The Classical Guitarist's Guide to Jazz

Book excerpt: Guitarist and composer Andrew York presents the ultimate guide to jazz for classical guitarists. The first two sections of this three-part book cover jazz harmony and chord/melody, focusing on comping, chord voicings, voice leading, and arranging for solo guitar. Part three looks at improvisation, which may be the most exciting---yet foreign---aspect of jazz for classical guitarists. York shows you that improvisation is a skill that can be learned and practiced just like any other. By practicing the ear training and visualization exercises in this book, you will learn how to turn the music you hear in your mind's ear into imaginative, great-sounding jazz solos. The CD contains the exercises and examples performed by the author.