Any fellow noob jazz guitar nylon stringers here?

[joestone]

nice to meet you!
I'm an intermediate-advanced classical guitarist just getting into the world of jazz guitar. What would you advise as a good starting point?

[randalljazz]

start here:



Amazon.com: Jazz Guitar for Classical Cats: Harmony (The Classical Guitarist's Guide to Jazz (0038081169637): Andrew York: Books

then get andrew's other two volumes.

this is good, too, after you get your feet wet:



Amazon.com: Mel Bay Jazz and the Classical Guitar Theory and Applications (9780786672363): Ken Hatfield: Books

also:



Amazon.com: The Brazilian Guitar Book (9781883217020): Nelson Faria: Books

other threads on this forum...look around...

[idashine]

I would try to learn how to navigate around the fingerboard in a visual way as opposed to learning everything by reading music...and try to find out what kind of jazz you would like to play because there's a lot of different styles that can have different requirements in skill.
Do a search for: LickbyNeck.com
There's lots of chord solos from the Real Book and even a few good transcriptions of Joe Pass...it's all free and the downloadable software is a convenient way to play along and learn new chord/scale arrangements.
Roland

[NSJ]

Originally Posted by randalljazz

start here:




then get andrew's other two volumes.

this is good, too, after you get your feet wet:



Amazon.com: Mel Bay Jazz and the Classical Guitar Theory and Applications (9780786672363): Ken Hatfield: Books

also:



Amazon.com: The Brazilian Guitar Book (9781883217020): Nelson Faria: Books

other threads on this forum...look around...

I just found my old dog eared copy of that Andrew York book!

Every book Randall has usually mentioned is worth getting. don't know that Hatfield book, but now I'll also check it out, cause if Randall recommends it, Hatfield must be the real McCoy. . Gotta say that Bossa book really is the "industry standard"/best practice, too.

Please allow me to introduce the world of transforming your guitar into a genuine "lap piano" via the thousands of pages of the 3 volume method book written by George van Eps. like the books written by George's student, Ted Greene, you could probably spend weeks on a few pages. Plectrum not necessary nor remotely sufficient. 1,2,3,4 and p,i, m, a all the way!

[joestone]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Is that George Van Eps 3 volume work still available and is it specifically aimed at fingerstyle players?

[randalljazz]

yes, and yes...but beware, these are not the "starting point" you mentioned in your first post...intense, rigorous, profound, complicated...

Amazon.com: Mel Bay George Van Eps Harmonic Mechanisms for Guitar, Vol. 1 (9780871669063): George Van Eps: Books

[TruthHertz]

There was a Laurendo Almeida book put out a few years ago. Designed for classical players but with an approach that takes you up the neck right away. This linear fretboard approach is good for jazz and Brazilian music.
As far as a good starting point, learn a good deal of compositional theory, outside of the guitar. Jazz requires you be able to identify harmony and know how to interpret it melodically with rhythmic interest. Learn diatonic harmony, Learn your chords by roman numeral and function, learn basic turnaround passages and I'd say learn a modal approach to harmony (although the last suggestion is a controversial call in this forum.)
Once you understand the basics of theoretical structure, you can put a good chordal vocabulary and learn melodic improvisation by using your ear as a starting point. Learn the "bones" first, and that means changes and how they work.
That's my opinion. I also found the first Van Eps method extremely helpful.
David

[whatswisdom]

Originally Posted by TruthHertz

I also found the first Van Eps method extremely helpful.

Agreed. His first methods book is great!