Your Best Must Have Jazz Guitar Books?

[JohnoL]

David Berkman's The Jazz Harmony book I think is the best resource to study jazz harmony. It's very applied and grounded in the harmony of the standards. There is also a separate section dedicated to post-bop harmony.

The Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony has been a good companion to the Berkman book for me.

[rpjazzguitar]

I have the usual shelves full of guitar books.

I got something out of the books I used to learn to read. Mel Bay 2, Rhythms Complete, Advanced Dance Rhythms, Moto Perpetuo and the Fake Books.

I got something out of Jazz Theory by Mark Levine. Not specific playing tips, for the most part, but better appreciation for what other players were doing. (His treatment of melodic minor included something very helpful about all melodic minor chords being the same chord).

Nelson Faria's Brazilian Guitar Styles can really teach you how to comp in several Brazilian styles. Great book.

And, there are probably a few others that were helpful along the way.

But, I could fill several feet of shelf space with books that were almost entirely unhelpful. That includes every book of licks, every book on chord melody, most of the material on jazz theory, almost every book on improvisation and whatever I'm forgetting.

I found it easier to learn this stuff from another musician, in a lesson or playing in a group.

This isn't intended to be a roadmap. More like a report from the field.

If I had it all to do over again from the beginning, the main thing I'd change is I'd do however many years of ear training boot camp would be required to reach whatever potential I might have had.

For an alternative to books, I'd recommend youtube videos including those that Reg has done (reg523). Don't forget that you can slow them down and rewind.

[pauln]

If I had it all to do over again from the beginning, the main thing I'd change is I'd do however many years of ear training boot camp would be required to reach whatever potential I might have had.

Out of ignorance as a young teen I assumed popular guitar music was played by ear and adopted that method exclusively. When I became interested in jazz, I found where musicians really do value playing by ear; wonderful.

[GBRow]

It contains many of the essential topics: chords, harmony, scales but also phrases and licks to demonstrate the concepts. You don't have to work through the book linearly, you can just pick a topic and work on that.

Had a look at the sample book, and it has 3 main chapters.

1. Harmony
2. Melody
3. Improvisation

The Harmony chapter is all about the jazz chords and shell chords and chord progression and voicing, which seems to be excellent coverage for what is a huge topic.
Might get the book.

[GBRow]

No, it's instrument agnostic. It's written by a pianist but most jazz harmony books are.

Was trying to look at the sample book, but was unavailable. There was no info at all about the book in anywhere internet.
There is a single video about the book in youtube but it doesn't say much about the book apart from the presenter's personal praises on the book.

[Tal_175]

Was trying to look at the sample book, but was unavailable. There was no info at all about the book in anywhere internet.
There is a single video about the book in youtube but it doesn't say much about the book apart from the presenter's personal praises on the book.

https://www.jazzbooks.com/mm5/samples/D-TJHB.pdf

[GBRow]

https://www.jazzbooks.com/mm5/samples/D-TJHB.pdf

Thank you for the link. Yes, it seems excellent book too. It reads very well, and looks great content. Only possible problem could be, having been written by / for Piano / Pianists, the staff has many 5 notes chords, which can be impractical for guitarists.

[GBRow]

I got something out of Jazz Theory by Mark Levine. Not specific playing tips, for the most part, but better appreciation for what other players were doing. (His treatment of melodic minor included something very helpful about all melodic minor chords being the same chord).

But, I could fill several feet of shelf space with books that were almost entirely unhelpful. That includes every book of licks, every book on chord melody, most of the material on jazz theory, almost every book on improvisation and whatever I'm forgetting.


For an alternative to books, I'd recommend youtube videos including those that Reg has done (reg523). Don't forget that you can slow them down and rewind.

I have the Levine book, and find it excellent. Maybe it covers everything in Jazz Theory, but having some other books wouldn't hurt, I thought.

There seem to be different type of books in Jazz guitar. Books on the Theory. Books which tells how to practice and play the instrument, and books with cool chord progressions, scales and tunes.

As long as what the books are saying is making sense, and I can interact with the books for practicing, playing or understanding, they all seem to be great help.

And of course, the good Youtube Jazz Guitar channels are another resource which are helpful, vital and important in learning.

