Complete Book of Harmony, Theory and Voicing

[Oldern]

I am humbled. Some people know how to ask a question and some don’t. I find that I am one of only five people who posted a question in the last 350 messages and who received zero replies. I had asked for a revisit and perhaps an update to an old post, "Developing A Method to Build a Foundation" posted 6/13/09. (However, "Blessed is he who has nothing to say-and knows when not to say it.")

If I may, I would like to resubmit the second question from my infamous post of 9/12/11.

It concerns the book, "Mel Bay’s Complete Book of Harmony, Theory and Voicing" by Bret Willmott, which was mentioned in that thread. I have had this book for several years but it was too much for me (and still is). In spite of this, I would like to give it another try.

Can anyone recommend a primer that would help me prepare for this book? I have "The Harmonic Language of Jazz Standards" by Marc Sabatella, and Bert Ligon’s "Jazz Theory Resources Books and his "Connecting Chords With Linear Harmony". I have to admit Bert’s books are a bit of a stretch for me but I am beginning to understand much of what is in them.

Thanks.
Oldern

[bako]

If you break it down to manageable size, I can see no reason why you can't use this book now.
You can focus on one chord change at a time.

Ex. 1st page in triad section---Major Scale in Cycle 2

Full progression is C Dm Em F G Am Bdim C

Adjacent chord pair

C---Dm close inversion

C E G---A D F // G C E---F A D // E G C---D F A // C E G

Play each pair and then later all these chords on each adjacent 3 strings. (EAD // ADG // DGB // GBE)

You can locate the pairs by reading one across and then the chords directly below the starting chord pair.

The next pair is Dm Em then Em F etc.

My general point is that we can always break things into smaller steps.
Voice leading is important work and I believe it would be good to address this sooner rather than later.

Mick offers almost no explanation in this book, just chart after chart.
It is understandable that it might appear overwhelming.
Let me know if I can be of further help with this.

[AlsoRan]

I feel your pain, Oldern. Part of the problem may be no one is familiar with that particular book so you may have to be a little more specific by asking about different subjects. Are you having problems with the theory, such as upper extensions of a chord? Is it the technical aspect of reading and interpreting chord shapes in standard notation that is giving you problems? Is it developing solos based on triads vs. arpeggios vs. scales vs modes? I am sure you get the picture. While I can't answer your question with a recommendation, I can engage in a moment of shared misery.

I have been playing for almost 5 years. I have done a lot of reading in that time and own many books. (I have become a bit of a collector and I enjoy reading and learning different lessons).

Well, now I find myself to be full of bits of knowledge but with no real plan to put it all together. I don't have a teacher (althought I may have found a really good one yesterday) and right now my schedule would require a teacher that is very flexible with his teaching schedule. But, as a result of this forum and of hearing the life lessons many have learned, I think I am slowly seeing what I think will for me to be able to reach my jazz guitar goals of being able to improvise and comp effectively.

You may even find that you need to rethink your present approach. There are some interesing ideas on this forum on "how to get there."

Good luck!

[AlsoRan]

Oops! You have already gotten a good response. Great!

[Oldern]

[quote=bako;171099]If you break it down to manageable size, I can see no reason why you can't use this book now.
You can focus on one chord change at a time.

Thanks for responding. Are you referring to Bret Willmott's book, the one I referenced?

Oldern

[whatswisdom]

Can anyone recommend a primer that would help me prepare for this book? I have "The Harmonic Language of Jazz Standards" by Marc Sabatella, and Bert Ligon’s "Jazz Theory Resources Books and his "Connecting Chords With Linear Harmony"

jonnypac's book which you can get directly from him is really nicely done and gives clear examples on chord construction, voicings, and how things lay on the fretboard. If you want some good foundation for navigating the fretboard, you'll find it there. I'm enjoying it a lot...

[Oldern]

AlsoRan
You may even find that you need to rethink your present approach. There are some interesting ideas on this forum on "how to get there."

You’re right about this. I started reading all the messages on theory and to the extent I can remember them, they are all very good. I’m enjoying the journey.

Whatswisdom
jonnypac's book which you can get directly

Thanks. I saw this book referenced in several prior messages. I’ll check it out.
Oldern

[bako]

Sorry, posted too early in the morning.
My mistake, I was referencing Mick Goodrick series of books, another great book (discussed in another thread) that can seem overwhelming.

