Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1 [Paperback]

Ted Greene (Author), Aaron Stang (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1985

A book that clearly explains the principles of jazz soloing. Logically organized, with hundreds of musical examples, this method is the result of many years of Ted's teaching and research.

Product Details

• Paperback: 134 pages
• Publisher: Warner Bros Pubns (March 22, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0769209726
• ISBN-13: 978-0769209722
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best teacher ever, March 18, 2006

By 

Mark F. Bird (Dana Point, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1 (Paperback)

I studied with Ted Greene in the early 70's at the age of eighteen. At the time I was also taking lessons with George Van Eps and shared my lesson materials with Ted while he worked on Chord Chemistry, the first of his books which was originally published in the 70's and revised later. Any electric guitarist should have all of his books period! These are not fancy riffs or solos but the most creative and best organized series of works on jazz guitar ever written. Most think of Ted as a finger style jazz player. However, when I jammed with him there was no one faster or smoother with a single note flat pick. He simply didn't go in for flash. Also, he could outplay anyone in any style, rock, folk, country, and yes classical music. In fact, when I knew him he always carried a copy of the Bach Chorales around which he studied to perfect his chord voicing system. If you are serious about the guitar and play at the intermediate or better level you have to learn this material.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unassuming but important book., August 3, 2006

By 

BJG (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1 (Paperback)

Ted Greene's marvelous books have become staples in guitar instruction, starting with the famous "Chord Chemistry" (Ted frequently referred to the book as "Chord Catastrophe").

"Single Note Soloing, Volume 1" is the perfect book for those that are interested in jazz and have experience playing the guitar, but want to learn the ins and outs of jazz phrasing. The musical examples in this book (all in notation, no TAB here) are great and Ted's comments include a wealth of information about left and right hand tips, phrasing ideas, and how to use the examples. A pleasant "side effect" of going through this book is your sight-reading will noticably improve, especially in the higher positions (such as the 7th, 8th, and 9th). And for those who might already know the theory involved, it makes a for a great warmup and provides a refresher course in important fundamentals. Even though I knew most of the theory in the book when I first went through it, it was a great learning experience because it filled up the holes in my knowledge, some that I didn't even know were there. That is part of the greatness of Ted Greene. Never does the book have a pretentious or snobby air to it, and his thoughts are always encouraging and inspiring when you read them. Many guitar books create more holes than fill them, because the authors themselves do not have the needed grasp of the fundamentals. There's no need to worry about that here, as Ted was a master at learning (and therefore, teaching) things the right way.

Overall this has to be one of the best books on the subject that I've gone through, especially for a book that is guitar-specific. If you could only choose one book on jazz scales for guitar, choose this one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A scale for every chord, December 25, 2006

By 

Flowerbug ":)" (Fort Washington, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1 (Paperback)

There are several scales patterns per chord pattern or chord strummed. Actually, you only need to learn one scale pattern. Ted Greene provides you with at least one scale per chord to solo over. What's interesting is learning how to combine four or five scale patterns so you can play up and down the neck (over one chord). This book will provide you with all the elements needed to solo over most chords. I already had an idea of what to play, but I didn't have information on the many arpeggios you could play over each chord. Ted gives you sample arpeggios to play over each chord through several scale patterns. What I like about this book is knowing you can link four patterns together (over one chord) and play up and down the neck. If you're having problems with your solos, buy this book.