This is the second Fundamental Changes book from Oz Noy after Inside Outside Guitar Soloing (released March 9, 2021).
In this book, Oz Noy systematically explores melodic cells for jazz guitar (as the title indicates) within 4 different scales/tonalities (which are each a separate chapter):
- Mixolydian
- Whole Tone
- Diminished
- Altered
He begins by introducing two different fingerings for each of the scales. Then, he demonstrates the 4 melodic cells for each of the scales (both in a major key & minor key V-I context). After that, you get a lot of examples of how he uses and modifies each cell within the context of major & minor II-V-I progressions in the key of C.
Some of the most interesting examples are when he incorporates larger intervalic ideas, syncopation, trills and when the phrases continues into the fourth bar of the tonic chord (in a one bar per chord II-V-I progression).
The accompanying audio (available as a collection of mp3 files, zipped) are very helpful to scan the book for what Oz Noy has in store for us. It also helps us hear his actual rhythmic intent, especially on some of the examples where you have to play behind the beat.
Oz Noy gives the most important advice in the book by saying:
“As before, now we can add some different phrasing ideas to turn these cellular ideas into useable licks. Remember, whenever you encounter a line that you particularly like, be sure to memorize it, then transpose it into other keys and test it out over a favorite jazz standard.”
For me, the most attractive thing about this book is how focused and organized it is. Kudos to Tim Pettingale and Joseph Alexander for their attention to detail in editing/co-writing the book.
Looking into the material, I feel that this book is one that could be a great textbook for private lesson instructors looking for something to guide their jazz guitar classes. Alongside learning jazz standards & attentive listening to classic jazz recordings, someone going through this book week after week would probably be able to develop their jazz language with even more confidence.
All in all, this is really value for money especially for the right kind of guitarist who is looking to expand their jazz lines. If you’re that guitarist, do check this book out!
Pros: Good material and well organized.
Cons: Some assembly required. You gotta practice these lines in different keys and on the jazz standards you’re working on. The book pretty much zooms into this one topic.
TLDR: Need new ideas for strong jazz lines that use whole tone, altered and diminished sounds? This is a great book for that.
You can get the physical, PDF & Kindle copies of the book here:
https://www.fundamental-changes.com/book/melodic-cells-for-jazz-guitar/
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