The Complete Jazz Guitar Method: Intermediate Jazz Guitar: Guitar CD

Fisher structures intermediate concepts with real pedagogical logic: ii-V-I progressions lead naturally into solo construction, altered chords appear when students are ready to understand them, and comping styles branch across multiple feels so guitarists develop genuine fluency rather than isolated tricks. The doubled-up approach (harmony and improvisation in every chapter) means students build harmonic understanding and improvisational confidence in tandem, which is how jazz actually works.

Moving from learning jazz concepts to inhabiting them. The progression feels natural and cumulative, with each chapter building real muscle memory alongside ear training. By the end, you're not just understanding ii-V-I anymore; you're thinking in it across multiple feels and styles.

Guitarists who've completed a beginning jazz program and are ready to tackle the harmonic and improvisational demands of real jazz repertoire. This works well for students aiming toward jazz ensembles, combo settings, or self-directed jazz study who need systematic grounding in the vocabulary that professional players actually use.

• Practice the ii-V-I progression changes slowly with a metronome set to quarter note = 40, using only the chord voicings shown before attempting any improvisation over them.
• Use the CD to hear how each comping style functions in context, then mute the guitar track and play along, focusing on the pocket and rhythm feel rather than note accuracy.
• Build solo lines from the etudes one phrase at a time, memorizing the intervallic shapes and tendencies before combining them into longer statements.
• Work through altered chord voicings in isolation first, drilling the shapes until your fingers know them without thinking, then reintroduce them into ii-V-I progressions at realistic tempos.

Assign this as the primary text for intermediate jazz guitar students during their second year of study, with assignments rotating between the harmony and improvisation chapters each week. The varied feels (Latin, swing, ballad, funk) make it flexible for pairing with repertoire selections from your jazz ensemble or combo program.

• ii-V-I progression recognition and harmonic navigation
• Comping in multiple jazz feels (swing, Latin, ballad, funk)
• Creating cohesive solo lines using chord tones and approach notes
• Reading and voicing altered chord formulas
• Sight-reading chord changes in standard notation and TAB
• Developing rhythmic independence from recorded accompaniment