There’s a lot of book that deal with arpeggios!
One of my favorites is the classic book from Don Mock, Artful Arpeggios, and of course his final release, Arpeggio Alchemy that came out last year just before he passed away.
But of course, when it comes to very specific style-based arpeggio fingerings, it’s important to look at context and this is what’s cool about this book by Tim Quinn.
I’ve checked out this book (and the whole 4-part series) off and on for years since it was released. But, it was only recently that I decided to really dig into it and see whether this book was worth writing about.
And then it hit me, Tim Quinn (the author of this series) has figured out some very specific and useful material in his books.
Now a few disclaimers – this isn’t the kind of book that you can work on and get done after a month or two, or even a year. But, this is the kind that you probably need to work on for several years.
Basically this book zooms into specific arpeggio fingerings that allow you to play them FAST…. and when I say fast, I mean in that whole legato and alternate picking kind of way. It’s a very specific approach, and it’s a technically demanding way… but because of the consistency of how he laid everything out, it’s pretty useful.
Within the 105 pages, Tim gives us a clear way to practice this material so that you can develop your chops within this context.
Does it make it easy?
Well, it makes it easier, but in the end like any kind of method or system, you still got to shed to get this under your fingers.
Have I gotten this down?
No, but it certainly has helped me each time I work on it.
So what is my take on this book?
If you’re looking for some arpeggio shedding ideas within a more rock based idiomatic approach, or perhaps that kind of contemporary rock improvisation with a tinge of jazz or fusion kind of sound, then this book might help you on that path.
If you don’t have a solid foundation, this stuff might lead to tendinitis… and if you don’t have a lot of musical context beforehand, I recommend working on these stuff while listening to your favorite instrumental rock guitarists so you can see how parts of this would fit the kind of solos you might take.
In conclusion, this is not the end all for arpeggio books, but it certainly is one of the more important ones I’ve seen. Do check it out if you’re into rock improvisation and want some arpeggios to spice it up!
Pros: Great material, very detailed and well organized.
Cons: Some typos in the musical examples.
TLDR: If you’ve been curious about what fingerings to use to play arpeggios so that they can played at at high tempo, this might be the book for you.
You can get the book here: https://www.melbay.com/Products/20680BCDEB/mbgu-rock-curriculum-fluid-soloing-book-1.aspx
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