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how to learn jazz

Book Review: Melodic Shapes for the Modern Improvisor by Tim Lin & Alex Murzyn

April 18, 2022 by azsamadlessons Leave a Comment

Jazz musicians, educators, students and improvisors are always looking for new ideas to incorporate into their melodic language. I personally am constantly looking for new books and resources for my own practice routine and also to recommend to my students.

I discovered this book by Tim Lin after reading a few of his Facebook updates including a recent one addressing his thoughts on jazz education. That post is a good read but that’s a different story. Let’s check out this book that he released back in 2016.

My first thought when I saw this book was how the cover shares a similar aesthetic to the old Ramon Ricker books (specifically Pentatonic Scales for Jazz Improvisation and Technique Development in Fourths for Jazz Improvisation).

Putting the visual look aside, this book basically collects 100 different jazz lines/licks/melodic shapes that is divided into six sections:

  1. Two Bar II-V-I in Major Key
  2. Four Bar II-V-I in Major Key
  3. Two Bar II-V-I in Minor Key
  4. Four Bar II-V-I in Major Key
  5. Two Bar Diminished in Major Key
  6. Four Bar Diminished in Major Key

Every line is written out in all 12 keys going through the circle of fifths (or cycle 4, if you’re familiar with Mick Goodrick’s terminology – key of C, key of F etc.)

The best thing about the lines are that these are a mix of the familiar and more interesting resolutions. Sometimes books only put in very cliched licks or lines that are too outside or weird. Not the case here!

This book is definitely written by performers as the lines are good solid lines that can extend your hearing and chops.

This is a video from Tim Lin’s YouTube channel. Although the book doesn’t come with any videos, the videos on his YouTube channel show you different ideas to maximize the licks in his book. Recommended!

I particularly enjoyed reading through the introductory section of the book where they share the purpose, application and how to practice the materials in the book. Although it seems obvious or straightforward, the tips given actually helped me internalize the lines much faster.

There are also a few pages explaining the symmetrical diminished scales, use of chromaticism in jazz/bebop and half diminished chords. These are also valuable reminders for any improvisor.

In conclusion, I got a lot out of this book and find myself virtually bookmarking my copy of the eBook for some lines that I want to shed. With 100 lines in here, there’s actually a lot to practice! If you’re looking for some quality jazz lines for your practice sessions, do consider this book.

Pros: Good lines, well organized.
Cons: None
TLDR: Need new ideas for jazz lines? Prefer to sight read sometimes instead of transcribing some licks? Get this book.

You can get the physical and digital copies of the book here:
http://www.timlinmusic.com/books

[Review Archive]
I wrote a lot of other book, course and video reviews too.
Check out the rest here:
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[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 azsamad3 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 Chords, Guitar Scales, Guitar Technique, Jazz Guitar, Jazz Guitar Harmony, Jazz Guitar Harmony, Licks, Music Theory, Practice Secrets Tagged With: Alex Murzyn, bebop, how to learn jazz, how to play jazz guitar, improvisation, jazz guitar techniques, jazz lick books, jazz lines, jazz vocabulary, melodic jazz improvisation, Tim Lin, vocabulary

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