Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!, June 10, 2000
This actually is the second and last part of Greene's miniseries, and I decided to write about it because I bought this part based on several recommendations that it contains way more important and helpful material for guitarists, much more into the detail than Part I.Greene himself says that the topic was basically only "touched" in Part II, while in this episode, he provides even more examples and material. Or to quote Greene "so we're going to really 'hit it' now" He jumps right in, talking about condensed arpeggios, preparing to demonstrate how to solo while staying in one position. Chapters deal with "Playing through changes", "Chromatic tones", "Soloing over fast changes", "Slurring and decoration", "Rhythm and Phrasing", different scales and chords, up to sophisticated scales, chromatic progression. Greene does something here that I personally consider extremely important: Not only does he provide much useful information and explains many many important techniques and approaches, he also explains how to use them and incorporate into real playing, by talking about Rhythm and Phrasing, slurring and decoration. (Which I think is even more important than just the scales by themselves). Each chapter features easy-to understand explanations and diagrams, but the major part of this book is MUSIC. A lot of notation, with chord diagrams, all based on the topic of the chapter. I think that he not only addresses all the important topics, but also explains how to apply them to the "real world", and all that with lots of musical examples, therefore providing the reader with an actual demonstration of the discussed techniques and topics. One of the best jazz players writes an extremely complete guide to a huge topic. And pretty much covers EVERYTHING important! Not only straight theory, but also important topics like phrasing (which often is ignored and dismissed, although it is as important as the actual notes one plays). A great guide to the topic, very complete, with theory ranging from basic to very sophisticated, requiring quite some time and experimentation by the reader. Very very good, I absolutely recommend it Prerequisite: Sight-reading, good knowledge of chords and basic theory, a bit of playing experience in any case.
|
|
|
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best teacher ever, March 18, 2006
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.
|
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unassuming but important book., August 3, 2006
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.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
