The Classical Guitarist's Guide to Jazz: Guitar Book & MP3 CD

York meets classical guitarists exactly where they are: with strong technical foundations and harmonic literacy, but no improvisation vocabulary. Rather than treating jazz as an entirely foreign language, he builds bridges from chord voicing and voice leading skills classical players already possess, making improvisation feel like a logical next step rather than starting from scratch.

The book moves from the intellectual and compositional (understanding chord structure and arranging for yourself) into the spontaneous and interpretive (creating solos in real time). It captures the satisfaction of watching a previously mysterious skill become attainable through deliberate practice and ear training.

Classical guitarists with solid technique and music theory knowledge who want to develop improvisation skills and understand jazz harmony on their instrument. Players who read well and approach learning systematically will gain the most from York's structured progression through harmony, comping, and then improvisation.

• Record yourself playing the chord voicings and comping patterns from Part One before moving to the melodic examples. Hearing your own voice leading choices develops ear training faster than reading alone.
• When working through Part Three's improvisation exercises, sing the lines first before playing them on guitar. This separates your ear's conception from your fingers' muscle memory and strengthens mental visualization.
• Use the CD recordings as reference performances, not targets to replicate. Pause and work out what York is doing harmonically before listening straight through.

Assign this to advanced classical guitarists preparing for a recital that blends classical and jazz repertoire, or use it as a semester-long supplement for students interested in contemporary guitar performance and composition. The recorded examples make it ideal for independent study alongside private lessons.

• Jazz chord voicings and reharmonization
• Voice leading and smooth comping
• Improvisation based on learned patterns and ear training
• Melody arrangement for solo guitar
• Listening transcription and harmonic analysis
• Converting mental imagery into executed musical phrases