Back in 2019 & 2020, I reviewed the first three volumes of Brazilian guitarist Isaac Negrene’s Modern Linear Vocabulary for Guitar series.
Recently, I contacted Isaac to see whether he would be open for me to review the latest volume that explores the Harmonic Major scale. This eBook actually was released back in 2021, but I didn’t realized Isaac released this back then. I’m glad that Isaac was open for me to check out this volume as well.
As a fan of Isaac’s first three books, I couldn’t wait to check out this installment. He continues to give us great melodic ideas in this book as well.
The book gives you 20 contemporary sounding guitar lines. These phrases are all notated in both standard notation and tablature. In addition to that, Isaac clearly notates all the fingerings, picking indications and articulation.
We get lines that include legato, hybrid picked, arpeggiated ideas and there are a lot technically demanding passages included. These are 16th note phrases, between two to six bars long. He also includes three and four note voicings at the back of the eBook.
All the lines are in C Harmonic Major. In addition to the eBook, we also get individual videos of each line played slowly. You can clearly see both left hand and right hand in the video. This helps us learn each of these ideas. We also receive audio files demonstrating each line at three speeds: 50, 100 and 150 bpm.
If you enjoy lines by players like Tim Miller, Allan Holdsworth, Bryan Baker, Ben Monder, Nir Felder, Tom Quayle, Nelson Veras and Hristo Vitchev, these ideas can give you access to those kinds of sounds. Many of the lines span across a wide range of the fretboard which is helpful if you’re the kind of player that is looking for interesting ways to shift around the guitar neck smoothly.
Isaac himself explains in the book’s introduction by sharing how he first learned about the harmonic major scale:
“Much used by the guitarist Allan Holdsworth in his compositions, came to my knowledge through his video lesson, where Allan shows some of his favorite scales.”
Isaac also shares that:
The purpose of this material is to give you a wide vision and freedom over the entire instrument, playing in any direction and especially, help you create your own lines.
Compared to another book that I recently reviewed, Major is Harmonic (and Other Essays) by Randy Vincent, Isaac’s book is more like a resource for melodic ideas. Randy’s book explains more on the theory side and has more bebop type of sounds. Isaac’s book is more fusion jazz, modal or “outside sound” friendly, if that makes sense!
As I played through the lines in the book, I can safely say that if you’re new to these kinds of sounds and techniques, it’s best to take it really slow.
The lines are very physically demanding especially if you don’t usually play with stretchy fingerings and legato phrasing (huge emphasis on hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides) together. Learning a new scale sound is one thing, but learning to play them with this kind of technique can hurt you if you’re not used to it and not warmed up.
Personally I would recommend taking even a few notes (3 to 5 at a time) instead of learning an entire phrase. Although the book is 29 pages, the ideas in here can keep you busy for a long time.
Perhaps if you already do the whole Tim Miller style playing or have worked through similar material by Hristo Vitchev, Tim Miller, Ben Eunson or even some of Jonathan Kreisberg’s works, then this will be in a similar vein both melodically and technically.
Otherwise, approach with care and patience. This book is not for beginners! This is difficult stuff!
All in all, this is great eBook that I personally will be exploring gradually to get some of these chops back into my playing. I used to study with Tim Miller many years ago when I was a young student at Berklee, and going through Isaac’s ideas makes me want to get some of these ideas back into my playing.
Pros: A really amazing book that is well presented along with helpful video and audio too.
Cons: None.
TLDR: If you like these kinds of sounds and technical challenges, this book is worth checking out and can be a good companion for your practice sessions.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Isaac. Thanks Isaac!
You can get Isaac’s book on his website here:
https://www.modernlinearvocabulary.com/
You can also read my previous reviews of the earlier volumes here:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
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