I am a fan of all sorts of jazz guitar books!
From method books to etude books and transcription books, I strongly believe in the importance of documenting the pedagogy of jazz guitar playing, and guitar in general.
Of particular interest to me are books that share an individual artist’s personal approach to music, and even more when it’s the artist themselves who release their own books.
That is why it’s always a treat when I get a book like this – a transcription book of jazz guitar solos, from the artist, in this case, jazz guitarist Shawn Purcell.
If you’ve been following my website, you might have seen my review of Shawn’s last album “180” , and eBooks back in 2022. After three years since his last major release, we now get “Oblivity” – another record released on the Origin Records label.
The accompanying guitar transcription book is a work of love by Shawn that is notated clearly with Shawn writing down ghost notes (including writing out descriptions like “approximate rhythm” and “bend slightly out of tune”) and articulation details (slides, pull-offs) to help us understand what he played with as much detail as possible.
In the book’s introduction, Shawn shares:
Transcribing your own solos is like looking in the mirror—sometimes helpful, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes downright depressing, but always illuminating. As before, I’m not presenting these as “ideal” solos, but I do hope that by sharing them, others might find something useful—whether it’s a concept, a phrase, or just a bit of inspiration to do the same kind of honest reflection.
For me, this mirrors (pun intended) my own experiences transcribing my own improvisations whenever I want to share examples in my workshops and private lessons. In that regard, I relate to how Shawn feels looking at his own solo improvisations, transcribed.
Although there are different schools of thought when it comes to the consumption of transcription books, I believe Shawn’s philosophy is ideal. This book, is of course best used together with the album, and the audio recording being the best “teacher”. That being said, it is valuable to have Shawn’s own transcriptions as a reference to help understand the record.
All in all, within the 13 transcribed guitar solos here (from the 10 songs on the album) there is a wealth of jazz improvisation language, logic and nuance that can help us improve and develop as jazz guitar improvisors. Personally I can see this volume being a part of the syllabus for private jazz guitar lessons (including my own classes) and perhaps even at university level jazz guitar instruction.
There is an abundance of jazz guitar transcriptions when it comes to swing, bebop and fusion (up to the 80s, 90s and 2000s definitely) but not as much when it comes to current releases. For me, it is always important to document current era playing styles as they happen, and in this case, Shawn has added a good resource for us all!
In conclusion, I applaud Shawn for taking time to release this book to accompany the new album. We all stand to benefit from this (especially educators and jazz guitar students), and I’m grateful for this release. Congratulations Shawn!
I’m also in the middle of writing a review of the actual record, so stay tuned for that as well.
Pros: A beautiful and detailed transcription book that is helpful for students of contemporary jazz guitar.
Cons: None.
TLDR: If you enjoy the album, this eBook is an excellent companion to the record.
Get the eBook here: https://www.shawnpurcell.com/product-page/shawn-purcell-oblivity-guitar-solos-transcribed
Thanks Shawn for the advance review copy of the album & the accompanying eBook.
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[Submissions for Review Consideration]
- Are you an author who wrote a jazz, guitar or music book?
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Please send me a message at azsamad3 at gmail.com with:
For courses: a link to the course/video/product + access info etc.
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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?