How do you get the most from the least amount of material?
This is what Andrew Green explores in his book Jazz Guitar Structures.
First released in 2002, this book is a follow up to Andrew Green’s first book Jazz Guitar Technique (previously reviewed here).
The book’s premise is elegant with Andrew going as deep as possible exploring three different structures:
- A minor 7 arpeggio and inversions
- Major Triad with an added 2nd and inversions
- Minor Pentatonic (1 2 b3 4) and inversions
The first half of the book then goes the fingering for these structures, gives facility exercises (so you can switch from one key to another) and where to play these (over what chords and starting on which chord tone/scale degree). Andrew also demonstrates how these are used in a II-V-I context.
The second half of the book puts the material in the context of three kinds of tunes:
- Standard
- Non-functional harmony
- Modal/Free
Closing the book, Andrew gives even more structures to work on!
There is also an accompanying CD/audio download (depending which edition of the book that yu buy) to hear the examples in the book.
All in all, this is an interesting book that reveals part of how Andrew think and teaches. It’s a good book that goes beyond just giving standard substitutions and licks. Instead you get a deep exploration of “what if” you really shed this material. I particularly liked that Andrew address the possible feeling of overwhelm that you might get when you see how much material there is in the book… of which he recommends to work on one idea at a time. Good advice!
Pros: A good concept explored in-depth by Andrew Green. Good sounding lines and good fingerings.
Cons: There’s so many things to practice, it might get overwhelming.
TLDR: If you want to get deep into one way of creating interesting lines, this book might be the ticket.
[Where to buy] You can buy this book from Amazon, eBay or direct from Mel Bay. If you’re planning on getting the eBook version, I recommend buying direct from Mel Bay as they often have discounts too on their website.
[Submissions for Review Consideration]
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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?