Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar: An In depth Study of Major ii V I Bebop Soloing

This book represents my first real attempt to learn how to play electric guitar properly through study. I have reached the end of chapter 6, which is a quarter of the way through the book; it has taken me months and months to get to this point! Now, most of that is down to my relative inexperience on the guitar, building up finger strength, getting familiar with string & fret locations without looking at the fretboard etc; some of it is down to my not-so-young mind being slow picking up new concepts; but I think this book also begs to be used as a springboard for further ideas, which I have tried to go along with. As other reviews have stated, it starts by presenting three chords that form the ii-V-I progression, then gets you to play around with arpeggios created from these chords. The idea is to be fluent with starting your arpeggios from the root, 3rd, 5th, or 7th across a couple of octaves, going in either direction and eventually being able to form credible sounding progressions using notes from the chords in a non-linear way, so it doesn't just sound like a collection of scales being played... At each stage of the process I have read the instructions and then spent a few hours noodling to some backing tracks (using SessionBand Jazz apps on an iPad - great for this!) and I have had a lot of fun doing this. It is all starting to come together for me now, what notes to choose, not looking at the fretboard so much, trying different styles/rhythms to play along to etc. Flicking through the rest of the book I can see there is a lot more coming up! I am sure that guitarists that are coming to this with a fair bit of experience will take a lot less time than me to absorb the information, but whatever your experience, this is a book where you should start at the beginning and make sure you are familiar with the concept in each chapter before moving to the next as they build on what has gone before. This is not a "dip in to a random chapter" style of study book. I am thoroughly pleased and excited to be learning this stuff and for me, this is a 5* book. I have two minor criticisms which are that the spidery font used on the chord diagrams makes it very hard to see the fret numbers and I would have appreciated some indication of which fingers should be used on the chords and certain note runs - for example, going from 7th fret on the 5th string to 7th fret on the third, do you bar, roll your finger or use different fingers? And how do you play that A chord in the first lesson? Its probably down to you but I'd like to know the accepted way so I don't learn bad habits (I'm using my thumb to fret the bottom string, just seems to gravitate there!) I have since bought the follow-on book (soloing in the Minor key) and the Blues compendium and am very much looking forward to working through them (I feel a New Year resolution coming...) - I should like to point out that the author and others have an active website called Fundamental Changes that contain a lot of further information and lessons - I haven't had much time to study from it yet but would like to do so when I can.

At first glance, the scope of this book may seem limited due its focus on arpeggios over the major form of the ii V I progression but the thoroughness of its contents more than make up for any perceived restrictions. Given how commonplace this progression is in jazz, it can't be over-emphasised how important it is to know it inside out. Arpeggios themselves can sound like an exercise, particularly when played from the root, so the book places strong emphasis on learning how to play arpeggios starting from any of the notes that make up the individual arpeggios. This leads on to more musical playing by learning how to play through the changes by moving to the nearest note of the next associated arpeggio rather than starting on its root. Along with introducing chromaticism, combining the arpeggios with bebop scales, the use of b9s for the V, tritone substitutions for the V and extending the arpeggios themselves (3 to 9, 5 to 11, 7 to 13), the book really does take you a long way from the simple root, 3rd, 5th and 7th sequence that you start out with. In fact, the material by the end is deceptively complex; it's just the ease in which you're introduced the material that makes you think otherwise. Although a lot of ground is covered but the approach is less about learning 'formulas' and more about internalising the sounds and getting it all into your fingers, so whilst you learn to 'understand' the theory behind it, the emphasis is always on the playing and the hearing. One thing I did appreciate, particularly when compared to other learning materials I've come across, was that the related audio tracks came at different speeds. All too often, backing tracks or even played examples seem to be in odd, bland sounding mid-tempos, which are not only short on the inspiration front but are rarely reflective of the music I hear or want to make. I've put the backing tracks from this book on my phone so I can take them with me whenever I want work through some things. This book isn't aimed at the more advanced guitarist, although I'd imagine that they'd appreciate the accessibility of the material as the author explains each topic clearly and the book itself is very cleanly and consistently laid out with all the examples presented in both tab and stave formats. That said, there's a lot here for the beginner and the 'improving' guitarist and the book does live up to its title in that it provides a good, in-depth grounding and (more than) the fundamentals of playing jazz guitar over the major ii V I.

