Yamaguchi Guitar Method

This book is intended to answer guitarists demands for my lessons. Ultimately, it depends on who will learn it and how they utilize my method. Over the years, I had been asked to compile my guitar method book, but I was very reluctant to do so until I completed my improvisation book Yamaguchi Improvisation Method (New York: Masaya Music, 2012). Because after all, my priority is to teach music, especially improvised music --- not how to play the guitar. Though this book required a huge amount of work to complete, I finished it for all my fellow guitar players, who regularly use my The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales. The YAMAGUCHI Guitar method in this book is highly original and much different from most books in today s jazz pedagogy. This is a new kind of guitar method book that will leave no student behind if you interpret my words correctly. I hope the YAMAGUCHI Guitar method will guide you to unlock melodic possibilities and broaden your musical vocabulary. GOOD LUCK!

The motivation for the YAMAGUCHI improvisation method was to develop my The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales and delve into my findings about music education. I do not have any aspiration to write the best-selling how to improvise textbook, but I did have the perspiration required to complete the best content improvisation method book available to any instrumentalist. My main priorities are to boost teaching quality as well as general academic standards in music pedagogy. The YAMAGUCHI improvisation method is also intended to answer musicians demands for my lessons (This textbook price is more reasonable than one-time private lesson fee). With my original method revealed in this book, you will be able to activate, in your music, The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales, Symmetrical Scales for Jazz Improvisation, Pentatonicism in Jazz: Creative Aspects and Practice, and Lexicon of Geometric Patterns for Jazz Improvisation. The motto of the YAMAGUCHI Improvisation Method is, "Search not for the tracks of the people of old, Search for that which they aspired to." Keep stimulating your interests by researching the past, and searching within yourself. I hope that the YAMAGUCHI Improvisation Method will guide you to become a complete artist. GOOD LUCK!

Surprisingly, few studies have been made that address the possibilities of musical scales. This book is, to the best of my knowledge, the first of its kind to establish and examine a complete system of all conceivable scales. My intention is that this book be used as a reference tool for all musicians, as it provides a complete dictionary of all possible scale configurations.

New Guitar Method utilizing all fourths tuning (E, A, D, G, C, F - low to high). If I was starting to learn to play the guitar today, and somebody gave me a guitar today, I'd tune it in straight fourths without a doubt. Just like the six-string bass, 'cause to find that B string is a pain, and it's unnecessary, 'cause you play ... you know ... there's only a few of us that go around bashing out power chords anymore, so you don't need that anyway, so if I was to learn again, it's just that it's been so many years trying to beat the B string that I can't go and un-beat it. --Allan Holdsworth

(Artist Transcriptions). In the late 1950s, John Coltrane composed or arranged a series of tunes that used chord progressions based on a series of key center movements by thirds, rather than the usual fourths and fifths of standard progressions. This sound is so aurally identifiable and has received so much attention from jazz musicians that it has become known as "Coltrane's Changes." This book presents an exploration of his changes by studying 13 of his arrangements, each containing Coltrane's unique harmonic formula. It includes complete solo transcriptions with extensive performance notes for each. Titles include: Body and Soul * But Not for Me * Central Park West * Countdown * Fifth House * Giant Steps * Summertime * and more.

When a jazz-loving rooster sets his sights on winning a barnyard talent show, he realizes he can't do it as a solo act. He's up against the talents of Mules Davis's cool duo and Ella Finchgerald's singing group. Acoustic Rooster calls on friends like pianist Duck Ellington, singer Bee Holiday, and percussionist piggy Pepe Ernesto Cruz. Together, the foursome makes beautiful music as they rock the barnyard. And while they may not win first prize, Acoustic Rooster realizes he has the world's best jazz band and that's all that matters. Colorful artwork from artist Tim Bowers (Memoirs of a Goldfish) ensures this story doesn't miss a beat. A glossary of musical terms and instruments rounds out this perfect introduction to jazz for young readers. Kwame Alexander is a poet, publisher, and an award-winning producer of literary programs. He has written for television, the stage, and authored 13 books. He conducts writing/publishing workshops at schools and conferences throughout the country. Kwame lives in the Washington, D.C. area. Tim Bowers has illustrated more than 25 children's books, garnering such awards as the Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best" list. His work for Sleeping Bear includes First Dog and First Dog's White House Christmas. Tim lives in Granville, Ohio.

he purpose of this book is to share my thoughts with all melodic instrumentalists, to suggest an avenue into chromatic jazz improvisation. The title Chromaticism in Jazz implies the coloristic, intervallic, non-diatonic, paratonal, and superimposition styles of jazz improvisation that may be represented by the mid-60 s Miles Davis Quintet and the 60 s John Coltrane Quartet (and later Coltrane groups). It must also be noted that the application of chromatic lines in improvisation should not overshadow the natural flow of ideas, but should be explored thoughtfully to create contrast and more lyrical, melodic playing. As the subject of dissonance versus consonance has shifted and evolved throughout the course of jazz history, chromaticism has been developed by later generations to stretch the boundaries of jazz improvisation. The use of superimposed lines against harmonic structures can often create an interesting deflection, in conjunction with more standard jazz language. This work will lay the structural guidelines of chromaticism and give some examples of how chromatic lines can be used in a jazz context. After learning the evolution of chromaticism in recorded jazz, you will then gain the knowledge and skill to explore further possibilities. I hope this book will offer a new treatment for the chromatic deficiency in American musical society at large.

Advanced Level. The motivation for this book was to develop my The Complete Thesaurus of Musical Scales and delve into my findings about music education. This book is also intended to answer guitar players demands for my harmony lessons (this textbook price is more reasonable than a one-time private lesson fee). This book offers guitarists an effective and novel approach to contemporary guitar harmony. I have presented all possible (forty-three) four-note groupings (i.e. subsets), which may be used for tonal or meta-tonal harmonic progressions currently acceptable on the contemporary music scene. The principles in this book are not of passing theoretical interest, but an effective guide to musical life and how guitar harmony can be expanded to the fullest extent. Knowing possibilities in four-note groups and voicings systems will begin to unlock possibilities for music in the 21st century. Further possibilities live in each one of our guitars, waiting to be discovered. I would like to dedicate this book to all guitarists from the four corners of the earth, who wish to expand their expressive palette in Contemporary Guitar Harmony.