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Reading that title makes me feel silly for asking but here we go.
I’ve been playing guitar for a month.
I’m looking for scale and exercise books. I used the Klose books for clarinet, those were the best. Screenshot below. The book is 200 pages of that in all twelve keys.
Is there anything like this for guitar? Something annotated with tabs and right hand fingering patterns, both finger style and pick if possible.
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08-31-2024 08:58 PM
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The Serious Jazz Practice Book.
But before you do that you need to know a fingering system. Levitt, CAGED, I like Jimmy Bruno’s one. Spend some time learning that and then move on.
Maybe go through Mel Bay Book 1 too, so you can read the notes in the Jazz Practice Book.
Make a strong foundation and everything else will be easier.
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Thank you for the recommendation!
On fingering systems: Does it suffice to use only one framework (like CAGED) or do pros generally incorporate multiple systems into their playing?
Also will these frameworks translate to classical chops or is that a whole other thing?
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Incredible book, but not at all notated with tabs or fingerings so Allen’s advice to get the scales down first is pretty crucial there.
Originally Posted by AllanAllen
I had a teacher who had me do stuff out of Klose, Kreutzer, and the Viola saxophone etude book. But the best guitar parallel I can think of is Jack Grassel, Guitar Seeds and Monster Chops.
The common thread with all of these is that I would not give them to someone who only been playing guitar for a month.
Leavitt would be the move there probably.Last edited by pamosmusic; 09-01-2024 at 07:26 PM.
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Mel Bay I and II.
Then Rhythms Complete by Colin/Bower.
If you know the fingerboard really well, scale fingerings won't seem that helpful, or so I think. Others think otherwise.
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I’ve heard it said that scale books aren’t all that useful for guitar, as there’s only so many finger patterns that translate to all twelve keys.
You say “others think otherwise” — I’m really curious to hear the counter arguments
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Scale *books* aren’t all that useful on guitar because of the exact opposite reason you cite here. All twelve keys can be covered by five or six moveable patterns. So exercises in different keys don’t have the same technical power that they do, on say, clarinet. Originally Posted by stolnd
Uh oh … when this exercise is transposed the break falls in a tricky spot. Yikes that E scale is tough to tune, etc etc.
Guitar has a different series of challenges and scale etudes aren’t as useful generally. The Leavitt reading books are interesting in this respect because they are focused on reading studies in all twelve keys, and in all twelve *positions*
That Serious Jazz Practice book is one of my favorites ever because it doesn’t really focus on that sort of thing —- just melodic patterns and you work out the technical issues for yourself.
Also addendum to my earlier post — Barry Galbraith fingerboard workbook.
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I agree with rpjazzguitar, I didn’t suggest Rhythms Complete simply because you said scale exercises. But my three books for any beginner would be Mel Bay 1, Mickey Baker Jazz Guitar and Bugs Bowers Rhythms book.
You have to start with Mel Bay to learn reading.
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These days there are hundreds of books and on-line materials to help a new guitar player. Originally Posted by stolnd
I find it strange that your choice of study is a very technical study.
As others have suggested I would begin with very basic studies that will help build a strong foundation for future learning.
I would learn the major and minor scales and the chords that are embedded in them and learn the arpeggios of those chords..in all keys and positions.
this is a long term study that will require alot of practice and determination.
The Mickey Baker book 1 would be a good starting point as it gives you access to chords and how to use them in basic progressions and how to solo over them.
You have a long way to go and much to learn..go slow..know your material well..and of course learn some classic "jazz tunes"
hope this helps...and welcome to our forum...
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There is no official way to learn or play the guitar. Classical guitar has enjoyed some formal development, and Jazz guitar has many popular methods, some in conceptual opposition with each other to various degrees. Originally Posted by stolnd
A good place to start is at the end, imagining what you would like to be able to do - the most direct and informative way is naming some guitarists as examples. It's good to identify a few because they may have used different methods (including conceptually opposing methods).
