Pat Metheny has such a distinctive guitar style. However, even after so many years there’s actually not that much material really breaking down his guitar style. Part of it is probably because of the unique way that Pat holds his guitar pick. Another reason might be because his playing is different depending on which album or era that you’re checking out or transcribing.
With Hristo Vitchev’s continuing series exploring Pat Metheny’s guitar style, we get a chance to discover the nuances of Pat’s playing filtered through Hristo’s detailed practice approach. Sometimes the question is whether what Hristo teaches is something that Metheny actually practices… however, as a jazz guitarist – we’re never really trying to sound like someone but take inspiration from the playing of our heroes to develop our control of the language.
With this, Hristo manages to really give us the tools to learn even better, regardless of whatever ability you’re at. The cool thing about what Hristo is doing is that with every instructional video he releases, we get gradual improvements in the video quality, teaching explanations and material. Producing so many videos allows Hristo to get better much faster at the whole instructional video production than someone who releases one or two videos every few months or in a year.
I for one am grateful that so much of Hristo’s thinking is documented in this material for us to learn. Hristo’s tone (teaching voice not guitar tone) in the video is encouraging and positive which is very cool. This is an experienced teacher right here.
Talking more specifically about this book & video set, we get to see the next step of how Hristo explains Pat’s unique guitaristic melodic language. We get an 80-page book, a 53-minute video and 2 backing tracks (slow and fast).
There are 9 “Diatonic Methenyisms” that are explored in depth in this volume. From a simplistic point of view, you get 9 Metheny Licks. But, it’s way more than that.
What Hristo has done is taken 9 very characteristic melodic phrases that Metheny does and broken them apart, studied the articulation, phrasing, dynamics, and then takes them through a systematic practice routine that transforms these “licks” into real usable melodic material for improvisation.
This is what makes the entire Methenyism series special. It’s almost like getting a VIP seat into Hristo’s creative scientific mind to see what he does when he studies an idea.
All in all, it’s a real treat for me to study Hristo’s materials including this one. For anyone who has checked out the previous Chromatic Methenyism books, this volume is a great one to add to your practice routine. I personally would recommend this book in conjunction with Volume 1 (previously reviewed here). Investing in this is the first step, after that are the hours of shedding to get the lines fluid and flowing. Even with all the technical demands of this material, I still prefer having this with me, in addition to my even more attentive listening to Metheny’s playing. It’s good to have Hristo as a guide. Thanks Hristo!
Pros: High quality, well explained jazz guitar masterclass in both the Metheny melodic language AND how to practice jazz guitar more effectively.
Cons: Challenging material, this is the stuff sleepness nights are made of.
TLDR: If you want to get your diatonic phrases even more melodic, get this and start shedding.
How to Buy:
You can get the book & video here: https://gum.co/uhgkp
Thank you Hristo for the complimentary review copy.
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And here are the links to all of Hristo’s related products in this series:
Hristo’s main website: http://www.modernjazzguitarbooks.com/
VOLUME 1: CHROMATIC METHENYISMS
Get the Book (TAB and standard notation + HD Tutorial Video + Two backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/VXwiF
VOLUME 2: CHROMATIC METHENYISMS ii-V7-I Application (Chromatic Melodic Ornamentation in the Style of Pat Metheny)
Get the Book (TAB and standard notation + HD Tutorial Video + backing track) here: https://gum.co/KrzHB
VOLUME 3: CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Imaginary Triads)
Get the Book (TAB and standard notation + HD Tutorial Video + backing track) here: https://gum.co/cvTVd
VOLUME 4: CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Pentatonics Uncompromised)
Get the Book (TAB and standard notation + HD Tutorial Video + backing track) here: https://gum.co/FYCLQ
CHROMATUDE #1: (Solar) – Chromatic Methenyisms Technical Studies: melodic/chordal
Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/GUesG
CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Lines You’ve Heard #1) – Short Melodic Phrase Example (FREE DOWNLOAD)
Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + HD Video/Audio + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/IxGVV
CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Lines You’ve Heard #2) – Short Melodic Phrase Example (James by P. Metheny)
Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + HD Video/Audio + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/LkMQd
CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Lines You’ve Heard #3) – Short Melodic Phrase Example – Minor Blues in “D”
Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + HD Video/Audio + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/JAGZo
CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Arpeggios ala Matini)
Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + HD Video/Audio + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/AKbvDa
CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Arpeggios ala Matini) Volume 2
Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + HD Video/Audio + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/NkMyL
CHROMATIC METHENYISMS (Arpeggios ala Matini) 2516 Illustrations
FREE DOWNLOAD – Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + HD Video/Audio + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/yppyt
CHROMATIC METHENYISMS – Wild Triad Quilts (3 Ornamentation Techniques)
Get the Study / Video Masterclass (TAB and standard notation + 30 mins. HD Video Masterclass + backing track) here: https://gum.co/lhcwx
DIATONIC METHENYISMS (Volume 1) – Diatonic Melodic Ornamentation in the Style of Pat Metheny – Video Masterclass
Get the Book / Video Masterclass (TAB and standard notation + backing tracks + HD Video Masterclass) here: https://gum.co/uhgkp
DIATONIC METHENYISMS (Methenycise #1 – C minor blues)
Get the Study (TAB and standard notation + HD Video + backing tracks) here: https://gum.co/jmmtf
[Review Archive]
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