Customer Reviews

Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach

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I recall coming across a copy of Garrison Fewell's earlier jazz guitar book in the school bookstore as I made my haj to Berklee over twenty years ago. No way could I afford to study there but if I could just check the place out I might be able to take back something of that hallowed vibe that might inspire me to the upper reaches, or at least upper chord extensions a la Bird's "Cherokee". And just maybe I'd spot Mick Goodrick unloading his amp from a car trunk in need of a hand and a second guitarist on this session and, well, 'tis the stuff of youthful daydreams...

What appeared to be a self-published work by Fewell just reeked of "this is the real deal" and I happily plunked down my change and bagged my latest (along with a blank Berklee manuscript pad that I do still have as a momento of the trip).
To be honest, that book and its contents are long gone from my library and memory but I always remember a name so when I spotted Fewell's latest I had to have it, for old times sake if nothing else. I was pleasantly surpised to find a book full of
varied and useful information much more in sync with my current way of playing than the "miles and miles of scales" approach of yore that yielded chops and dexterity, but came up short on musical invention.

Fewell's approach to melodic lines is based on triads and their extensions rather than scales. A scale is a large piece of musical information with many implications to graft
onto a chord change or progession. By contrast a triad is more focused, expressive of the underlying harmony and a more managable bite to handle for beginning (and experienced)
improvisors.

Examples "in the style of" jazz guitar masters such as Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall confirm Fewell's point that effective melodic playing emphasizes triadic chord tones
from the underlying harmonies and logical extensions to those triads. This is really about perspective: the same notes Fewell derives from triads and their extensions can be found in the
diatonic/modal scales traditionally taught to be played over standard changes. However, by conceptualizing this material as Fewell proposes, the player can more easily and effectively play lines that express the harmony.

A unique feature of the book is a discussion of phrasing and articulation, related to picking and thumb/finger strokes. It's rare in the jazz guitar literature to find what is all too often taken for granted or along the lines of "listen and figure it out yourself".

Another aspect of conceptualizing the material is understanding guide tones, their relationship to the triads and extensions and how they can be expressed not only melodically as target tones, but as two and three-note chords, providing an effective way to comp. Guitarists have tendency to segregate chordal forms, particulary larger block forms (e.g. CAGED) from lines and melodic material. The harmony lessons Fewell presents go a long way towards merging these two aspects of playing, evisioning chords as collections of melodic lines moving at a slower,
half note harmonic rhythm than what we typically think of as eighth note jazz melody.

After presenting these building blocks of melodic playing the author demonstrates combining phrases into complete choruses over various standard progressions.

The accompanying recording demonstrates individual phrases as well as providing rhythm-section backup for the later complete chord progressions.

"Jazz Improvisation for Guitar" works well for a player who has done scales, apreggios and chord voicings to death, is comfortable (but not TOO comfortable)with their physical technique and is now more interested in integrating and applying
that knowledge to better understand and serve the music.

This book is very specific in dealing with harmonic extentions of chords. I wish I would have bought this as one of my first purchases of Jazz guitar books. It really makes a complex harmonic idea rather simple. Much like Joe Pass's idea of "guitaristic shapes" rather than advanced theory, it makes chord substitutions much easier because you use the same "shape" rather than having to learn every "harmonic rule". If you like Wes and Pat Martino, this book will make you happy. Much of their signature sounds are dealt with here. I love both the Wes and Pat transcription books, but this book let you know why it works and what framework they were working from.

Ok I'm one of those guy's that's been stuck playing solos and improvising from scales. I determine the key of the progression and then I rely on my ears to guide me through the scale. There are people who have become quite phenomenal improvising this way. I'm not one of them. Sure I can hold my own in a jam session, but I feel so limited and what about those scale notes that sometimes sound good and sometimes dont?

Between self study on arpeggios and this book and can tell you that I have found the method to tonal freedom. I'm sure as heck not there yet. To be sure the principles in this book will take you years to fully ingrain...However I can already tell that once it's done the way I play guitar will forever be changed. At first glance this book seems geared only towards jazz....NOT SO! these principles can be applied in any style of music what-so-ever. In fact I am already finding that the way I solo to rock songs is changing and I'm starting to understand why some of those fancy blues licks work.

If you are prepared to get back to serious study on the guitar and If your willing to put forth the time and the effort then I think this is without a doubt the best way to think of the instrument. This book is for intermediate guitarist that are comfortable with taking a concept and further exploring it on your own. It's not a book of licks...although it does have some. It's a book that presents a method of thinking about music and it shows you how to practice to become fluent with this method.

Best guitar book I have ever purchased. I'll be studying form this book for at least the next 2 years.

Everyone I know has always avoided arpeggios, lets face it learning them can be a tedious boring experience and many feel they are just too predictable. Then along comes this book and all of a sudden it all starts making sense! Ever heard a melodic flash of brilliance from say a George Benson track and wondered "What the hell"? Then wonder no more! Its all in this book! Whats more, getting those beautiful lush jazz phrases is actually a lot easier than some may imagine! The material in this book is totally addictive. You will find yourself smiling as you work through the exercises. And above all the tempo's are very manageable for most people! Another great Jazz resource. Highly recommend it!

This book gives a fresh look at the subject of improvisation. The look at minor extension as a major triad built from the 7'th degree, is a great way to simplify the learning of arppegios. The minor patterns that force you to play in different possitions are great for learning the fingerboard.

The book is great but if you get it for kindle there's no option for downloading the cd. It's a real shame because you don't get to mimic the timing of the phrasing, unless of course you are at a level where your reading of notation is good enough. Mines not. Anyway, that was my mistake - let the buyer beware. Beware.