Prior to reading this book I had played some jazz but I was constantly left feeling that my jazz playing lacked something but what it was I couldn't quite put my finger on it. After hearing Sheryl Bailey (associate jazz professor at Berkley) say that jazz is more about arpeggios than scales, all of a sudden things became clearer, yet there was still something missing. I started to search for something related to jazz guitar playing and came across this book. At first I wasn't too sure about whether the book was legitimate or not, after all there are some very dodgy products on amazon with glowing 5 star reviews clearly written by people with fake names/profiles. The ability to look inside was useful as I'm an already advanced guitar player (just under 20 years at this point playing mainly rock, metal, shred, blues and country with just a little bit of melodic jazz thrown in, courtesy of Jimmy Bruno's No Nonsense Jazz) and the chapter headings were things I had heard about jazz but not studied in the way the book lays out. What really sold me on the book was the fact that the author attended Leeds College of Music and took a BA in Jazz studies, the same place Tom Quayle studied jazz. For me Tom Quayle is one of the best modern jazz guitar players and his legato technique is exquisite, so I decided to buy the book. I am really pleased that I did. This book is a great place to START to learn to play jazz on the guitar in the right way, approaching it in the way that Joe Pass, Jimmy Raney, Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino and others have. The book is very good at taking ideas and breaking them down into simple easy to understand parts that are subsequently built upon after that. In 3/4 months my jazz playing has improved but i'm still no Andreas Oberg, I finally feel like i'm learning to play jazz and not just play scales that sound a bit jazzy. I am impressed enough that I will purchase the minor 2 5 1 book once I feel a bit more fluent with the major 2 5 1 progression.

In a world with millions of instructional books / online lessons - this book really stands out. Joseph makes the difficult art of improving your ear seem incredibly straight forward and in a few weeks (admittedly putting in >3hrs daily) I have improved my harmonic vocabulary significantly - am now spending more time playing what I hear rather than rattling off endless scales at progressively faster clicks with little musical purpose. I found using the lessons and repeatedly working on the examples over ireal pro on my iPad was a very effective mode of constructive practice. Don't get me wrong - I put time into my theory, but at the end of the day you have to make music that people want to hear and this book helps to bring your playing to life.

Excellent book - as someone who's come back to the guitar after 30 years of not touching one I found I could still remember chord shapes & scale patterns but didn't know what to do with them...this book provides a straightforward, easy to follow, step by step method to get you back on track - I initially skipped ahead thinking I knew the first few chapters (I did, but knowing the theory and even being able to sight read the simple examples doesn't mean that they're under your fingers). A bit of self discipline works wonders. Only one chord progression is covered but as the book advises it's fairly simple to transpose 'em up and down the fretboard...stick at it and get with it....recommended

This is an addendum to my earlier review below. I note that the front cover no longer claims to be 'The Complete Jazz Guitar Soloing Course'. This puts it into context as one of a series of books addressing aspects of jazz guitar rather than the whole deal. Viewed as such, no longer claiming to be 'complete', I am upgrading it from three to four stars. Still not five for reasons already stated in my original review; though I reiterate, what it does, it does very well indeed, with clarity and well defined progression. (May 2015) I have played through this book and experimented with the ideas. I will be using it for extended study. What the book does, it does very thoroughly and very well indeed. It explores ONE major II V I progression in D major in fifth position based around the 'A' shape of the I chord from the GAGED system and it gives this a five star treatment which is worth the price of the book. There is a cursory chapter on changing keys with a few examples in F major realised by simply moving the ideas up three frets. Ideas explored in a progressive sequence include: arpeggios, Diminished substitution of the dominant, nearest note connections between arpeggios, chromatic passing notes, the bebop scale, Chord extensions (this subsumes substitutions if you think about it.), guide tones and triton substitutions. What is left for you to do? Well you need to apply these ideas to the four other shapes in the CAGED system, or at the very least the 'E' shape in order to cope with all the keys and modulations. Then you need to apply the ideas to the other common jazz progressions, especially the minor II V I which is a much more subtle beast. The late great Barney Kessel once said to a stunned seminar, "Well there are only eight progressions." I felt like asking him how it was that he played hundreds of progressions, but I came to understand what he meant. So that leaves another seven progressions in all five caged systems to explore. That is a lot! Having studied this book, you should have an idea on how to proceed with these explorations. So to sum up this book explores one progression, probably the most important progression, of bebop style improvisation in one position and in one key. At that it is excellent, but the scope is limited. Five stars for what it does do, but two stars for its limited scope. Finish the job and produce a few more books Joseph. I'd buy them. B. Arthur is a professional guitarist and guitar teacher active in Northumberland UK.