Brett's book is also one of my favorites.
You will need to know all the drop 2 7th chord inversions on the middle 4 strings (an early exercise).
Being able to think intervals quickly will also be very helpful.

The basic premise and presentation is around using 4 note chords to represent extended harmony.
This is accomplished through combining parts of the functional 7th chords with extensions.
The resultant chord is often another chord functioning in a different role. This idea of superimposing a chord to arrive at a different meaning is not the easiest way to access this information but there is a wealth of sounds to be found in this book, both common and less so.

Willmott's book is very dense with charts showing various relationships.
I would suggest focusing on the II V I examples first and coming back to the charts later. Ask a specific question about where you get stuck.

[sjl]

What a book!!!
Is about the difficult for the like of the difficult.
I have bought it after reading several good reviews here and in other sites but...
He doesn't use a direct approach chord in the entire book.
I know substitutions are interesting but sometimes Why Don't you use a C69 where the song says C69?

Too much for me.

[JakeAcci]

What a book!!!
Is about the difficult for the like of the difficult.
I have bought it after reading several good reviews here and in other sites but...
He doesn't use a direct approach chord in the entire book.
I know substitutions are interesting but sometimes Why Don't you use a C69 where the song says C69?

Too much for me.

Re: C69 = C69: You might find after a certain period of time that always playing the same set of voicings feels tired and boring. Or you might not - some are content to get by with very few voicings.

Also, speaking generally and maybe a little simplistically, comping is supposed to be both accompanying and complimenting the soloist. One perspective is that the the comp'er is playing not only the harmony but the top note of each chord creates melody that interacts with and compliments the soloist's lines. It's group improvisation, musicians supporting one another in real time. To always use the same voicing for each chord can really hinder that communication. The comp'er would be pretty limited in terms of what melodic lines he could create with his chord voicings. Similarly, different voicings offer different textures and colors, and I personally like having a a wide array of textures and colors at my disposal.

To an extent it is an individualistic thing. One can do quite a lot with just a handful of chords and some are content to have a more limited supply of voicings to choose from, while some are constantly searching for new ways to interpret harmony (whether that's through voicings or something else)

I'd say there's a bare minimum that needs to be achieved to get through a standards gig and it's at least two or three stylistically-appropriate voicings for each kind of harmony.

I loved Wilmott's book. My chord vocabulary was a little lacking before getting into it, but just spending time with the first twenty pages or so got me fluent with drop 2 inversions of all the basic chords, plus a heightened awareness of variations on the basic structures and then how to invert those structures. Now I see a lot of harmonic possibilities on the guitar that I wasn't aware of before, and it's really exciting. Working with Willmott's material gave me encouragement to try to extract quite a lot out of very little. Hell, he has 250 pages or so just on drop 2 voicings!

[RyanM]

I bought this book years ago and it was a real eye-opener. At the time I didn't know what drop-2 voicings were and it was way over my head.. but I may revisit it soon because I could make use of it now.

This is a book for advanced students; the prerequisite is to know the 4 drop-2 voicings on the middle 4 string set (and might as well for the top 4 set), for each of the basic 7th chord types (He lists 15, but that includes Maj & min 6, Dim-Maj7, min7(#5), Maj7(#5), Maj7(b5), 7sus...)
You also need to generally have a strong grasp of harmony: major and minor keys, etc.

The whole book is then just showing how to use those basic voicings to create different tension combination through subs. (A basic example: Emin7 for a Cmaj7 to create Cmaj9). Each chapter is for a specific tension or tension combination, and there are a lot of voice-led example progressions. The book is very thorough and covers pretty much everything.

To be honest I think this way of thinking is a little unnecessary and over-complicated to some extent. In terms of understanding subs you can come to the same results just by know the inner workings of major/minor keys and modes very well. However, what the book is good for, is providing a lot of "chord licks" through the examples.

So I suggest you don't try to use the book to learn voicings and how subs work; learn that first then come to the book for the examples, like a lick book.

[JakeAcci]

I bought this book years ago and it was a real eye-opener. At the time I didn't know what drop-2 voicings were and it was way over my head.. but I may revisit it soon because I could make use of it now.

This is a book for advanced students; the prerequisite is to know the 4 drop-2 voicings on the middle 4 string set (and might as well for the top 4 set), for each of the basic 7th chord types (He lists 15, but that includes Maj & min 6, Dim-Maj7, min7(#5), Maj7(#5), Maj7(b5), 7sus...)
You also need to generally have a strong grasp of harmony: major and minor keys, etc.

