The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    https://www.amazon.com/Reharmonized-...ct_top?ie=UTF8
    Looks intriguing but has mixed reviews. Has anybody had a chance to check it out?

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I wonder and am thinking... isn't the Real Book reharmonized?

    Folks often say the changes aren't correct. The thing is, the changes were taken from a recording of an artist that performed the tune and a lot of the time, especially for the "Great American Songbook" standards, the artist is playing a cover... and there's a good chance they may have not played the original changes.

  4. #3
    The Amazon page has a "look inside" feature where you can look through the first 30 pages or so. I just did a quick scan through those available pages. Some of the reharmonizations looked pretty minimal (like "All Blues") while others are a lot more radical. I don't think I will buy it, but if I did I think would learn some nice reharmonization ideas from it.

    By the way, the guy who put it together, Jack Grassel, is a very fine guitarist.

  5. #4

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    I looked over a dozen or so tunes.

    There are a bunch of conventional ideas that are certainly useful to know --and learning them inside a tune is a great way to do it.

    There are some unconventional reharms that I didn't care for.

    And, then, there is the nugget -- one you like and, now that you've heard it, you can use it.

    I still take lessons occasionally, hoping to get a single nugget. This book is half the cost of a lesson, more or less, and might have quite a few nuggets.

  6. #5

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    I just looked at the new version of Alice in Wonderland and it's a lot different than the Real Book version. I wrote it out to compare it with the Bill Evans Live version. I know when I play the original with recorded/backing tracks the only thing that sounds correct is the melody. I think I'll look at it a little more, the price isn't bad.

  7. #6

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    I think with the old Real Book (5th edition) the accuracy of the charts tend to depend on the transcription skills of the particular Berkeley student who did the chart. As was pointed out above, these were often tied to specific recordings rather than original charts, etc. While Steve Swallow had some admitted involvement with it, I don't think he checked or edited charts prior to publication.

    Peter Bernstein has reported that he goes to the New York Public Library and tracks down the original charts for tunes so that he knows he has the changes before doing arrangement, re-harmonization, etc.

  8. #7

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    Have a go at this excerpt:

    The Reharmonized Realbook-autumn-jpg

  9. #8
    Now there is a new one. The enhanced chord edition:Sorry! Something went wrong!

  10. #9
    Ive been trying to get rid of the Sorry Something Went Wrong message, but it will still take you to the page.