An excellent book! This clear and well presented guide really helped me to start playing jazz guitar. The bite sized chunks are well laid out and the backing track examples let you know exactly what you are aiming for. If you keep working at the arpeggio lessons, you'll quickly find yourself dropping jazzy licks and playing over chord changes.. It really does work and has opened up a new world of thinking beyond the standard scales. Let the journey begin. If you're interested in playing jazz guitar, buy this book, you won't regret it.

As an avid collector of jazz guitar instructional books, I have many. Most of them sit on the shelf after a short read and so make little difference to my playing. This one however has been used far more than most of the others. The key is that it is playing based, trying to get certain sounds into your ears, in particular the extensions beyond the basic arpeggios. Whilst other books cover arpeggios, this one manages to do it without dozens and dozens of examples that overwhelm you. It is aiming to give you the sound in your head so you can use this in improvisation, rather than fixed lines that you will never remember in the heat of a jam session. As Will it change you from a raw beginner to Joe Pass? No, but it will certainly set you along the path very nicely.

Let me preface this review by saying that I am new to the world of jazz guitar. I come from blues guitar, and as such, things like arpeggios and ii IV I progressions are pretty foreign to me. I have been trying to work on guitar, utilizing YouTube and online lessons, but those things have left voids in my understanding. Also, they seem to either focus too much on music theory or just memorizing licks. What the author does very well is to start you off slowly and methodically, learning a lesson and then building on that one thing at a time. He is very seamless in his presentation and the lessons are easily mastered before taking on the next challenge. In addition to the book, online audio tracks are also provided which allow you to learn something and instantly put it to use, musically. Also the author tends to put your own creativity and desire to be musical ahead of regurgitation of previous licks. It's obvious the author believes in allowing you to naturally develop your own playing, rather than just piecemailing together a string of given licks. I have no doubt that, in time, my playing will really grow much better than with the online "lessons" I was using. I am looking forward to the entire jazz guitar series. Kudos for such a thoughtful well intentioned book!

Le doy cinco estrellas porque es el libro que he visto más sistemático sobre esta cuestión. La concreción en la guitarra me parece estupenda y además lo que es mejor, da una guía de cómo trabajar lo cual me parece muy importante. Hay muchos libros que después de explicar un concepto dicen y ahora te lo estudias y no aclaran cómo. Este sin embargo da unaas rutinas de trabajo que me parecen muy acertadas. Quizás se echa de menos que presente brevemente cómo trabajar en las otras cuatro posiciones de CAGED, aunque tampoco tiene mucha dificultad el deducirlas. Recomiendo su compra.

Auf dem Weg vom klassischen zum Jazz-Gitarristen hat mir dieses Buch sehr geholfen. Es ist gut strukturiert aufgebaut und serviert Skalen, Modes, Akkorde und schließlich das Improvisieren über Akkordfolgen in sehr gut verdaulichen Lektionen. Später dient es als Nachschlagewerk, um Lücken wieder aufzufüllen. Habe die Kindle-Version immer auf dem Ipad dabei und kann das Buch sehr empfehlen.

Il linguaggio bebop è fatto essenzialmente di un sapiente mix di arpeggi e scale opportunamente padroneggiati. Questo libro ha il pregio di chiarire alcuni semplici meccanismi chiave del linguaggio bebop: una volta capiti toccherà a voi praticarli in tutte e 5 le posizioni (CAGED), e renderli melodici e personali mediante la sperimentazione e l'autoapprendimento (scriverli per poi impararli e assimilarli e averli sempre "pronti all'uso"). Per anni ho fatto fatica a padroneggiare il tritono sul V grado: ora mi sembra un gioco da ragazzi! Lo spirito del libro è questo: "se dai ad un uomo un pesce questo si sfama per un giorno; se gli insegni a pescare si sfama per tutta la vita". Non è dunque la solita raccolta di frasi bebop da imparare a memoria: qui si entra nel meccanismo, lo si comprende e lo si usa. Anzi di tante frasi bebop che avete imparato in passato" a pappagallo" finalmente potrete capirne la logica, scardinarle, reinventarle ecc. Il libro è in inglese ma di facile comprensione. Assolutamente straconsigliato!!!

This book approaches ii-V-I soloing in a simple way that made sense to me in a way that most books don't. It sticks to one area of the fretboard and one progression (I'm about halfway through - that may change) but the overall method has opened things up for me across the fretboard. Recommended.