This is a well written and organized book providing a wealth of ideas to fuel your study and practice for years to come. It covers a good deal of ground and opens doors to even more paths for you to explore. It is not a " complete guide for beginners" (not does it claim to be). It assumes a certain level of knowledge and provides the tools for you to continue with what is taught here for you to apply your own knowledge, skills and musical personality to it. It is NOT about just learning the phrases used as examples within; it is about learning how to go about creating your own lines and phrases based from the harmony of any tune you might be playing, using a myriad of 3 note "building blocks" to create you own solo, approach, style, etc. There are some excellent, brief examples of a few big name players provided. Again, the idea not being to just copy them, but Mr. Fewell shows you clearly just how those giants used these simple little 3 note ideas strung together in their own unique way to create their own "voice". I highly recommend this book to any guitarist who's already learned the basics and is looking for a way to build/find their own voice in jazz. Also strongly recommended is Garrison's cd "Red Door #11", it is sublime music making; a new "Kind of Blue" to cherish!

I, like so many jazz students have a hundred books on jazz guitar (and videos also).If I burn them all and keep just one book I would keep this book (and the list I give at the bottom of page).

Mr. Fewell has the finest jazz guitar sound I have ever heard, please just my just my opinon! He has the sound I want to strive for.

This book has the smoothest jazz licks and shows you the importance of articulating your lines(slides, pull offs etc..) to get diffrent sounds, comping with guide tones, 3 note voicings for comping, and guide tone resolution. It's the most complete no nonsense jazz course I have seen in one book.

It is mainly based on playing from triad shapes,and their extensions, and if you have a solid foundation in the caged system you will know how to fit it into the whole thing.

Of course no jazz book or couse could ever cover half the topics of jazz guitar, for that you will need to dedicate your life to finding the best material, and what is the right sound for you.

Buy it you won't be disapointed!

Other books:
caged system
essential jazz lines in style of charlie parker-by corey christiensen
Jazz Improvisation for Guitar by less wise

I just received this book and let me tell you that this book is the best so far when it comes learning jazz improvisation using triads. Everything is presented in order so that you start from the simple concepts and learn bit by bit until you grasp the big picture. Techniques and ideas used by jazz legends like Wes, Pat Martino, Benson and others are covered also. The book also teaches guide tones and how to use various notes in a chord rather than a whole scale to create jazz lines thus revealing the secrets of the jazz greats.

I too, have many Jazz Instructional books and DVDs. I have been a self-taught guitarist for five years and was seriously considering getting an instructor to help me put together all the theory and knowledge I have acquired. Listen, I know all kinds soloing and rhythm techniques used in Jazz but I can't tell you how to put it all together in a consistent way, and I really don't have a lot of time to practice these ideas so I have to be very "surgical" and realistic in my approach. Buying this book has helped me hold off on getting an instructor and is giving me a great starting point for foundation for Jazz improvisation.

After utilizing it for around three months, I now see the fretboard very differently. I can see how chords relate to one another and how you can use triads to build, for instance, a Dom 13 chord or I can see how a min7 b5 can be built on the third of a major triad to yield chord tones for use building a Dom 7 chord, and by adding a min7 chord built on the 5th of the original major triad you can spell out the chord tones of a dom 7(9) chord. So now I have greater awareness of chord tones and where they lie on the fretboard and can "see" things coming as well as hear some of the licks that have become cliche in traditional Jazz.

Part of this fretboard awareness comes from the books ability to teach you to divide up the fretboard in triads on the middle three strings. For instance, I can start with a minor triad, and then alternate major and minor triads, building them on the flatted third, fifth, and flatted seventh, and this will eventually yield the upper extensions of the ninth and eleventh (the book identifies the 9th and 11th as the common upper extension tensions on a minor triad although we all know you can go on up to 13ths).

The book is really good about giving you some points on technique (articulation and rest strokes) that will allow you to exploit the use of triads. I especially like the well placed "mini-sweeps" of triplets that give can help give that traditional "Jazz" sound to one's solos. There are many "licks" patterned after greats such as Grant Green, George Benson, Johnny Smith, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, and especially Wes Montgomery, that illustrate the use of these techniques. And, while I am on the subject, the author takes great pains to explain the related music devices the Jazz masters used, such as Montgomery's use of minor lines over functioning dominant chords. This is something that, as the author points out, Pat Martino does as well. In fact, the author does a great job of tracing the lineage / history of the use of triads and their upper extensions, starting with Charlie Christian.

As a result of this book, I have put a lot of my other guitar pursuits on hold to allow me to fully internalize what this book is trying to teach. This is just one approach to Jazz improvisation but I have had enough exposure to Jazz over the last few years to know this is part of the sound I am looking for. I am learning the licks and using the many backing track solo-less tracks to create my own solos. I am already developing an ear for it after listening to the great CD that comes with it.

I still have not made it to the chapter in which leading tones are discussed. It begins with some progressions using only two notes of a chord and probably the most important - the 3rd and the 7th (of course one or both will be flatted, depending on the type of chord). This section is meant to teach good voice leading and leads into another section in which you add notes to these leading tones, such as ninths, or fifths. Peeking ahead I believe this section will contribute to ones understanding of harmony and good voice leading, and will also give assistance in soloing over the various traditional Jazz progressions such as the iimin7-V7-Imaj7 or the iimin7-V7-Imaj7-VI7 as well as the simple one chord vamps.

There is also a section on soloing over altered chords but I have not gotten that far yet either, still it also looks promising!

This is one of my top 5 Jazz books out of around 25 or 30 that I have, and as I said before, it has a little bit of everything my other books have and has allowed me to fashion a way of learning Jazz improvisation that has thus far been very effective and satisfying.