Customer Reviews

Voice Leading for Guitar: Moving Through the Changes

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're the kind of guitarist who likes books full of scales and chords to study, this is definitely for you. It consists mostly of page after page of carefully voice-led chord sequences, following the important ii-V-I variations and explaining other types of changes as well. It's great for drills. However, as a theory book it's not particularly deep. If you're familiar with Mick Goodrick's "The Advancing Guitarist", this book is almost the exact opposite. Goodrick forces you to think to get anything at all from his lessons. This book invites you to turn off thinking and start memorizing. Both are valid, useful approaches.

This is a very comprehensive work that explains how voices move from chord to chord. Have you ever wondered how some of the greats of the guitar make their transitions sound seamless no matter how difficult the progression? Voice leading is the key and John Thomas makes it very understandable with a multitude of examples.

And you thought you knew some chords! Hah! This book is intended for the intermediate to advanced guitarist. It assumes a basic knowledge of harmony. The extensive, carefully graded exercises will increase your chord vocabulary and understanding of voice leading immensely. Doing this book justice requires a lot of work over a long period of time, but it is worth it.

This book has some great examples and exercises for the developing guitarist. But beware: I began finding errors beginning on page 3. Specifically the suggested left hand fingerings, which seem to have been mixed around with fingerings attached to the wrong voicing.

The exercises are extremely educational and the book is everything it claims to be, but some guitar experience is necessary in order to discern occasional print errors (incorrect fingerings)...

If you want to play jazz, this book is a must!

This book assumes that you know advanced music and scale theory, so be aware of that before buying it. There are 600 ii-V-I progressions that can be analyzed and played in all keys. This book could keep you busy learning for a whole year (or more)!

I'm finding out that if it says "Berklee Press", it is worth it. Don't do like I did and waste your time with free music lessons on the internet that accomplish practically nothing (unless you are a teenage metalhead and want to look cool but have no substance behind you).

A thoughtful and well organized presentation of extended chords as they apply to guitar, without the same dry garble that many other books contain.