The whole book is then just showing how to use those basic voicings to create different tension combination through subs. (A basic example: Emin7 for a Cmaj7 to create Cmaj9). Each chapter is for a specific tension or tension combination, and there are a lot of voice-led example progressions. The book is very thorough and covers pretty much everything.

To be honest I think this way of thinking is a little unnecessary and over-complicated to some extent. In terms of understanding subs you can come to the same results just by know the inner workings of major/minor keys and modes very well. However, what the book is good for, is providing a lot of "chord licks" through the examples.

So I suggest you don't try to use the book to learn voicings and how subs work; learn that first then come to the book for the examples, like a lick book.

Yeah I do think the thoroughness of the book is somewhat unnecessary relative to the more or less simple concepts it teaches.

I think of all the examples as basically a workbook. Not even a practice guide - it is the material to practice. I think a lot of books (The Advancing Guitarist being an extreme example) provide concepts and some suggestions for practice or suggestions for coming up with a practice routine, but this book has the practice routine right in there. And I think different people will respond to that differently. I preferred coming up with my own exercises and applications, but I can understand that others might prefer to just follow an assignment.

[sjl]

Thank you for your answers.
I will give the book another try, Jake.

I'll tell you.

In some aspects this approach remember me the Barry Harris book for guitar (by Alan Kingstone) where you always use substitutions. But this one is by far more easy than the first.

[JakeAcci]

SJL thanks for hearing me out. Keep in mind my point/opinion isn't that everybody should dig into the Willmott book, it was just a response to the concept of a quantity of options we should have for each chord type. Wilmott's book is definitely helpful for increasing that quantity, but there certainly are other books and/or methods that don't require a book.

[fumblefingers]

The Jazz Language, by Dan Haerle.

Used for years and years by freshman Jazz Studies students in the two-semester Jazz Fundamentals class at UNT.

For some nice jazz guitar application of all that harmony and theory, try Voice Leading for Guitar by John Thomas, Berklee Press.

[sjl]

Please I don't want more titles!!!!!!!!
(I thank you this, of course, I really like Berklee books)
I am suffering BAS and LOTS (book adcquisition syndrome an lack of time syndrome).

Actually if you manage to stay 15 minutes in front of the book is not that difficult.
For C69 you can apply A7sus4 or just think in C7 substituting the 7b for the 6 and the R for the nine. The book is about making this operation immediately.

15 chord types x 5 inversions = 60 x 2 sets of 4 strings (not thinking in the low four) = 120 shapes for rule'm all!!
(Some shapes are the same between chord types like 6 an m7).

[gratay]

Its a wonderful book. I've probably worked out of this more than any other book. It does look pretty daunting.
The good thing about it is most examples are simple II V I's. The whole book is based on the middle 4 strings.
If I was you I'd go straight to chapter 7. Tension9. First example Maj7(9) is on page 33.
Work through that chapter and you'll get the hang of what the book is all about.

[Oldern]

Hey, way to go! Although one year old, all replies are appreciated.

Just Kidding. Some thoughtful replies came in which provide insight on how to use this book.
Oldern

[sjl]

One thing I cannot see in this book is a chord melody chapter.
It is supposed that I have to work in chord melody the same way?

[frajazzamico]

I am humbled. Some people know how to ask a question and some don’t. I find that I am one of only five people who posted a question in the last 350 messages and who received zero replies. I had asked for a revisit and perhaps an update to an old post, "Developing A Method to Build a Foundation" posted 6/13/09. (However, "Blessed is he who has nothing to say-and knows when not to say it.")

If I may, I would like to resubmit the second question from my infamous post of 9/12/11.

It concerns the book, "Mel Bay’s Complete Book of Harmony, Theory and Voicing" by Bret Willmott, which was mentioned in that thread. I have had this book for several years but it was too much for me (and still is). In spite of this, I would like to give it another try.

Can anyone recommend a primer that would help me prepare for this book? I have "The Harmonic Language of Jazz Standards" by Marc Sabatella, and Bert Ligon’s "Jazz Theory Resources Books and his "Connecting Chords With Linear Harmony". I have to admit Bert’s books are a bit of a stretch for me but I am beginning to understand much of what is in them.

Thanks.
Oldern

Hey Oldern, I always recommend the Jazz Theory Book, by Mark Levine. It will work for you 100%. I studied it cover to cover and I has helped me look at jazz improvisation in a so much clearer way.

Don't rush it though...be patient...