[GBRow]

David Berkman's The Jazz Harmony book I think is the best resource to study jazz harmony. It's very applied and grounded in the harmony of the standards. There is also a separate section dedicated to post-bop harmony.

Managed to get this book, and yes, it is written with clarity on the topic. It reads well, and very informative and helpful.
Thank you for the recommendation.

[jazzloverfat]

An interesting and unplanned sort of experiment happened. I got seriously distracted and haven't really touched my guitars for a couple of months and only recently went back to messing around w them. Before the break I was sampling out quite a few books from this thread and a couple others and well, I can't seem to jump back in and pick up where I left things off with most of them.

The only ones that work after an extended break are a method book i was using to try to figure out some of the theory stuff I lack (I have resigned myself to the facts that osmosis doesn't work and that the boring bland repetitive part is a necessary evil) and the Advancing Guitarist of all things - bro just makes sense and some of his exercises or ideas are actually fun. Oh and the good ol' Pumping Nylon to help my fingers remember where things are and get my Dex back haha.

I also think I have things figured out now:
- I'm getting more and more used to reading Guitar Hero chord diagrams and here the Randy Vincent Three-Note Voicings book actually helps since it shows the notes on the staff which makes reading the chord diagrams sooo much quicker for me. I'm probably not using the book right, but it is incredibly useful as a sort of translator from chord diagrams or names to proper music writing. I still find it incredibly stupid though that there are books claiming to offer an introduction or are aimed at beginners that do not show the notes of a chord on the damn staff.
- I think the method book works for me, tho I'm still getting thrown off-balance by the, for lack of a better word, non-linearity that is jazz compared to other genres, especially when it comes to learning the style. Also, more often than not the exercises are not that fun... And here is where I wished things were laid out like in other genres: here’s the theory part, here’s the score of a song to play that applies the theory in practice.
- I understand that Jazz is more like learning different kinds of building blocks that when put together create the song, but I am not yet used to this approach, even tho I enjoy noodling on guitar and just going w the flow.
- Modes are confusing af.
- I DESPISE rhythm playing. Single note lines is so much more fun.. and easier! A chord here and there adds spice, but strumming is so much meh.
- score > lead sheet ¯\_("/)_/¯ 1v1 me bruh haha

So yeah, I think I'm good now when it comes to instructional materials and the AI overlords generated a pretty easy to follow plan I'm trying to stick to based on the method + Randy's 3 Shell Voicings with a suggestion to go to Fewell's Melodic Approach only when I have a solid grasp of things or if I plan to become a pro, whatever that means. Incidentally, this was one of the books I was trying out a few months ago and now trying to get back into it where i had left off is a big L ...

This seems to be your issue. In jazz, the performer is the arranger. You are given the basic harmony. You decide on how to realize it. That includes, your voicings, reharmonizations, extensions, textures, dynamics, added/subtracted chords (ie changes in the implied harmonic rhythm), how these voicings move etc. If you expect that someone else do that work for you and tell you what to play, then I don't think jazz is right for you.

Maybe it is maybe it isn't, but I do like it and if I treat jazz songs like a classical piece when I find a proper score, then I can learn that piece and play it with no issues. If I pull off a good sounding "So what" or whatever else from a score noone can say with a straight face that I'm not playing jazz, let's be serious. Correct me if I’m wrong, but do pro musicians actually play a different version of the same song every night, or do they learn one version and simply internalize it until it becomes like a mental score?

People who come to jazz from other styles where they play specific, rehearsed arrangements/parts often initially struggle with two paradigm shifts they have to overcome. Both of them involve developing a more abstract view of things that they used to encountering in highly specific forms.

[...] That means you have to develop your ears and inner pulse to hear the harmony and feel the form.

That struggle is such an understatement, lol.
And also why I lurk here and ask questions from time to time - HOW DO I LEARN THIS:
[insert ominous thundering voice] "Thou shalt internalize abstract harmonic literacy and hear with the mind's ear"
Big fancy words, but um... explicit, step by step guide please and thank you? How do I connect what I know to what I want to learn? Like I know people learn new stuff when they are ready but patience is most definitely not one of my virtues and I want things to happen quick haha.

