Book Review: Van Hemert System by Christiaan Van Hemert

Christiaan Van Hemert has been a major influence to my jazz guitar & gypsy jazz studies specifically. Over the years, I’ve been a fan of his YouTube videos and also his educational Facebook updates.

In this 28 page book, you get an introduction to his Van Hemert System, which is his personal approach to jazz guitar. In addition to the book, you get access to 10 videos that explains his 5 Fundamental shapes, next level shapes, ii-v-i major & minor triplets.

Although this is marketed as a book, the real body of this work is in the videos that accompany & explain the material in the book. The method focuses on learning jazz language directly on the guitar. This is different from most methods that rely on learning scales, modes and the chord scale relationship.

Christiaan is outspoken about his thoughts against ear training & learning theory when starting to learn jazz guitar. This seems counterintuitive to “common wisdom” but as I worked through the book, I started to see results. That being said, I have actually checked out his previous lessons before it became this book. If you’re new to Christiaan’s work, I recommend watching his YouTube videos first to get a feel for his teaching style & philosophy.

In conclusion, I recommend this book for aspiring jazz guitarist who want a less theory, more hands on the fretboard approach to learning jazz guitar. Similar books that echo this approach include Steve Rochinski’s The Motivic Basis for Jazz Guitar Improvisation (I reviewed that book here).

Pros: Great book and video guide to learning how to solo single note lines in a a jazz or gypsy jazz context.
Cons: None.
TLDR: If you’d like to learn jazz guitar or gypsy jazz guitar, this book is a valuable and practical guide from someone who’s done it!

You can get this book from: https://www.djangoguitars.com/Christiaan-van-Hemert-System-p/tvhs-.htm

To buy the “van Hemert System” in Europe: send an email to HemertAcademy@gmail.com with subject “Van Hemert System Book” and you’ll be contacted

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