This 53-page book by Jen-Kuang Chang from 2005 is an interesting collection 25 II-V-I lines in fourths. It’s kind of in the tradition of many lick/line books that explore a single concept. Basically there are 25 lines and everything is written out in all 12 keys, going through the cycle of fourths (key of C, F, Bb, Eb and so on).
I particularly like the fact that the lines don’t only rely on fourths but incorporates bebop type triplets and ornaments as well as chromatic approachs to make the fourths a part of your vocabulary rather than be a separate thing.
As I played through all the examples, I got different ideas that I wouldn’t normally play. This is good since that’s the whole point of working out from a book like this.
The biggest challenge is probably trying to get these lines to flow and sound as musical as possible. Jen-Kuang Chang is a saxophonist so his linear approach is different than how I would usually write lines as a guitarist.
All in all, this is a pretty cool book that is worth to check out for some ideas. I’m not a fan of all the lines, but I am definitely into exploring new ideas, and this book provides that.
Pros: Interesting lines, all written out in 12 keys.
Cons: None.
TLDR: If you want to get some fourth intervallic ideas into your playing, this could be a good book to help you with that.
Jen-Kuang Chang used to give this book away as a free download on his website, but the website is no longer online.
However, you can still find copies of the book uploaded on different websites. Since he never sold the book, I believe it should be okay to download it from anywhere you find it, as long as you’re not selling it and only using it for personal study.
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