The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary

View Poll Results: What is your experience with this book?

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27. You may not vote on this poll
  • Zero, zilch, nada, and don't care

    9 33.33%
  • I have it but haven't worked much with it

    5 18.52%
  • I found it helpful but less helpful than (fill in the blank)

    6 22.22%
  • I love this book and heartily recommend it

    7 25.93%
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Posts 26 to 39 of 39
  1. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Well, they do have hundreds of lines in them! In Volume 2 alone you have 101 ii-V lines in major, 125 in minor, 100 iii-vi-ii-V lines, 100 patterns over major chords, and 45 turnarounds, and several patterns to play through the cycle----that's right at 500 lines right there! Few people will want to internalize them all but it's a smorgasbord of first rate bebop lines to choose from.
    I've only looking at book 1 recently will try to find the other volumes and check out. So my bad.

    As an aside I don't think these types of book are about memorizing the patterns, it's about getting vocabulary into your ear, and getting the vocabulary under your fingers to build up that ear to hand relationship. Like as a kid learning new words in school via example sentences. you weren't expected to learn the sentence and try to use it in you everyday speaking, it was to get learn a word in a common in a typical pattern of words. Then teacher would have you make your own sentence, same here learn a scale, interval. sound pattern get it in your ear, now make your own. Like I've said before a horn player can take a one or two bar pattern and turn it into a day's practice changing it, and working it into their other vocabulary.

    Okay I'll shutup now. Put on some great Jazz and enjoy Thanksgiving.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by pamosmusic
    Nice. Good point. So perhaps it depends on the purpose? If you want technical studies for idiomatic jazz playing then they're probably as comprehensive as it gets. If it's for expanding your vocabulary then maybe it misses the point (ie extensive repetitive focused listening).
    I think Volume 1 focuses on technical studies because it assumes one does not already know bebop scales. (And not just what they are, how to start lines on any chord tone---then non-chord tone----and get 'em to 'come out right'. That takes some doing. But even in Volume 1 there are lots of great bebop lines. When I practice from that book, I always think, "Man, horn players do this kinda thing all the time!"

    Volume 2 is focuses on acquiring "jazz language", while Volume 3 is about learning larger patterns / formulae, learning tunes, playing blues and rhythm changes. There's a lot of first-rate material there.

  4. #28

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    Yea the one I worked through was Vol 2. I just don't think I got as much out of it as I did from things I transcribed. In hindsight I think it was because I was learning the lines off the page and didn't have to listen to them as intently.

  5. #29

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    The poll seems to be close but for the record my response would have been "I bought the books secondhand in a charity shop about 6 years ago and have finally got round to trying to learn something from them, but have got stuck on the first pattern in Volume II."

    Specifically this one:
    David Baker "How to Play Bebop" Poll-davidbaker-bebop-jpg

    My question is about the C at the end of the first bar. Is it meant to be C natural or C sharp?

    If my understanding of notation is correct - which it may not be! - then since the C at the beginning (second note) is sharp, then that accidental would persist until the end of the bar (unless a symbol for natural was used to revert it back to the key signature). So the C at the end should be C sharp.

    But then I'm not sure how to understand that final C sharp theoretically. I think I understand the first one as a chromatic accidental on an upbeat before a chord tone (D) characteristic of bebop. But the second one I'm thinking should be back to C natural which would be the chord tone of the Dm7 (or perhaps the 5 of a 1235 pattern in F which is the relative major of Dm). A C sharp at that point doesn't seem to fit with the various chromatic patterns, enclosures etc. in Volume 1 (admittedly I haven't studied Vol 1 exhaustively yet!).

    I suppose one possible explanation of the C sharp might be in anticipation of the diminished pattern about to appear in bar 2? Are there any other explanations? (Possibly it is a misprint and it should have had a natural symbol after all?)

    Thanks

  6. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Floorstand
    The poll seems to be close but for the record my response would have been "I bought the books secondhand in a charity shop about 6 years ago and have finally got round to trying to learn something from them, but have got stuck on the first pattern in Volume II."

    Specifically this one:
    David Baker "How to Play Bebop" Poll-davidbaker-bebop-jpg

    My question is about the C at the end of the first bar. Is it meant to be C natural or C sharp?
    C natural. The C# is LNT in any case.

