Jody Fisher's Jazz Guitar Chord-Melody Course: The Jazz Guitarist's Guide to Solo Guitar Arranging and Performance, Book & Online Audio

Jody Fisher never fails me. His jazz method is outstanding but here he takes on something I love: chord melody.In this book you'll learn lots about playing chord melody and lots about improvising it on your own.The book starts with theory review. (Yes, review. It assumes you've done this before). Pay attention here even if you find theory less than electrifying.But then the book builds up your skills incrementally. There is a lot here and if you can work through it all in a year, you're doing well. It will take me at least that long, probably a lot longer. The musical examples are really pleasing. They not only serve the purpose of teaching the material, they sound good --- even the ones at the start of the book are melodic and full --- and best of all, are true fun to play.Improvising comes later, when you're ready for it--- and the book is loaded with practical ideas and tips.Now--- if you're a beginner, this is not your book and won't be for a while. If you're a beginner at jazz, even, it may not yet be your book, as there is assumed familiarity with dead-string chords, "stretchy" chords, and fluent reading in upper positions. I'd have to rate this book as intermediate in difficulty. You need to know some theory, you need to know some jazz guitar techniques, you need to be a good reader (even though tabs are supplied), and then you're ready for an ambitious but great experience.This may easily become my favorite jazz tuition book! Five stars. Just great stuff.

I bought this book years ago when it came as two separate volumes with CDs. Back then I was playing rock and blues, so as with many other books, I glanced through it, tried a few of the lessons, got frustrated and put it away. Now years later, I have been studying jazz and practicing chord melody. I have been focusing a lot on Joe Pass style. I bought this book not realizing it was the same two books I already had gathering dust on my book shelf. The material in this book is fantastic, and it provides a roadmap for chord melody solo playing. I suggest that you concentrate on the songs in the book because each one gives you some chords and single line techniques which can be carried over to countless other songs later down the road. There are a ton of chord diagrams, scales, and theory in the book, but the songs are where the true learning comes from. After a short time you will find yourself using a chord pattern from these songs in other standards and songs you play. There are other great methods out there that show you how to play "this chord for that note" type of thing, but for gaining the ability to play improvised chord melody solos, this book is a must.

A great resource for guitarists who’ve progressed beyond the novice level. I’ve done little more than scratch the surface of all this book offers, but I already feel that I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it.My goal is to become a proficient Chord-melody player. This book presents a great introduction of music theory as it applies to the guitar fretboard. The study pieces are performance worthyI’m rating four stars because I’ve not yet checked out the mp3 tracks.If you’re a casual player who’s content to simply learn songs and occasional new chords (me for the first. 30-years I played). Pass this by. It will gather dust on a bookshelf. If, on the other hand, you want to truly learn your instrument, this book will be a valuable tool. Go for it!

Think of this as two books intertwined together. One aspect covers theory and lots and lots of chord voicings and chord scales and scale fingerings etc. Don't get bogged down on those parts. Look at the material and get the gist of it but then move on to the musical examples. They use the more practical chord forms and more easily "grabbed" melodic movements. That is the stuff you will use for making your own arrangements.It is the meat and potatoes. The other parts can be more of a reference to go back to when you need to. The quicker you get the musical examples under your belt the quicker you will be playing like you wanted to play when you bought the book in the first place.

I love this style of playing jazz guitar. Now this book is listed as the number one in my collection of textbooks on this style. A detailed, clear presentation of the theory, and a lot of delicious examples played. However, this applies to all the books by Jodi that I've read. Lovers of chord melody style this book is a must have in the collection.

Great book! Very thorough and complete. Fills in alot of gaps for players. Starts out with the basics and works its way to more complex subject; each covered with the same detail and care. Don't plan on working through this book in a month- it represents a good 2 years worth of material. My advise is take a page or two each weeek and learn the material completely, then move on. If you do, you'll gain a very thorough and complete understanding of the fret board, chords, their functions and their appropriate uses.

This world of chord melody playing is indeed a complex subject. Jodi's approach is well thought out but no one book will get you through. If you are a beginner it is best to wait until you become familiar with the fretboard. Great for those in the intermediate phase.

Lots of useful info and targeted to beginning chord melody with nice learning progression. I wasn't thrilled with the selection of songs as they are purely for demonstrating the specific lesson , not arrangements of songs I would want to add to my play list which I thought the book would include - the only disappointment.

Just slowly working my way through this. It's a good, good book and if you like jazz chord melody guitar, already have some mechanical playing ability on the guitar, then this is the book for you. The examples on the disc of mp3 files are useful and musical and therefore extremely good to exercise to.One review complained about the fact that this book (which is quite thick) was glue-bound so you couldn't lay it flat while practising. This is an extremely good observation. So I took my copy to my local print shop and asked them to spiral-bind it for me. Which they did, in about 3 minutes, and at a cost of about £3. (They had to guillotine the far left edge off, but no text or music was lost, so don't be alarmed if you go to get your copy bound, and this is what your print guy/gal says to you.) This not only makes it easy to use the book when studying, it will also extend its useful life. I've now done this with all the books I'm currently using where they are too thick to be able to open out and lay the pages flat.Book is highly recommended.

If you are beginning to learn to play the guitar then in my humble opinion this book may be heavy reading for you, but if you can stick with it and own the information contained therein, and learn to apply it in the manner intended by Mr Fisher then you will have solid grounding that will help you to consolidate your musical education.

This book helps to break down skills needed to put chord melody tunes together. It is two of his older books put together with no new or edited parts. I find it helpful and the practice tunes provided are nice, fun to play and good in their own right. I believe it has helped me to formulate my own chord melody examples of some standards I'm working on. It's been the most useful book for learning this style of playing that I have come across. I'm about halfway through and I'm looking forward to learning how to add improvisational ideas into this technique that is an upcoming chapter. Any down side? It doesn't mystically infuse me with the jazz skills I so desire. I still haven't found that book. So I still have to work hard at gaining improvements. Darn it.

If you're a reasonably competent guitar player who is interested in exploring jazz, this is the book. I guess it would help if you can read music (I can't), but it's not absolutely necessary, because the exercises are tabbed. It opens up a new vista of beautiful chords, and it'll take me a year or so to work my way through it thoroughly. Fascinating.

easy it read .very informative .it explains everything in a clear way and jody has got subjects like walking bass lines on you tube which I think is a good example of what can be achieved with a bit of practise I think you do need to be of average ability before starting this book