Customer Reviews

Mel Bay Essential Jazz Lines : Guitar Edt the Style of Charlie Parker

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This book is exactly what the title describes, classic lines in the style of a jazz great. In addition to the lines there are scale diagrams that allow the possibility of changing or adding to the existing lines for a creative challenge. Those people that have done their own transcribing will understand the value of this type of book. While not a Jazz Method ( it doesn't claim to be ), it is an important part of
the evolving process of studying Jazz.

Christiansen's book focuses on a few key concepts that one sees over and over in bebop, particularly in the music of Charlie Parker. Some examples include scales used over major, minor, and dominant chords; use of approach and "target" notes; and motifs such as the 3 to b9 interval.

While the numerous one- and two-bar solo examples, imperfect as they be from time to time, provide a good start, the student should really focus on using these concepts in his or her own improvising. The CD that comes with the book provides great backing tracks for the student to solo along to (chords and ii-V-I changes in all keys, plus a couple tunes at the end). Although I haven't used the book in a couple years, I still use the CD whenever I need to implement a new concept over basic chord changes.

For the student who really wants to get to the bottom of Charlie Parker, this book is a great place to start. But, as stated in other reviews, many of the examples are a bit weak. I would recommend also getting the Charlie Parker Omnibook, which is great sight-reading practice for any musician and provides over 50 solo transcriptions. You'll see that Bird actually does implement the concepts outlined in this book, and you'll get a feeling for how he structures a solo over more than two bars.

If you are expecting to actually 'hear' Charlie Parker lines off the enclosed CD, you will be disappointed. Only 1 of the 24 tracks presents lines. All the others are backing tracks -- nicely played, but not very instructive. After all, this music is best learned when it flows from your ear to your instrument, with the printed page serving only as a guide. You wont hear any more than a chintzy 12 bars of Birds' lines off the CD. All the rest of the lines are left to you to take off the printed page yourself.

..only if you are the type of player this book is intended for..Mr Christiansen's book will be useful for those willing to increase their vocabulary by memorising licks..However, if you are the type of player who does not like memorising other players licks but wants to learn "ideas" that increase your creative output, this book is of limited value..The reason for this is the lack of an analytical approach in the book..Mr. Christiansen does provide the basics for some of the ideas in the first part (and some of them, such as the 8 note bebop scales with fretboard patterns and the chromatic approach tones, are quite good), but since I was expecting a more through analysis of all licks, I was disappointed..In other words, the book offers licks to be memorised but does not really explain them in detail; it is up to you to analyse them..Unfortunately, the basics covered in the first part of the book are not adequate to equip you with all the knowledge you need to analyse the licks (unless you happen to know jazz theory already)..What is more, some very important concepts, such as the diminished scale, has been left out..I also found the altered dominant lines a bit weak in content, concentrating mostly on the flat nine interval (and sometimes the b5th) but not other altered tensions..And there are some curious note choices, such as finishing a dominant line on the perfect fourth..I am no theory master, but in many jazz texts you can see that the perfect fourth is considered to be an "avoid note"..that does not mean that you should not play it, but it should not be "emphasized"..Since Christansen does not bother to provide any detailed explanation for the lines, you can not help but wonder whether this was a mistake or a deliberate choice..There are also some tablature mistakes, but the recording is there to guide you if you can not sight read, so this could be considered as a minor issue..To summarise, if you want to study jazz guitar and especially the bebop style seriously, this book is not the best choice..I was thinking of purchasing other books from Christiansen's "Essential Lines" series, but now I see that they may not have what I am looking for..The book does NOT provide a detailed insight to the style..I am thinking of checking out "Jazz Guitar Structures" by Andrew Green or "Jazz Guitar:Bebop And Beyond" by Doug Munro..If you are also looking for something really comprehensive, one of those books may be a wiser investment..