Top 50 Jazz Guitar Books

The lists on this page are the result of a poll on the forum, in which I asked everyone to list their favorite guitar books. There are 4 categories: jazz guitar books, guitar books (that are not jazz related), theory & reference books and other music books (biographies, music psychology, …)

Jazz Guitar Books

Here’s the Top 50 of Jazz Guitar Method Books. The Advancing Guitarist is on number 1, as I expected. It’s a great book, although not for beginners. All books are linked to the Amazon store.

1. The Advancing Guitarist – Mick Goodrick
2. Complete Jazz Guitar Method – Jody Fisher
3. Chords and Chord Progressions for Jazz and Popular Guitar – Arnie Berle
4. Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing – Ted Greene
5. Chord Chemistry – Ted Greene
6. Best of Wes Montgomery – Wolf Marshall
7. The Berklee Jazz Chord Dictionary – Rick Peckham
8. Mickey Baker Complete Course in Jazz Guitar Vol 1 & Vol 2 – Mickey Baker
9. The Joe Pass Guitar Method – Joe Pass
10. Linear Expression – Pat Martino
11. All Blues Soloing – Jim Ferguson
12. Modern Chord Progressions – Ted Greene
13. A Guide To Chords, Scales and Arpeggios – Al Di Meola
14. Contemporary Chord Khancepts – Steve Kahn
15. Chord-Melody Guitar – Bruce Buckingham
16. Jazz Guitar Soloing – Joe Elliott
17. Voice Leading For Guitar – John Thomas
18. Jazz Guitar Structures – Andrew Green
19. Jazz Guitar Technique – Andrew Green
20. Guitar Compendium – Howard Roberts
21. Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards – Mimi Fox
22. Pat Metheny Songbook – Pat Metheny
23. Jazz Guitar Voicings Vol 1 – Randy Vincent
24. The Art of Solo Guitar – Jody Fisher
25. Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach – Garrison Fewell
26. Creative Force – Pat Martino
27. Power Jazz Guitar – Larry Coryell
28. Best of Pat Martino – Wolf Marshall
29. Harmonic Mechanics – George Van Eps
30. Guitar Style – Joe Pass
31. Jazz Guitar Comping – Andrew Green
32. The Jazz Style of Tal Farlow: The Elements of Bebop Guitar – Tal Farlow
33. Building a Jazz Guitar Solo: a Guide to The Art of Chord Melody Playing – Fred Sokolow
34. Masters of the Plectrum Guitar – Mel Bay
35. Mastering the Dominant Chord – Don Mock
36. Guitar Secrets: Symmetrical Scales Revealed – Don Mock
37. Guitar Secrets: Harmonic Minor Revealed – Don Mock
38. Complete Jazz Guitar Method – Mike Christiansen
39. All The Shapes You Are – Herb Ellis
40. A Comprehensive Study of Gypsy Jazz Guitar – Romane Sebastian
41. Lenny Breau Finger Style – Lenny Breau
42. Intervallic Designs for Jazz Guitar: Ultramodern Sounds for Improvising – Joe Diorio
43. Giant Steps – Joe Diorio
44. Jazz Structures for the New Millenium – Joe Diorio
45. Fusion Guitar – Joe Diorio
46. Playing Guitar in a Jazz Big Band – Tom Anderson
47. Almanac of Guitar Voice Leading – Mick Goodrick
48. Gypsy Rhythm Volume 1: a Tutorial for Gypsy Jazz – Michael Horowitz
49. Mel Bay’s Complete Book of Harmony, Theory and Voicing – Bret Willmott
50. Jazz for the Skeptical Guitarist – Bruce Emery

Jazz Guitar Books For Beginners

A lot of the books listed above are not for beginners. Here’s a selection of books that are great for beginning jazzers:

1. Beginning Jazz Guitar – Jody Fisher
2. Chords and Chord Progressions for Jazz and Popular Guitar – Arnie Berle
3. The Berklee Jazz Chord Dictionary – Rick Peckham
4. Mickey Baker Complete Course in Jazz Guitar Vol 1 & Vol 2 – Mickey Baker
5. Jazz Guitar Voicings Vol 1 – Randy Vincent
6. The Art of Solo Guitar – Jody Fisher
7. Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach – Garrison Fewell
8. Jazz Guitar Technique – Andrew Green
9. Jazz Guitar Comping – Andrew Green

Top 10 authors of jazz guitar books

1. Ted Greene
2. Mick Goodrick
3. Jody Fisher
4. Arnie Berle
5. Wolf Marshall
6. Mickey Baker
7. Joe Pass
8. Andrew Green
9. Pat Martino
10. Joe Diorio

General Guitar Books

The Top 30 of guitar method books. I never heard about the book on number 1, guess I need to check it out. I’m surprised William Leavitt books are so popular, I never really liked them.

