I’ve had this eBook for a long time but recently made some time to go through it again with the intention of writing a review of it. In the past, I’ve reviewed other Adam Rafferty eBooks including The Inner Game of Fingerstyle Guitar and How To Develop Virtuoso Single Line Technique For Jazz Guitar.
In my experience, Adam has always created amazing work that is rooted in the crossroads where real world application and music theory/harmony meet.
This eBook is a great work that stands the test of time even though it was released back in 2003, about 22 years ago!
At 150 pages, there is a lot that Adam covers in this text.
It’s divided into two parts, the first one exploring voiceleading voicings and demonstrates how he transform the chords into lines that clearly outline the chord changes. This is done in a systematic way, and for some this can be very dry. But, for the curious and thorough, the first part can be very helpful if studied with patience and done in all keys.
The second part (which is the next 8 chapters) expands on the foundation build in part one and show how you can take the material in the previous section and transform them into strong lines. Towards the end of the book, Adam shows how this material can be applied to both rhythm changes and Giant Steps.
Chapter 9 in particular is one of my favorite chapters in the book as Adam does an amazing job at explaining the different ways to use non-harmonic tones in a line.
Also, worth mentioning here is that the book is completely notated in standard music notation so you will have to read it – no tabs included, which honestly makes sense for this material.
All in all, this book is definitely for the serious jazz musician. If you’re looking for quick usable licks and tricks, then this is not for you. But for the musician who really wants to develop both their ears and skills, this book might be able to help you get there faster.
Pros: Systematic approach to creating lines in a jazz context.
Cons: Can be dry and challenging to study if you’re not use to this level of detail.
TLDR: For advanced and serious intermediate musicians who want to improve their line creation skills, this eBook could be a vaiuable resource for you.
Get the eBook directly from Adam here: https://www.adamrafferty.com/jazz-guitar-outline-chord-changes-book/
[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?