Welcome to the Barry Harris Borrowing Trainer!
This app helps you learn and practice Barry Harris's borrowing concept. You'll see full chord voicings and learn to identify borrowed notes from the related diminished chord.
What is Borrowing?
In Barry Harris's system, borrowing means taking notes from the diminished chord in the same scale family (Major 6 Diminished, Minor 6 Diminished, Dom7 Diminished, or Dom7b5 Diminished) and using them in place of notes from the main chord (or vice versa).
This creates richer harmonies and smoother voice-leading while staying within the same harmonic "family."
How to Play
- Find the triangle: It marks the chord tone that should be replaced.
- Follow its direction: The triangle points toward the lower or higher borrowed note on the current instrument.
- Choose the borrowed note: Click the destination fret or piano key.
- Expert mode: Enable this to remove interval labels - you'll identify notes by ear and theory knowledge alone
Triangle Direction
The display changes with the instrument, but the triangle always points toward the answer:
▲FretboardLower fret and lower note
▼FretboardHigher fret and higher note
◀PianoLower key to the left
▶PianoHigher key to the right
Example: Borrowing from E up to F points down the fretboard or right on the piano.
Settings
- Borrowing Direction: Choose to practice borrowing above, below, or randomly mixed
- Expert Mode: Removes interval labels - you identify notes by ear and theory knowledge alone. note: Thirds voicings always show labels.
- Scale Types: Choose from Major 6 Diminished, Minor 6 Diminished, Dominant 7 Diminished, and 7b5 Diminished
- Voicing Types: Practice with different voicing types like Drop 2, Drop 3, etc.
Tips for Success
- Start with one scale type to build familiarity with its intervals
- Practice with "above only" or "below only" before trying random
- Follow the triangle toward the destination fret or key
- Borrowing stays within the same 8-note scale family
- Use the statistics to track your progress across different scales and directions