1. Pumping Nylon – Scott Tenant
2. Solo Guitar Playing Volume 1 and 2 – Fredrick Noad
3. Melodic Rhythms for Guitar – William Leavitt
4. Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar – Troy Stetina
5. Advanced Reading Studies for Guitar – William Leavitt
6. A Modern Method for Guitar – William Leavitt
7. The Guitar Grimoire: A Compendium of Guitar Chords and Voicings – Adam Kadmon
8. The Brazilian Guitar Book – Nelson Faria
9. Fretboard Logic – Bill Edwards
10. Chord Progressions for Guitar – Tom Kolb
11. Fretboard Mastery – Troy Stetina
12. Arpeggios for Guitar – Don Latarski
13. The Chord Factory – Jon Damian
14. Blues You Can Use – John Ganapes
15. Guitar Fretboard Workbook – Barrett Tagliarino
16. The Guitarist’s Guide to Composing and Improvising – Jon Damian
17. Modes for Guitar – Tom Kolb
18. Soloing Strategies for Guitar – Tom Kolb
19. The principles of Correct Practice for Guitar – Jamie Andreas
20. Rock Discipline – John Petrucci
21. Music Reading for Guitar – David Oakes
22. Classical Studies for Pick Style Guitar – William Leavitt
23. The Guitar Cookbook – Jesse Gress
24. Hot Guitar – Arlen Roth
25. The Guitar Handbook – Ralph Denyer
26. Guitar Player Repair Guide – Dan Erlewine
27. Mel Bay’s Complet Book of Guitar Improvisation – Vincent Bredice
28. Bach Lute Studies for Guitar – Jerry Willard
29. The Complete Sor Studies for Guitar – Fernando Sor and David Grimes
30. Diatonic Major and Minor Scales – Andres Segovia

Theory & Reference Books

The Top 25 of Theory and (non-guitar) music books. Not surprised that the Jazz Theory Book is on number 1, it’s the best jazz related theory book around.

1. The Jazz Theory Book – Mark Levine
2. The Jamey Aebersold Series
3. The Real Book Vol 1 – Chuck Sher
4. Harmony – Walter Piston
5. How to Play Bebop – David Baker
6. Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns – Slonimsky
7. Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization – George Russell
8. The Lead Sheet Bible – Robin Randall
9. The Serious Jazz Practice Book – Barry Finnerty
10. The Charlie Parker Omnibook – Jamey Aebersold
11. Jazzmaster Cookbook – Jim Grantham
12. Best Chord Changes for the World’s Greatest Standards – Frank Mantooth
13. The Salsa Guidebook – Rebeca Mauleon
14. The Real Book 6th Edition – Hal Leonard
15. Jazz Theory Resources – Bert Ligon
16. Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians – Bert Ligon
17. Modern Reading Text in 4/4 – Louis Bellson
18. The Swing Era: 1936-1947 (The Jazz Bible Fake Book Series) – Rob Duboff
19. Encyclopedia of Reading Rhythms – Gary Hess
20. Metamorphosis of the Jazz Solo – Sam Most
21. Music Theory for Guitarists – Tom Kolb
22. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Compostion – Michael Miller
23. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory – Michael Miller

Other Music Books: Psychology, Biographies, Guitars, …

The Top 15:

1. Effortless Mastery – Kenny Werner
2. The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music- Victor Wooten
3. The Inner Game of Music – Barry Green
4. Charlie Parker: His Life and Music – Carl Woideck
5. Talent is Overrated – Geoffrey Colvin
6. Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones – Quincy Jones
7. The Gibson L5 – Adrian Ingram
8. Blue Guitar (aka the Blue Book) – Ken Vose
9. All You Need to Know About the Music Business – Donald S. Passman
10. The Pat Metheny Interviews – Richard Niles
11. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation – Paul Berliner
12. Early Jazz: It’s Roots and Musical Development (History of Jazz) – Gunther Schuller
13. Gibson Guitars: 100 Years of an American Icon – Calter Carter
14. This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession – Daniel Levitin
15. Miles: The Autobiography – Quincy Troupe

ALSO CHECK OUT:

• Top 100 Jazz Guitar Albums
• Top 100 Jazz Albums (without a guitarist as leader)

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