Jazz Phrasing for Guitar, Vol. 1

One of the most neglected aspects of improvisation on the guitar is the art of phrasing. This dimension of musical thinking is among the most important when taking a solo. Phrasing is where your musical personality emerges. Your voice comes out not in the notes you choose or the substitutions you play, but in the way you play your musical ideas.

With this book, Greg Fishman has created a clear and concise study of jazz phrasing. He uses techniques of organization that all great improvisers use, and presents them in an easy-to-understand way. Playing a musical sequence, transposing the sequence to develop it, and then punctuating that sequence with a new idea: these models will inspire you to develop deeper improvisational skills and to explore new ways of developing musical ideas. Moreover, when you listen to great improvisers, you’ll be more aware of the phrasing techniques they are using.