This is an incredibly comprehensive book dealing with every harmonic and technical aspect of guitar improvising. Included are analyses of scales, arpeggios, picking technique, chord progressions, cadences and modulations. In addition, numerous studies and exercises are contained to help you play through the concepts of being taught. the goal is technical and mental mastery of the guitar fingerboard. Tablature is included.

(Guitar Educational). Learn to improvise freely over any chord progression! The "Fourth Note" principle is a truly remarkable method for improvising in jazz and other genres, combining ear training, theory and technique to enable students to play with unrestricted creativity. In this book/CD pack, master guitarist Tony DeCaprio shows how to incorporate this technique using "focus notes" to anchor your playing within a chord progression through comprehensive, step-by-step instruction with examples for practical application of every new concept. The accompanying CD includes 99 full-demo tracks. "A totally unique and revolutionary concept for teaching improvisation. There is nothing even remotely similar on the market. The approach is refreshing and brilliant. I highly recommend this book to both students and teachers." Jimmy Bruno

If you ask anyone who's been playing guitar for a while how to turn scales into solos, you'll likely get a variety of answers. They'll tell you to learn licks, work on your arpeggios, even learn your favorite players' solos note for note. While this is all good advice, I've had some particularly stubborn students that wanted to go beyond that; they wanted to be able to improvise using any scale up and down the fretboard, but at the same time break free from those deeply-ingrained scalar lines and patterns. It was then that I suggested the zonal approach to improvisation; by working in reduced areas of the neck with specifically designed patterns, they were soon able to create melodic, flowing lines that didn't sound at all like scales--they sounded like real music! This is the approach you'll find in this book. We dissect 15 of the most common scales, beyond the pentatonics, and break them down into zones which can be practiced either by scale, or for any particular scale across the fretboard. The objective of this book then is to provide a structured reference to make the transition from playing scales to playing, improvising and creating musical lines when soloing. It’s aimed at the intermediate to advanced guitarist looking to be able to improvise confidently and freely on the instrument in a wide variety of styles. It is also aimed at guitarists that want to move beyond rote pentatonic/blues soloing and incorporate other scales and modes into their playing, as well as building up a vocabulary to solo fluently over chord changes.

Improvise for Real is a step-by-step method that teaches you to improvise your own music through progressive exercises that anyone can do. You'll learn to understand the sounds in the music all around you. And you'll learn to express your own musical ideas exactly as you hear them in your mind. The method starts with very simple creative exercises that you can begin right away. As you progress, the method leads you on a guided tour through the entire world of modern harmony. You will be improvising your own original melodies from the very first day, and your knowledge will expand with each practice session as you explore and discover our musical system for yourself. Improvise for Real brings together creativity, ear training, music theory and physical technique into a single creative daily practice that will show you the entire path to improvisation mastery. You will learn to understand the sounds in the music all around you and to improvise with confidence over jazz standards, blues songs, pop music or any other style you would like to play. And you'll be jamming, enjoying yourself and creating your own music every step of the way. The method is open to all instruments and ability levels. The exercises are easy to understand and fun to practice. There is no sight reading required, and you don't need to know anything about music theory to begin. Already being used by both students and teachers in more than 20 countries, Improvise for Real is now considered by many people to be the definitive system for learning to improvise. If you have always dreamed of truly understanding music and being able to improvise with complete freedom on your instrument, this is the book for you

Learn to channel improvisational impulses into great solos with this amazing book & CD by outstanding jazz performer and educator, Mark Dziuba. Topics are thoroughly explained and organized into three main categories: instruction in the harmonic and melodic structures of jazz, discussions of practical application, and conceptual issues. Complex subjects are taught with an engaging and friendly style, so things like melodic and rhythmic motifs, phrasing, development, guide tones, chromaticism and functional harmony are easy and enjoyable to learn. This is a must-have book for all jazz guitarists that will be used for years to come. 144 pages.

Dave explains his approach to jazz improvisation with musical examples that he himself uses, learned from years of playing with the greats - after learning how to play jazz from listening to players such as Grant Green, Wes Montgomery and Pat Martino. Explains the minor sub approach using minor scales to play over dominant seventh chords, and then includes several solos over often-played jazz standards, using this approach. Also described are the use of the blues and pentatonic scales as well as be-bop ideas, the melodic minor scale, and whole-tone and diminished scales and patterns. Hanon-type warm up exercises and Dave's own fingerings shown in tab are also described. Perfect for intermediate-to-more advanced players, Dave's concise way of explaining his approach will open up the students to developing their own improvisational ideas. Dave plays the examples and solos on the companion audio download including tracks with a rhythm only section for student play-along.