The Total Jazz Guitarist: A Fun and Comprehensive Overview of Jazz Guitar Playing

Fisher resists the temptation to overwhelm beginners with theory first. Instead, he front-loads playable material and gradually introduces complexity, so students experience the joy of sounding like jazz guitarists before mastering every harmonic nuance. The included recording transforms abstract exercises into concrete models, letting students hear exactly how their target sound should develop.

This is jazz guitar stripped of pretension. There is real learning happening, but also immediate musicality. You build from familiar territory (the major scale) into territory that felt impossible weeks before, and suddenly you are comping changes and finding your own voice.

Beginning guitarists seeking a structured entry into jazz idiom will find a clear pathway here, while intermediate players working through chord melody concepts or seeking a refreshed approach to progressions gain substantial value. Advanced musicians can mine the book for teaching ideas and alternative explanations for concepts they already understand.

• Start the major scale section slowly and deliberately; let each note breathe before moving on to the chord work that follows. Rushing here undermines everything that comes later.
• When you reach the progression exercises, use the recorded accompaniment to lock into the groove. This shifts your focus from note-finding to phrasing and time feel.
• Record yourself playing the chord melody passages and listen back for clarity of attack. Jazz guitar tone lives in the separation between notes, not their speed.
• Revisit earlier chapters after completing the book. The fresh perspective you'll bring makes previous exercises reveal new possibilities.

Assign chapters sequentially to jazz ensemble guitarists who need foundational study outside of rehearsal time. The method also works beautifully as a summer practice guide, allowing students to arrive in fall with measurably improved chord literacy and comping vocabulary. For private instruction, use it as your primary text and let the included recording supplement your own demonstrations.

• Major scale construction and fretboard application
• Jazz chord voicings and comping patterns
• Chord melody arrangement and execution
• Improvisation over standard progressions (ii-V-I, blues changes)
• Time feel and rhythmic accuracy in jazz context
• Listening and transcription habits