• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Az Samad Lessons

Guitar, Ukulele and Music Lessons

  • About
  • Lessons
  • Music Reviews
  • Book, Video & Course Reviews
  • Podcast
  • Creative Fridays
  • Store
  • Contact

Book Review: Van Hemert System by Christiaan Van Hemert

January 9, 2022 by azsamadlessons 2 Comments

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

[Review Archive]
I wrote a lot of other book, course and video reviews too.
Check out the rest here:
[Read more reviews]

[Submissions for Review Consideration]

  • Are you an author who wrote a jazz, guitar or music book?
  • Have you created a DVD or an online video course or subscription based website?
  • Would you like me to review your book/course?

Please send me a message at azsamad2 at gmail.com with:

For courses: a link to the course/video/product + access info etc.
For books: a link to the book (Dropbox) or PDF attachment (if it’s small) for review consideration.

Depending on whether I dig the book/course, I’ll let you know if I do plan to review it!

I cannot guarantee a review for every submission & if I’m not too into it, I may opt not to review it. I mean, it’s better to get a good review that for me to write a bad review just because it’s not a match for the kind of stuff I dig right? :p

NOTE: All reviews reflect my honest personal opinion so be aware that I will point out both cool Pros and Cons that I see in the work. You dig? 

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Guitar Technique, Gypsy Jazz, Jazz Guitar, Jazz Guitar Harmony, Licks, Practice Secrets Tagged With: arpeggios, christiaan van hemert, gypsy jazz, how to practice guitar, improvisation, jazz guitar, jazz guitar techniques, practice

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christopher DaCosta says

    January 20, 2024 at 12:01 am

    Pros – The whole book is excellent in my view!

    Cons – The font of the book is too small and hard to read especially the notation and tab.

    Is there a PDF version I can purchase?

    Reply
    • azsamadlessons says

      January 22, 2024 at 8:17 pm

      You can get it here:

    • https://vanhemertsystem.fws.store/
    • Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sign Up For Free Guitar & Music Tips!

Search for a topic, review or lesson:

Recent Posts

  • Video Review: Perfect Practice Makes Perfect with Sheryl Bailey (Chase’s Guitar Academy)
  • Video Review: Martin Miller Mechanics Workshop by Martin Miller (Cracking The Code)
  • Video Review: Comping Fundamentals with Rodney Jones (Chase’s Guitar Academy)
  • Video Review: How to Learn Tunes with Rodney Jones (Chase’s Guitar Academy)
  • Video Review: Practice Essentials with Rodney Jones (Chase’s Guitar Academy)

Categories

  • Ask Az (2)
  • Beyond Music (122)
  • Blues Guitar (15)
  • Book Reviews (228)
  • business book (27)
  • Chord Melody (46)
  • Composition (33)
  • Course Reviews (20)
  • Creative Fridays (14)
  • Film Review (1)
  • Fingerstyle Guitar (30)
  • grant cardone (1)
  • Guitar Chords (134)
  • Guitar Scales (124)
  • Guitar Shopping (3)
  • Guitar Technique (320)
  • Gypsy Jazz (13)
  • Interviews (23)
  • Jazz (109)
  • Jazz Guitar (241)
  • Jazz Guitar Harmony (169)
  • Jazz Guitar Harmony (79)
  • Licks (218)
  • Music Business (14)
  • Music Review (49)
  • Music Theory (217)
  • News (4)
  • Philosophy (155)
  • Practice Secrets (347)
  • Reviews (12)
  • Rhythm Lessons (26)
  • Strategi Bina Kerjaya Muzik (6)
  • Transcription Set Review (6)
  • Ukulele (3)
  • Ulasan Filem (1)
  • Ulasan Muzik (2)
  • Ulasan Video (1)
  • Uncategorized (21)
  • Video Games (3)
  • Video Lessons (143)

Recent Posts

  • Video Review: Perfect Practice Makes Perfect with Sheryl Bailey (Chase’s Guitar Academy)
  • Video Review: Martin Miller Mechanics Workshop by Martin Miller (Cracking The Code)
  • Video Review: Comping Fundamentals with Rodney Jones (Chase’s Guitar Academy)
  • Video Review: How to Learn Tunes with Rodney Jones (Chase’s Guitar Academy)
  • Video Review: Practice Essentials with Rodney Jones (Chase’s Guitar Academy)

Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in