One may argue that this playlist of Virtuoso transcriptions is as complete as it gets in terms jazz guitar education, more than any book can give you. A good selection of standards, chord voicings, harmonic devices, bass lines, straight-ahead style solo sections, chord-melody techniques. All with chord-symbols, standard notation, tabs and performed with a good viewing angle. It's even properly amplified, lol, unlike the original recording. What else do you want?

Joe Pass Virtuoso Complete Transcription - YouTube

That's what I'm doing basically, I look for stuff like this, take the sheet music print it out and try to play along. But then again, I was told that doing this is not jazz. So pardon my confusion, but which is it?

As a beginner, I seem work better with the books describing and telling what and how to do practice in detail. For advanced readers, they would find the beginner level books boring.

Curious what books worked for you as a beginner, which produced the quickest results?

It’s clear Jazz is new to you and your stance on that is that you’re going to be defensive and argue that it’s the musics fault. I’m an excellent Jazz player. I’m a terrible country player. If I want to learn country guitar, I need to be ready to be a beginner and not know some stuff. Acting like the music is wrong won’t be helpful.

Unfortunately, if you want to do something new, you may have to learn something new.

I'm open to learning something new, that's why I am looking for answers. I am looking for books (or really anything else if available) to learn from that are useful for MY level and MY learning style and that can get me somewhere instead of wasting my time, dropping me into the deep end when I'm not ready for it and so on. I'm not pissed off at the music, but at bad books or "teachers" that mislabel the stuff they sell or make things unnecessarily complicated. When something is called an “introduction to something,” I expect it to have a clear progression starting from the basics and gradually building complexity, without skipping steps or assuming prior knowledge. An introduction shouldn’t require much beyond a willingness to learn, no? I'd have been pissed off had I spent money on that particular Randy Vincent book (tho I might actually buy the other if actually works in the long run). Oh, and one more pet peeve - I just hate it when books tell me here's the C or G or F whatever, now do the rest on your own. Like wtf bruh?? Show me the process, show me what I'm supposed to learn smh...

A good teacher/method/whatevs would find a way to build on my existing knowledge - and this is all I'm asking I am also aware that part of the problem's on me too, not just on the books: because I started off w classical and everything was written on the score I never bothered learning or remembering the name of the chords or stuff like this when my teacher was telling me to. I know how to play what I see and that's all that mattered at the time... And truth be told even now I'm not entirely convinced I should bother remembering stuff when scores exist. I am always in awe though when I see classical musicians play a whole friggin concierto from memory, but i digress. Another cognitive dissonance came from the fact that I always expected jazz to be on the same level as classical when it comes to the presentation of its written music. I wouldn't have had this kind of expectation from rock, country or pop where musical illiteracy is standard and technical vocabulary is stuck below the 5th fret...

[itsmyname]

most of the "real books" !

[alltunes]

It is a big funnel…YouTubes, books, Instagrams, forums….it’s all quite overwhelming these days. It all helps and perhaps hinders. What is the goal? For me it is can I sit down by myself and play a jazz tune and have fun and feel a sense of accomplishment. I can but it is an ongoing process. That is why I as a hobbyist am convinced of the “learn songs” process. Many of the greats have offered the advice along the lines of “better to know one tune really well then 6 not so good” Friz and Sco among them.

So for me it is pick a song I like and learn it THEN look for sources to help me play that song better. It really puts things into focus.

“Time on the instrument” Pierre

[voxo]

has to be Wolf Marshall books...add Band in a Box..Django Books midi files....im happy...theory...im a late starter so this is my chosen method...Peerless Monarch... Yamaha THR5A

[pamosmusic]

If I pull off a good sounding "So what" or whatever else from a score noone can say with a straight face that I'm not playing jazz, let's be serious.

Google “Mostly Other People Do the Killing”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but do pro musicians actually play a different version of the same song every night, or do they learn one version and simply internalize it until it becomes like a mental score?

If you mean are the hits and solos different every night, then yes. Less frequently the case in prior decades but still mostly yes.

[jazzloverfat]

Google “Mostly Other People Do the Killing”

WOOOW, thanks for this!! Got Moppa Elliot's MOPDTK album and then Shamokin & Blue - I like them a lot.