    If my understanding of notation is correct - which it may not be! - then since the C at the beginning (second note) is sharp, then that accidental would persist until the end of the bar (unless a symbol for natural was used to revert it back to the key signature). So the C at the end should be C sharp.
    Not unless it's literally the same note.

    Accidental (music) - Wikipedia
    But then I'm not sure how to understand that final C sharp theoretically. I think I understand the first one as a chromatic accidental on an upbeat before a chord tone (D) characteristic of bebop. But the second one I'm thinking should be back to C natural which would be the chord tone of the Dm7 (or perhaps the 5 of a 1235 pattern in F which is the relative major of Dm). A C sharp at that point doesn't seem to fit with the various chromatic patterns, enclosures etc. in Volume 1 (admittedly I haven't studied Vol 1 exhaustively yet!).
    That's OK because it's not a C#.

    I suppose one possible explanation of the C sharp might be in anticipation of the diminished pattern about to appear in bar 2? Are there any other explanations? (Possibly it is a misprint and it should have had a natural symbol after all?)

    Thanks
    Fuck it, I dunno. Try it with a C#. Maybe you like the way it sounds. More of a melodic minor vibe?

  7. #31

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    Thanks Christian, perfect answer! I had never realised that (from Wikipedia) "If a note has an accidental and the note is repeated in a different octave within the same measure, the accidental does not apply to the same note of the different octave."

    Cheers

  8. #32

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    I agree with christianm77 that the final note is a C natural is written; the accidental only affects the specific pitch (in this case, middle C). But I would also say that you could play either C natural or C sharp for the final note and it would sound appropriate in a bebop context - if C natural, you're outlining a Dmi9 chord; if C#, you're suggesting the V of Dmi (as christian says, more of a melodic minor feel). See which you prefer. The style allows for a lot of melodic/harmonic freedom and "choice in the moment".

  9. #33

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    For a beginning jazz player like me vol 1 and 2 have proven very helpful. I like how pragmatic and to the point it's laid out. Some books can be a bit heavy on ideas but light on application where what I need is often something applicable. Otoh the Bergonzi books, or the 2 Greene Single Note Soloing volumes are overly encyclopedic for someone trying to get a grasp of the discipline. Baker strike a happy medium for me. Imho of course.

    What I've found even more helpful though is his The Jazz Style Of Sonny Rollins which present lines but also whole solos where those lines occur. The context is good to have.

  10. #34

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    BTW I would say from the transcription I have done that the C# in the second bar (which gives the altered scale in bar 2) is actually rather rare in bebop. I would say a C would be more common.

    Try both, and see what you think. I think the use of the mel minor modes on dominant gives a much more post-bop sound.

    If anyone has an example of the #11 being used on the V7 chord in this type of run in a bop era solo (i.e. one with the classic 3-b3-b2 going into the 5 of the next chord thing...) I would be interested to know. I'm trying to track down the development of these concepts historically because... well... I have nothing better to do :-)
    Last edited by christianm77; 02-28-2017 at 06:34 AM.

  11. #35
    joaopaz Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    Where is the option marked 'I open it every so often, get inspired for 20 minutes, then realise how much more there is in this the book and close it with a sense of massive insecurity.'

    I've personally got more out of Barry Harris's stuff, which is related...
    Any particular book on Barry Harris approach that you'd recommend?

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by joaopaz
    Any particular book on Barry Harris approach that you'd recommend?
    Alan Kingstone, who posts here, wrote "The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar"

    The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar – Howard Rees' Jazz Workshops

  13. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by joaopaz
    Any particular book on Barry Harris approach that you'd recommend?
    I'm talking more about the single note improv stuff.... Roni Ben Hurr's book talk jazz is a good introduction

  14. #38
    joaopaz Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Alan Kingstone, who posts here, wrote "The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar"

    The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar – Howard Rees' Jazz Workshops
    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    I'm talking more about the single note improv stuff.... Roni Ben Hurr's book talk jazz is a good introduction
    Thank you, Gents!

  15. #39
    Quote Originally Posted by joaopaz
    Any particular book on Barry Harris approach that you'd recommend?
    His Jazz workshops Dvds came with two books explaining his method to single lines construction

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