Building a Jazz Chord Solo: A Guitarist's Guide to the Art of Chord Melody Playing Paperback – December 1, 2005

This book not only teaches four arrangements for each of the four songs, but teaches the student how to prepare their own arrangements of songs (which is what we're all really seeking, after all!). The theory can be overwhelming for a beginner, but for someone with knowledge looking to "pull it all together," the style is fine.Fred sets out the first arrangement with first position chords, accompanied by a virtual seminar in basic music theory. This can be followed easily by the player with some basic music background, and in my case has provided a couple of "now I get it!" moments. The second arrangement is played up the neck with movable chords, which doesn't add to a theoretical understanding, but does show related chord families in other positions (and teaches other chord shapes). The third arrangement is made with jazz substitutions. The accompanying analysis of the third arrangement is the part that can be overwhelming at first, but the song provides immediate real life examples of the concepts so the student immediately applies what has just been taught. The fourth arrangement discusses putting together improvised solos.Fred's style emphasizes mastering the chord progression before starting to work out a chord arrangement, which is a little different than some other chord/melody styles I've seen that emphasize building chords over the melody line that fit the song's key. It's a wonderful style, and if you're not sure, watch some of the clips of Fred or his students on YouTube. While this book is not a college level theory book by any means, it is still far more than just a basic, beginner's level book (and a lot tougher!). Fred teaches a lot of music in a fun, easy going manner. Well worth the purchase price.

I tried several books to work my chord-melody playing and this one is by far the most usable for "good beginners". The concept of showing four versions of each song, each time adding a level of complexity is simple but really powerful. I would strongly advice it if you wanna increase your ability to play in this style.

I love how this book gives you four versions of each song. You can see how a piece evolves from a simple solo piece into a true work of art. And each version features an introduction densely packed with music theory. And the CD is invaluable, though interestingly the recordings are not necessarily identical to what's in the book. Still, there's plenty here to work on and even head you toward creating your own song arrangements.So why only 4 stars? One major concept of jazz (and covered in this book) is chord substitutions, so I would be remiss if I didn't offer a course substitution for this book. If you are looking for something considerably more in depth and have a slightly higher budget, you should look into TrueFire's "Fingerboard Breakthrough" DVD course by Howard Morgen. (It includes a whopping 133-page PDF book and over 4.5 hrs of video for as little as $40.) Ideally, you could use that course and this book as companion pieces to each other, but if you can only buy one, Morgen's course is the one I would suggest. Still, if your budget is tight, and this book is all you can afford, you certainly won't regret the purchase.

This jazz chord lesson book is fifteen years old by the publisher's account, but the CD tracks indicate that it is twenty-five years old . Given the wealth of Jazz chord lessons available today , the songs and method chosen for the lessons are obscure and rather boring. Also, the book comes with a CD track, which is a snore-fest and uninspiring.This book has some fine ideas but needs a serious update.As for me, I bought the book, hook, Line and Sinker. I should have know better.My suggestion to potential buyers,Caveat Emptor.

I like the four steps of difficulty and how how chord harmony is explained for each step.

Great learnimg tool for jazz. I recommend thefretboard roadmap first. Then the fretboard roadmap for jazz guitar. Will give you a great jazz ability.

If you always wonder how to take and song you like an embelish the chords to make it sound more jazzy, then this book is for you. The author take a song and shows you how to play it from its simplest chord arrangement to its most complex ( runs, alternate chords etc. ) and gives you the theory behind the techniques so you can understand the why's and the how's of the song

Although I thought the book to be an excellent guide to chord substitution and reharmonization, I thought perhaps the choice of songs could have been a little better. However, I do like the four step guide taking you from a very basic version of each song through to a much more complex improvisation.

Having downloaded Fred Sokolow's wonderful lessons (also available in DVD format) on beginner's jazz guitar, and also his many lessons on individual jazz songwriters (Hoagy Carmichael, Isaiah Berlin etc) it was a no-brainer to buy this book. I've not had it long but tended to jump straight in at 'Arrangment 3' , which is probably a bit over-ambitious, but I really like his chord substitutions.Fred's arrangements always strike me as very 'true': to my ears they seem very much the way Gershwin and other composers would have heard them. I suspect Fred likes recorded versions by people like Sinatra, Bille Holliday, Ella Fitzgerals... and arrangers like Nelson Riddle, Duke Ellington and others. He respects the melody: his choices are all very musical.As other reviewers have pointed out, the book has 4 arragements for each song: a basic; a basic with barre-chords; then a 'jazzy substitutions'; then an improvisation. So in a sense if you learned each arrangement you'd be able to play a very detailed, varied and impressive hybrid version of these songs. But you could also apply some of Fred's substitutions to other songs.Get this book. And check out Fred's videos/lessons on Stefan Grossman's guitarworkshop website...Buy this book and start making your own substitutions.

Very good for intermediate level, it explains all steps from the simple first arrangement to the more advance arrangements. All steps explaining how to harmonize the chords and how to incorporate the improvisation.