Jazz Blues Soloing for Guitar: A Guitarist's Guide to Playing The Changes on a Jazz Blues (Learn How to Play Jazz Guitar) Paperback – April 1, 2019

I have been playing jazz blues for a few years and have bought tons of books and used even more websites. So far, however, this book is the best I've found for getting a player into the jazz blues style. It's a bit more bebop oriented than swing oriented but I suspect most players are looking for the former. That said, this book doesn't just show you scales or licks, it shows you how to use the scales to create licks. It begins the process of getting you to think about licks in terms of melodies and intervals and demystifies the process of playing the changes. If you're the kind of guitar player whose blues playing is largely limited to minor pentatonics and the blues scale (or even if you've already figured out how to incorporate the major/Mixolydian into your blues playing), then this is the perfect book for getting you moving forward.Best of all, Alexander has included backing tracks that target each of the changes in a standard jazz blues, so you can practice making I-IV change, the I-VI change, and the II-V change. It's such a simple and logical idea that I'm surprised I haven't seen it done in other places. But that's indicative of the book and Alexanders' other books as well. He approaches the material in a logical and very practical way that will benefit the readers immediately while also providing a long-term foundation for further developing your playing.If you're looking at instruction books on jazz blues here on Amazon, I'd suggest starting with Alexander. After that, other books like All Blues for Jazz Guitar, the Herb Ellis books, and even John Ganape's "Jazzin' the Blues" will be much more fruitful and valuable. The same goes for the videos by Herb Ellis and Emily Remler.

You will learn about jazz chords, licks etc. This is a good book!

I really like Mr. Alexander's teaching style in this book. He starts with a simple blues chord progression, quickly advancing to a more advanced jazz blues progression, and then shows how to play inversions of those chords on the top four strings of the guitar, implying that a bass player will cover the root. He then starts with simple arpeggios that will ensure you really lock in those chord tones before moving to more advanced scales and arpeggios. This isn't really a lick book, although there are plenty of good ideas here. Rather, he teaches how to use these scales and arpeggios by building them; simply at first and then with increasing complexity. It is the way a really good teacher would teach a dedicated student. The whole book is in the key of B-flat. Obviously, the implication is that the student is a dedicated enough player to play these examples in all keys. I play each progression, arpeggio and scale through the circle of 5ths until I've completed all the keys. By then, you really have these lines under your fingers. After finishing this book, you should have a very good handle on jazz blues guitar playing. I wish all method books were this comprehensive. I look forward to checking out more of his books.

I've been playing guitar for several years, with a personal goal of learning to play jazz. I found plenty of websites with videos and free lessons. They're helpful, but I felt I needed something more structured to help me progress. Enter the Fundamental Changes series by Joseph Alexander. His lessons are designed to teach one small skill, and then to build on that skill. The result for me has been that I am able to learn major jazz concepts without the feeling of being overwhelmed at the start. With patience, practice and a small investment in time I've found that playing over the ii V I progression is becoming natural for me, and that's incredibly exciting for a newcomer to the guitar. I enjoy working through the examples he provides, and I've begun to write some of my own licks as suggested in the material. They're simple, of course, but there's a great satisfaction in playing something you've created. Joseph is also very responsive to emailed questions, and I appreciate that very much. I have purchased six of his books, and I've been equally satisfied with each one. They are well written, and I would highly recommend them to anyone who would like to learn to play jazz on the guitar.

The methodology is developed in a logical and concise way, which is easy to follow and provides the building blocks for improvisation in manageable chunks. I liked it.

There is no such thing as "the best" when it comes to teaching guitar or anything else for that matter. There are lots of different ways to teach and learn--what's important is finding what fits for you. Mr. Alexander takes the learner step by step from the "bottom up." For me, his approach has been the most effective for my own growth and development on guitar. He gives progressive "assignments" that combine intellectual/theoretical understanding, semi-rote (but not boring) exercises that build directly toward the goal of the book, whether it is his ii V I, blues, etc. tomes. I find there is no time or effort wasted toward the target goal of each book.I highly recommend his approach for others who feel overwhelmed by scale memorization books, or lick memorization books, etc. Note that these approaches DO work for some people (my own instructor included) -- but don't work for everyone.For me, Mr. Alexander's approach provides the framework for understanding and creating your own licks based upon the underlying logic and art that the pros use.