception and Audience
The book has received endorsements from major jazz figures such as Kenny Werner, Fred Hersch, and Mark Levine.
Target Audience: While primarily aimed at jazz students and improvisers, it is also noted as an essential resource for composers and arrangers.
Learning Style: Reviewers highlight Berkman's "engaging and witty" writing style, which uses analogies and anecdotes to keep the material from becoming a "dry textbook".
Educational Impact: It is frequently used in higher education settings, such as at Queens College and Temple University, to elevate the harmonic sophistication of performing arts students. Conclusion The Jazz Harmony Book by David Berkman
Jazz Harmony Book by NY pianist David Berkman , published by Sher Music Co.
, is considered an essential text for musicians looking to move beyond basic lead sheets and fake books. Rather than a dry theoretical manual, it functions as a practical course on the process of adding chords to melodies and understanding how a single melody can support diverse harmonic variations. Sher Music Co. Core Content & Philosophy
Berkman approaches jazz harmony as a living tradition of reinterpretation, rather than a fixed set of rules. Functional Archetypes
: The book organizes tonal-functional harmony into a "concentric circle" model, showing how all harmonic actions are elaborations of three basic functional archetypes: tonic, dominant, and subdominant. Melody-First Focus
: It is specifically about harmonizing melodies, not just soloing over changes. Berkman uses simple examples, like Christmas carols, to demonstrate how basic I-IV-V structures can be transformed into complex jazz reharmonizations through a step-by-step process. Non-Functional Approaches
: A major portion of the text explores non-functional harmony, including techniques like quartal harmony color chords slash chords tritone substitutes Cons: The book covers a wide range of
used by mainstream jazz legends like Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock. Sher Music Co. Key Features Witty Narrative : Reviewers from
frequently praise Berkman's engaging, witty, and personable writing style, which makes complex theory more digestible. Audio Supplements
: The 206-page spiral-bound book includes free downloadable audio or CDs of Berkman playing the written examples, providing a "real-world" context for the theory. Composer Tips
: It includes specialized appendices, including "Tips for Composers" and a "Piano Primer" for those who aren't primarily keyboardists. Sher Music Co.
Pros:
Cons:
The book covers a wide range of topics essential for mastering jazz harmony, starting with basic chord progressions and moving into more complex areas such as modal interchange, reharmonization, and the use of altered dominants and modal playing. Berkman's approach is rooted in the tradition of jazz harmony as developed from the 1950s through the present day, drawing on influences from great jazz musicians and theorists.
If you own Mark Levine's The Jazz Theory Book, do you need Berkman's Harmony Book? Absolutely.
Levine is an encyclopedia; Berkman is a strategy guide. Where Levine tells you what exists, Berkman tells you how to use it and when to use it.
"The Jazz Harmony Book" belongs on the shelf of every musician who is tired of playing clichés. It will open your ears, free your hands, and, most importantly, help you make your own musical decisions.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) Essential for: Every serious jazz student and professional.
Most harmony books approach jazz from the top down: "Here is a Lydian scale. Apply it to a major chord." Berkman flips this model on its head. He starts with melody and voice-leading.
Most harmony books start with the chord. "Here is a dominant 7th flat 9. Use it on the V of a minor." Berkman flips the script. He starts with the melody note.
The Core Question of the Book: "Given this melody note, what chords can I put under it?"
Berkman argues that harmony exists to serve the melody, not the other way around. He teaches you how to look at a single note (say, an "E") and realize that E can be the root of an Emin7, the 3rd of a Cmaj7, the 9th of a D7, or the b13 of an A7. This melodic harmonic approach instantly unlocks reharmonization and makes your playing vocal, not mechanical.
You do not need to be a concert pianist to use this book, but Berkman insists you sit at the keyboard. The "Full" method requires you to play the examples. He argues that intellectual understanding without tactile feedback (hearing the intervals ring) is useless for an improviser.