Martin Taylor’s Jazz Guitar Licks Phrase Book: Beginner & Intermediate Licks for Jazz Guitar (Learn How to Play Jazz Guitar)

Of course being Martin Taylor, this book has some reeeally tasty jazz lines and audio to go along with it. But it's not easy to plug them into jazz standards.A few things I wish it had...1) the ability to slow the audio track down to initially learn the line;2) roman numeral indications along with the chord names'3) fingerings underneath; and4) some simple major & minor ii V I lines moving through the circle of fifths so one can easily apply to jazz standards.IMO a beginner would find these things very useful. Perhaps in the next edition? Overall it's a great book if you can mange through without the above-mentioned items and you're not a true 101 beginner.

I like the approach to this book. The introductory remarks are very insightful about learning jazz guitar. Transcriptions are accurate and the audio portion is essential. I would like to get more of these books.I highly recommend this book.

I’ve purchased a number of books aimed at making the mastering of Jazz guitar easier. Most are so filled with theory that they do nothing more than complicate the process.This book presents clearly and concisely, in a straight forward step by step presentation, a series of often heard jazz phrases used by Martin Taylor. The reason why the material is presented in this way is clearly defined in the forward of the book. That sets the tone and gives the reader a clear insight into how the phrases and practice should be approached. In short: clear direction…The incorporation of access to mp3 file audio clips of each practice phrase is included. That, too, helps a lot in mastering each phrase. Great Book.

This book is great for players getting into jazz and would like to study the licks of a master player. The licks are varied and span a range of difficulties, however, all the licks sound great.I would highly recommend following the tips and tricks outlined in the introduction. Then, download the sound files and have at it. Some of the most tricky licks have videos available so you can study those to get ideas about left hand fingering and right hand picking techniques. I would be and improvement if all the licks had videos.Overall, I consider this quite a bargain and would recommend to any players interested in getting a cool jazz sound.

Martin's writing style is always very clear and to the point. He sticks to his topics, in case jazz licks to incorporate into your solos, very closely, and does not confuse the issue of how to create meaningful guitar solos. The book includes a lot of fine sound examples of the art. A standout of the Fundamental Guitar Series is that they provide lots of recorded examples of every item discussed in the books (Martin has 4 books in the Fundamental Changes series collection). And the downloads are free and worth acquiring them. I have all of them from each of his books, and they are extremely helpful to me.

All of Joseph's books are well written and the fact that Sir Martin Taylor contrtibuted to this book only makes it better. Improvisation is a tough subject when starting out; however, this book takes the beginner and intermediate player through an easy to undertand method ino learning this important skill, and does so without cofusing the player with a lot of unnessary info. To the point, this book covers all the really important basics and helps the player develop their improv techniques, approaches, and vocabulary. A keeper for sure!

I always have high expectations for Martin's teaching. This book goes beyond. The introduction is key. He provides very valuable insight as to how to use the materials within. I've frequently tried to run before walking. Following the guidance of the intro made an incredible impact on how I've used the content. And the content is amazing. This book is not "another book of licks." Following Martin's directions make this a book of language - phrases and expressions that enables the reader to "speak in full sentences."

I have 3 of his books, all great, and I am thoroughly enjoying this one. I’ve studied all the theory but haven’t been able to come up with ideas for soloing that sound good. This will take some practice but I can see by using his ideas as a base, that I will be able to start soloing with some better melodic ideas. Downloading the audio is great for quicker memorization.

The book itself is basically just notation and TAB of the licks on the downloadable audio for the book. The licks themselves are excellent as one would expect from one of the UK's top jazz guitarists.They're melodic licks that professional jazz guitarists would use on typical jazz chord progressions. For example the most famous jazz standard of all; Rhythm Changes, is split into two chapters in this book - one chapter for the A section and another chapter for the B section.This is the ONLY jazz guitar book I've ever bought that has provided nice licks for the novice jazz guitarist to play over the B section, which for me is a very big plus, because the B section changes key every two bars and it can be hard to 'flow' smoothly and naturally over these changes - Martin Taylor's book will definitely help with this...What's also very good about the licks themselves, is that Martin Taylor uses A LOT of dynamics in the licks - In other words he greatly varies the amount of attack or physical force he uses to pick the strings to dynamically 'shape' the licks which makes them sound much more '3 dimensional'.A lot of guitarists particularly those who have come from a rock/shredding background, tend pick too harshly and agressively with a uniform attack when they attempt to play jazz licks, and subsequently their playing doesn't sound very jazzy - Copying Martin Taylor's subtle picking dynamics in this book/Audio package will quickly rectify this issue.The book itself is a very basic soft cover affair but that's why it's relatively cheap. However the musical information both the book and the audio contain, is worth a LOT more than the cost of the book, so it's definitely a value for money product in my opinion.

Probably one of the most effective tutorial books have bought. To ensure that I was fluent with each example I allocated a week's practice before moving onto the next, not unlike going to see a tutor, but without the hourly fee. Not all the examples work for me, and those I have modified slightly to suit my style of playing. I recommend downloading the free audio tracks, it's helpful to hear the phrase ahead of playing, and the 3 min backing tracks really aids expression and set the pace. With a 100 examples to learn this book is going to take me well over a year to complete, but already I am beginning to sound like I know what I'm doing.

Lovely phrases to learn and add to your repertoire. No theory, just language…so make sure you know what you’re getting first.Not for those starting from scratch in jazz and/or music theory. You’ll need a bit of major scale and basic theory knowledge in order to help remember and conceptualise the phrases…and of course in order to transpose to different keys.I have both the beginner and advanced books. The advanced lines are often flashier and more complex but not necessarily “better”. Often, depending on the musical context, the simpler lines in book 1 may actually be preferable. So you need both volumes!

Best jazz guitar book yet! Full of real vocabulary played by a master with a guitar tone to die for

This book is what I’ve been waiting for. After just a few days of working with it, my playing has progressed beyond any expectations. You can listen to the audio recordings of the phrases and then work on the ones that you like the best. Despite some of the phrases being complex, they soon fall readily under the fingers, and with a bit of practise have bought a new dimension to my somewhat formulaic playing. Literally music to my ears!