Customer Reviews

Mel Bay Complete Arpeggio Study Method

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I like Vignola's books, and was excited to buy this one, but gave up after working with it for a week because it seemed as though the fingerings were unnecessarily difficult, with uncomfortable stretches in places. Most of these arpeggios can be played much more simply, with the same sound. Obviously, this system must work for Vignola, because he's a tremendous guitar player, but I prefer Don Latarski's book on arpeggios, which is much more complete (ie, more varieties of arpeggios, plus their accompanying chords) and has simpler fingerings based around movable C-A-G-E-D chord shapes.

Vignola's book is for people who want to learn how to play arpeggios all over the neck. The stretchy fingerings are to help you see more of the possibilities of how an arpeggio can lay out on the neck. Practically speaking, knowing those stretchier fingerings can come in handy when you want to jump from one area of the neck to another. Unlike Latarski's book (which is a good dictionary-type book), there are also exercises to help you practice the arpeggios in every key in the context of common progressions.

On the minus side, it's presented very dryly, there's no CD and the typography is unappealing (if you're studying from a book for weeks or months, it helps for it to be visually enjoyable to look at). If you're hard-core you can nonetheless get value from it.

A better book of this type is Mimi Fox's Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards Mel Bay Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards . Like Latarski, she focuses on the easier-to-finger forms and she not only gives exercises and etudes, but she also shows how to apply them to common jazz standards and there's a CD with all of the examples.

I received the arpeggio book and it is great. The material is laid out well and is easy to follow. Lot's of practicing ahead.