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Books Related to Mel Bay Presents the Martin Taylor Guitar Method Martin Taylor, David Mead - ISBN: 0786665033
Inspires you to think for yourself - Rated
I have a shelf full of jazz guitar tutors, and have wanted the same thing from all of them - i.e. to turn me into a fantastic jazz guitarist without actually having to put any effort of my own in.
I know there isn't a secret formula... I spent enough years taking jazz guitar lessons to prove it.
However, this book has actually inspired me to make the effort to play what I hear in my head. It dispels any myths that jazz guitar should be based purely on scales and modes, or just stringing together a load of licks at lightning speed (helpful in some ways perhaps, but not Martin's approach for getting you to bring out your own style, thinking melodically and harmonically for yourself).
The book is based on a fingerstyle method, which will come naturally to a classical guitarist, but will require a bit more practice if you've only ever played with a pick. Martin helps you to put together a walking bassline, adds some chord stabs, and top it with the melody (or improvised version of the melody).
He then goes on to show you the thinking behind how he puts together a performance piece, right from the basic chord melody, through to improvisations and variations on the feel and rhythm.
Instead of using a jazz standard that could end up sounding clichéd, he uses Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) as his case study. I didn't actually like this piece much before, but hearing some lovely, well chosen major 9s, 11ths and other jazz chords in the arrangement just makes me want to play it and then have a go at applying this method to pieces of my own choice.
I hasten to add - Martin doesn't add all these jazz chords for the sake of it - in fact he tells you that you definitely don't need to overcomplicate it and change chord on every beat. It is also worth noting that this is not a jazz chord reference book in any way, so if your jazz chord knowledge stops at a major 7th, you may want to accompany this purchase with something else along those lines. Even though Martin's approach is to play what you hear in your head, a little familiarity with the sound of jazz chords is a big help.
In conclusion - a very helpful and inspiring book - aimed at the `fingerpicker', but useful to any guitarist wishing to improve their jazz playing and develop their own style.
MARTIN TAYLOR BOOK - Rated
This is probably one of the best method books I have ever read. I've tried to find a book that explains what Martin Taylor does for years and now there is one available. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