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I was largely ignorant of guitar players up until a few years ago. Not that I didn’t love the sounds, I was very focused on transcribing horn players and simply skipped over guitarists for lack of time
“Ellla Fitzgerald and…Joe Pass? Huh, well if he’s comping Ella he must be pretty good”
That’s my level of ignorance… but man from those first two beats of Take Love Easy, it was like a bolt of lightning. Of course I’ve come to know how influential he is but those duo albums led me to pick up a guitar
Tall order. My expectations are realistic. But Joe Pass is the guy.
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I find it strange that your choice of study is a very technical study.
I fear I’m slowly losing my hearing. My pitch has drifted after 15 years of not playing.
I’m praying to god that I’m just rusty, because I honestly don’t know what life looks like for me without my ear. Bleak to say the least.
When I’m in top-form there’s not much I can’t transcribe by ear after a single pass, and virtually nothing I couldn’t given multiple passes. Coupled with the excellent theory training I was lucky to receive in college (quite an ordeal that was, very difficult for me at the outset), I can analyze a piece of music with a great deal of precision and speed. If it’s an instrument I’m acquainted with I can play it the same way.
I don’t like talking about it because people look at me different if they know. That’s why I’m posting anonymously and not asking my teacher these things, I don’t need him treating me different or giving me funny looks, or to think I’m trying to one-up or vibe him. He’s already given me some strange looks and he’s a really good guy, I don’t want to mess it up
Basically I don’t know how much time I have left and I have things I need to say before it’s too late.
Hence the initial focus on technical study. If I can “see” the layout and get it under my fingers the rest will take care of itself. And with work and a young kid at home I need to be as efficient as possible.
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It sounds like you already have a strong musical background from playing clarinet and once you get the mechanics of the guitar under your fingers you will be off and running. If you want to focus on technical aspects initially, go for it. Originally Posted by stolnd
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Thanks to everyone that’s shared insights. This forum is great. I think I’ve got enough to go off of.
I’ll be back to ask some more strange questions in the future.
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I started on clarinet at ~age 8/9, picked up guitar ~age 10. While guitar was my main instrument by age 14, I continued clarinet seriously right through college. I was able to read on guitar very quickly because of my clarinet reading
But as someone here already pointed out, while the notes are the same, the two instruments present completely different fingering dilemmas. On clarinet (and most woodwinds), all the notes are immediately under your fingers. But the fingerings are different. For example, a C scale is played completely differently than a C# scale. But there is really only one way to finger each one.
As I see it on guitar, it's a matter of HOW to finger them, regardless of the key. And it all depends on what you’re doing going into it, and where you intend to go coming out of it.
So I think of the clarinet books as a great exercise in reading, but not for scales, and NOT for fingerings.
Maybe more importantly, most of the clarinet exercises are pretty straight diatonically. Much of the time, on guitar, we have to read/play very different stuff, with a lot of altered chords, accidentals, blue-notes, etc.
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I stumbled upon Joe Pass talking about it a few nights ago, at around 12:45:
“You have a choice. You could either buy a book, clarinet or violin books, read the music and play it, and you’re exercising your mind and telling your fingers what to do by reading”
He then goes on to the other option which is making exercises up by ear.
He must be talking about Klose.
Man I wish this masterclass wasn’t audio-only so I could see what he’s doing. He does explain what frets/fingers he’s using for each form but it’d be nice to confirm visually I’m doing exactly what he’s showing
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Interesting! I was accustomed to the Leavitt system of fingerings, I had missed the Bruno system. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
So, in other words (Bruno system) start, on the sixth string, on each scale degree omitting 1st and 4th degrees...
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The Precision Technique by Robert Conti sounds exactly like what you described, notation, tablature and video.
Here's a link, read the reviews, and you can hear Robert play. Good luck!
The Precision Technique • RobertConti.com
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I worked in that book and got a lot out of it. Originally Posted by JerryB
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Maybe "Scale Pattern Studies for Guitar" by Aaron Shearer.
Scale Pattern Studies For Guitar, Supplement 3: Classic Guitar Technique eBook : Shearer, Aaron: Amazon.co.uk: Books
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His fingerings vary somewhat according to what he's playing, but as he said, he relates them to chord forms, a la the CAGED chord forms he described in that audio. Originally Posted by stolnd
He illustrates how he relates single note lines/scales to chords in this video, starting at about 37 minutes into it:
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