Hybrid Picking for Guitar (Book & CD) (Paperback)

by Gustavo Assis Brasil (Author), Gustavo Assis-Brasil Music (Editor), Marta Ferreira: Book Design (Illustrator) "Tablature (TAB) is one of the oldest forms of music notation..." (more)
Key Phrases: hybrid picking, wide intervals, All Rights Reserved

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Gustavo's book is probably the most comprehensive study of hybrid picking I've seen. I highly recommend it!" -- BRETT GARSED, guitar virtuoso

"Gustavo's book takes the mystery out of it!" -- CARL VERHEYEN, guitar virtuoso

"The ultimate book for jazz guitarists learning to utilize hybrid picking." -- STEVE TROVATO, legendary guitarist, educator

(...) Gustavo Assis-Brasil has a unique way of demystifying hybrid picking (...) he introduces musical examples that would have seemed impossible to play before starting to work with the book. (...) Hybrid Picking For Guitar is engaging, informative and great fun to use. (...) After only a short amount of time working with Hybrid Picking For Guitar one gains the desire to keep practicing and develop this incredibly useful technique. The study periods will be well rewarded, because learning hybrid picking inspires creativity and offers new opportunities for discovery and self-expression. ALL ABOUT JAZZ.COM, By Ben McDonnell --ALL ABOUT JAZZ.COM, By Ben McDonnell

I am very impressed! The compositions are very deep and the technical tips for playing with pick and fingers are very practical and creative. The book is a much-needed text on the topic. It is exhaustive without being pedantic. Congratulations! It's excellent! SCOTT McGILL (McGill/Manring/Stevens) --SCOTT McGILL (McGill/Manring/Stevens)

With Hybrid Picking For Guitar, Gustavo Assis-Brasil has created a hugely valuable resource, in terms of expanding both one's technique and vocabulary. Also, the studies at the end of the book are beautiful pieces in their own right. I highly recommend it. BEN MONDER, jazz guitarist --BEN MONDER, jazz guitarist

Product Description
The first complete method for combining pick and fingers.

Topics include: -Step-by-step exercises -Standard Notation and Tablature -CD with examples and compositions included -Learn how to combine Legato, Alternate, and Sweep with Hybrid Picking -Chapters include: Hybrid Picking Lines, Melodic Pairs, 12 Tone Lines, Harmonic Exercises, Permutation Chart, and much more!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Gustavo Assis Brasil Music; 3rd edition (November 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977439801
• ISBN-13: 978-0977439805
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #416,829 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Groundbreaking Work!, December 4, 2005

By	Andrew Berman "jordu" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is one of the most important and innovative books ever written on the subject of guitar playing. It is required for guitarists seeking to broaden their technical and musical language. I have benefited so much from the material in this book and saw improvements in my technique immediatly. There are no other sources for education on this technique that are close to approaching the insight and detail in this book. Gustavo Assis Brasil is an amazing musician, guitarist, and teacher. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abracadabra!!!, December 5, 2005

By	Mark Harris "Mark Harris" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

I really like Assis-Brasil's method for hybrid picking. I'm not
classical trained, but I sincerely think this book could be a short
cut for people who want to combine fingers and pick to play the
guitar. The book is really well organized and has tons of exercises and lines using that technique. At the end of the book, Gustavo Assis Brasil demonstrates his incredible composition skills using the technique.This book is a must for any serious guitar player of any style!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excelent Book That Fills A Real Need In The Realm Of Guitar Pedagogy, January 15, 2006

By	Steven Kirby - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a professional guitarist and guitar teacher and am submiting the below review based on many years experience performing and teaching the guitar in a variety of styles.
Many guitarists' right hand technique is limited to the use a pick only. Others favor the use of their individual right hand fingers exclusively. The technical exercises required to excel at each approach vary somewhat and the strengths of each approach also vary. For example the pick is a wonderful tool for creating a consistent sound while performing complex, linear single note lines while the use of individual fingers allows for a more contrapuntal approach and excels when wide intervals are required.
Since both techniques are strong at bringing out different types of musical material the obvious question is; why not use both approaches at the same time and get the best of both worlds? In fact a number of great players have been doing just that with what has come to be called Hybrid Picking technique for quite some time but, up to now, no one as knowledgeable as author/guitarist Assis-Brasil has taken the time to really address the technical challenges that a person encounters when trying to get a significant level of mastery in this area.
Hybrid Picking For Guitar is a well organized book that finally addresses this neglected area of guitar technique: the art of using a guitar pick held between thumb and forefinger combinded with the remaining available right hand fingers together as a powerful and well integrated 'team' which then allows the player to optimize the strengths of both approaches. The beauty of the approach is that the player doesn't have to sacrifice anything; if an idea sounds better with a pick it can still be performed with one whale a phrase that can only be played using individual fingers can also be executed with ease and each phrase could be part of one longer integrated line.
The book explains the technique extremely clearly and lays out a series of well thought out exercises that are designed to help the student gain strength, independence and control. The curriculum then progresses to examples which both help the student extend facility while also showcasing some of the musical ways in which the technique can be used. Perhaps the highlight of the book is the section at the end which features a series of wonderful and varied compositions by the author. The pieces are both very instructive and very musical which is not always the case in instructional books.
Most essentially author Assis-Brasil does a great job of giving a sense of how Hybrid Picking technique can be used both to transcend the limitations of existing guitar technique and the confines of traditional guitar vocabulary and/or play traditional guitar phrases with more ease and speed. It soon becomes obvious that, as a guitarist, one may be able to play musical ideas that have previously seemed only possible to execute on piano or saxophone for example.
Assis-Brazil has made a great contribution to guitarists by writing this excellent book because it lays out a methodical approach to mastering the technique and gives inspiring examples of it's application in real music. I strongly recommend Hybrid Picking For Guitar to any student of the guitar especially those who want to expand their technique and musical vocabulary in line with their imagination not limited by traditional guitar technique.