Customer Reviews

Funk/RandB Guitar: Creative Solos, Grooves and Sounds (Funk R&B Guitar)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow! I thought this book was 'gonna-be' another funk rhythm style book where the authors shows and explain how to play funk rhythm. This book does that for the first part but the second section gets right into funk licks and solos. this is where it leaves the other funk books behind.

These licks are really applicable to just about all the funk and R&B grooves. I am new to improvising over this style but yet had no trouble with jumping right in and jamming with the band. And that is what I really like about this book: the licks.

CD includes all examples which are written in TAB too.

I would get this book along with the Play along books:
Soul Guitar Play-Along: Vol. 19 by Hal Leonard Corp.
RandB Guitar Play-Along: Vol. 15 by Hal Leonard Corp.
Funk: Guitar Play-Along Volume 52 by Hal Leonard Corp.

thanks

I have listened to the author's music (the Thaddeus Hogarth Band - an impressive group), so when I found out about book, I had high expectations. Not only did it meet my expectations, but it far surpassed what I was hoping for.

The book gives you detailed musical notation, the opportunity to play along with grooves by the band (there are even examples in the CD included), create your own solos, and more. No doubt, when I got this book I knew it was just what I needed. It's extremely clear, full of inspiration, fresh, yet based on decades of soulful experience - unlike any other guitar instruction book I've ever seen. I recommend it 110%!

Great book. Easy to use easy to understand.
Funky licks and great for beginner and advanced audiences.
Having the opportunity to play along with grooves is my favorite feature. You can create your own solos too it's very cool. I recommend it highly.

I found this book and its companion CD extremely useful -- much more so than others I have tried. Without overwhelming you with too much information or too many exercises, Hogarth introduces a range of important guitar playing skills, and he provides enough scaffolding to enable players to grow beyond basic levels. I foresee many hours of enjoyment ahead of me as I continue to work on my improvisational skills with the help of this book!

If you want to know how to play R&B/Funk, this is definitely the book. He starts off by building the proper foundation by showing five basic bass line rhythms. He then builds on it by showing many useful chords and their inversions. From there, he shows how to play lead guitar over those grooves and then covers things such as effects, articulation, etc..., at the end of the book.

The recorded examples are excellent. The first four bars are played as shown in the book and then the final four bars have the guitar removed so that the user can better play along.

I can tell that this man knows his subject and also knows how to teach it, in the proper sequence, and with ample examples.

If I had found this book early during my learning years, it would have saved me countless hours of pointless searching. The funk principals are laid out so that you can instantly "feel" them. Presentation of the pentatonic scales in all positions is clear and concise. I heartily recommend this book for all levels. The accompanying CD rounds out and complements the written material perfectly. The more advanced concepts opened doors for me and gave me ideas for all of my playing, which is primarily jazz oriented.

I purchased this book because I heard good things about it and that it
was more than just a regular R&B book that dealt with traditional R&B.
I was very pleasantly surprised that it delved into modern jazz theory and
acted as a window into the modern R&B of Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood.
This is one of the first books I have seen that uses chord scales to
explain substitutions... ala why one would use a BbMaj7 arpeggio for a
C7 chord. Also its focus is taking the standard major and minor pentatonic
scales and using them in a new context similar to chord scale substitutions
without having to learn new forms of pentatonic scales. In its approach
I found it to be brilliant in that respect. This is a very good approach
to opening your playing up and is a great introduction into the John Scofield
style of R&B/jazz Funk approach to soloing. The examples are concise and
give a detailed approach to breaking out from the traditional uses of the
major and minor pentatonic scales and is a great introduction into jazz
substitutions. I highly recommend the book!

I was looking for a book on funk that would teach me from the beginning but not a beginners book. This was it. Plenty inside that will spark ideas and keep you busy for a while.

When I was a young blood, starting out in the Apollo Theater house band, the knowledge the old timers shared with me was invaluable. As I started working through the lessons in this book, it felt like an extension of those glorious soulsters--guiding me like Lewis and Clark, down the trail to Funkland. This will be a priceless tool for the novice, as well as the pro of other disciplines. Bravo." --Nile Rodgers, Guitarist/Producer/Composer/Arranger (Chic)

"Thaddeus Hogarth has articulated some of the 'secrets of the funk' in an easy to understand, practical manner. It is the only book I've ever seen that approaches funk and r&b with due respect, in its simplicities and complexities. He not only gives great examples but also takes you into the exploratory harmonic possibilities to find your own voice. If you're looking for "That Book" to unlock the inner workings of the groove and what to do on top of it, this is the book to read." --Billy "Spaceman" Patterson, Guitarist/Composer/Producer/Arranger (James Brown, Sly Stone, Miles Davis, George Clinton)

"A timeless staple of R&B guitar. The format is meticulously detailed, the recorded examples are first rate, and the listening list is a veritable treasure-chest map." --Mick Goodrick, Guitarist/Educator (Gary Burton, Pat Metheny)

I have over a 1000 instruction books and DVDs. As a classicist, one first needs to internalize and extend the styles developed by the masters--Cropper, Mayfield, Dupree, Jimmy Johnson, Pop Staples, Hendrix, SRV et al. This book has almost no standard-sounding soul/funk samples. Creative soloing in funk and r&b needs a classic base. There's not one book that deals at length with that stylistic continuum. Crafting extending sliding thirds and sixth lines, and dropped 2nds/4ths/6ths, the meats and potatoes of r&b/soul guitar, are the aspects that suffers the greatest neglect. The best material currently available is by David Hamburger and some other "blues" instructors on [...]. But a comprehensive classic soul/r&b guitar course is desperately needed.