Joe Pass Guitar Chords

Rating:
Summary: The missing link for many guitarists
Review: I bought this book on the recommendation of Joe Satriani, who said, in an interview, that he first began to expand his guitar playing after a month or so of studying the chords in this book. I figured I'd give it a shot, because, let's face it - if Satriani found it useful, it can't be bad.

I was pretty happy with the purchase. The book is intended, explicitly, for ear training purposes. It lists major chord groups (maj, min, 7th, etc) and within each group, Joe offers the substitutions that he uses for them. The chords are listed in standard notation and a box diagram, and there are intentionally no chord names listed to associate with them. By getting the different chord sounds and associating them with a shape, one can develop a pretty good ear for commonplace chord substitutions. This is definitely an important skill to have for an aspiring guitarist of any style - and essential for anyone who wants to be a versatile guitarist.

The second section of the book goes through progressions of chords for each sound. These are generally used as turn-arounds, substitutions of multiple chords for a single one, or can be used as whole progressions. Again, there are no chord names listed here.

The last section of this book is an actual list of common jazz progressions, and one blues progression that is apparently common for Joe Pass (and not quite so common in the rest of the guitar community - a good thing in my book). These are only slash chord charts, meaning that all you have is a few measures of slashes and the chord(s) to go in each by name. There are no diagrams or standard notation. Then, Joe goes through substitutions he uses for these common progressions. This section is incredibly useful.

Unfortunately, the last part is also the only drawback of this book that I can see. Because the first two sections do not go over the chords associated with each chord name, this book does not stand alone unless the reader already has knowledge of varieties of chords available for stuff like Amaj7+5, D(b13), etc. That, coupled with the fact that the whole thing is only 24 pages long, is the reason for 4 stars instead of 5.

All in all, this book is highly recommended. It will improve your playing tremendously, and within a short period of time.

Rating:
Summary: The missing link for many guitarists
Review: I bought this book on the recommendation of Joe Satriani, who said, in an interview, that he first began to expand his guitar playing after a month or so of studying the chords in this book. I figured I'd give it a shot, because, let's face it - if Satriani found it useful, it can't be bad.

I was pretty happy with the purchase. The book is intended, explicitly, for ear training purposes. It lists major chord groups (maj, min, 7th, etc) and within each group, Joe offers the substitutions that he uses for them. The chords are listed in standard notation and a box diagram, and there are intentionally no chord names listed to associate with them. By getting the different chord sounds and associating them with a shape, one can develop a pretty good ear for commonplace chord substitutions. This is definitely an important skill to have for an aspiring guitarist of any style - and essential for anyone who wants to be a versatile guitarist.

The second section of the book goes through progressions of chords for each sound. These are generally used as turn-arounds, substitutions of multiple chords for a single one, or can be used as whole progressions. Again, there are no chord names listed here.

The last section of this book is an actual list of common jazz progressions, and one blues progression that is apparently common for Joe Pass (and not quite so common in the rest of the guitar community - a good thing in my book). These are only slash chord charts, meaning that all you have is a few measures of slashes and the chord(s) to go in each by name. There are no diagrams or standard notation. Then, Joe goes through substitutions he uses for these common progressions. This section is incredibly useful.

Unfortunately, the last part is also the only drawback of this book that I can see. Because the first two sections do not go over the chords associated with each chord name, this book does not stand alone unless the reader already has knowledge of varieties of chords available for stuff like Amaj7+5, D(b13), etc. That, coupled with the fact that the whole thing is only 24 pages long, is the reason for 4 stars instead of 5.

All in all, this book is highly recommended. It will improve your playing tremendously, and within a short period of time.

Rating:
Summary: A great resource, if you're willing to put in the work
Review: My guitar teacher recommended this to me, and I was surprised when I got it. It was so short, compared to the Ted Greene bible of every chord ever made! Where were the chord names? Not even the roots were marked! What was I supposed to do with this book?

My teacher told me to take each chord and try different roots on it. One shape can have several distinct functions. Record each voicing in a modal vamp that ascends chromatically each measure and practice playing a coherent line over it. Use one voicing to play a whole progression, or practice voice leading with many different chords. If you're willing to experiment, everything you really need to know about jazz chords is in this book.