Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar - An In Depth Study of Major ii V I Bebop Soloing [Kindle Edition]

Well written, direct and incredible value. Improved my playing quickly!

I really enjoyed this book because it showed me how to develop my soloing harmonically. Everything was set out very clearly from the outset with only the theory you absolutely need to start playing some cool solos.

I got great results very quickly by following each lesson carefully. I liked the combination of learning the excellent licks in each chapter and being shown why each lick had been written the way it had. By teaching like this, Fundamental Changes immediately gave me new material to play whilst I could start writing my own unique lines. That was very satisfying because it completely demystified the ideas behind complex bebop solos. I'm not Charlie Parker yet, but at least I can now hear the melodic devices that he uses in his playing.

The book opened my eyes to quite a few new ideas that I'd never really considered before; like how to hang melodic ideas off chord shapes and how to play with notes outside the key while retaining a feel for where the `right' notes are.

Later in the book, the sounds get more complex but the theory to help you access these sounds is still explained in a very clear, friendly and unpretentious way. I realised that the theory is only there to help us as musicians to be more creative. `Learn it and forget it' has been said to be many times, but this is really where it finally sunk in. The author takes a theoretical concept, presents it in an easy to understand way and then simply turns it into a shape on the guitar for you to make music with.

Finally, a quick word about the audio... This price for this amount of work is unbelievable. In the book there is a link to a website where you can download all 163 audio examples of EVERYTHING that is written in the book. Each example is played twice at two different speeds. The quality of the audio is fantastic and really helps to make the book come alive. The backing tracks are great and again, played at three different speeds to grow with your playing. I was jamming away all day on these things.

I'd suggest that you viewed this on a computer eReader rather than the kindle. It is ok on the kindle but to get the best out of all the printed music in the book the resolution is much nicer on screen.

Fundamental Changes competes with any jazz guitar book on the market. With all the included audio the price is incredible and it really opened my eyes and ears to some of the musical concepts I've been missing for a long time.
Highly, Highly Recommended!

I'm really enjoying working through this book. As someone who plays a bit off Jazz guitar already I was happy to skip the first couple of chapters, but by the fourth chapter I was already finding some excellent new ideas to immediately enhance my playing. I'm up to chapter 16 right now and I never would have dreamed that some seriously deep topics could be taught in such a straightforward and clear manner.

There are other books on bebop soloing out there, but I highly recommend this one because its structure really does guide you on a harmonic journey and holds your hand all the way through. I also really appreciated the hundreds of audio examples that make the explanations come alive and immerse you in the music.
This isn't just another book on music theory: It puts music first and really makes you want to explore all the possibilities of the guitar.

Buy it! I guarantee It will change your playing for the better!

This is a structured guide to going from no knowledge of how to improvise over the most common chord progression in jazz - to giving you the freedom and confidence to improvise with some freedom. I heartily recommend it.