[Review] Your Ultimate Jazz Book: Modern Method

[@IsothermeMusic]

Used these books as a Berklee guitar student in the late-80s and I still use the scale fingerings I learned almost 40 yrs ago. Bill Leavitt was a kind man who touched the lives of countless guitarists through his guidance, both in-person and through his materials.

[@johnhartley3022]

They are really good books. I went through volume 1 with a teacher when I didn’t really know anything and he had me play a couple pieces a week approach without a lot of analysis of what the lesson was all about. Read it, play it, move on. Decades later i went back through it to work on my horrible reading skills and found within each lesson all kinds of great triad and voice leading information etc that are not spelled out in the lesson. In really really really wish those things had been pointed out to me the first time through, would have had a huge impact on my playing.

[@salciaburri5133]

I remember getting book1 25 years ago. It was recommended by the curator of the American Guitar Museum on Long Island. He said, "Are you a reader?" "Then get yourself a Leavit book." Up to that point, I'd been learning from Mel Bay Modern method for a couple of years. Leavit book 1 was like a breathe of fresh air. All the beautiful jazzy sounding chords. It opened a whole new world for me. I became pretty proficient with a pick as never before in no time. I appreciate reading your review of this method and hearing other peoples comments. Im basically self taught and it is nice to hear others opinions about it.

[@jazzguitar]

It does open a whole new world for guitarists! Thanks for sharing :)

[@youren8]

I started with classical guitar lessons back in 1988 or so. My teacher asked me what classical albums we had at home? I said none. So he decided to start me on William Leavitt's Modern Method for Guitar Vol 1. Then sometime in 1990 he graduated me to a jazz guitar teacher, which was his former student. Left the Leavitt method behind. But years later I bought Volumes 2 and 3 and went through them At Steve Vai's Vai Academy they had a signing session. I had him sign volume 3 and he said "this looks familiar", because he went to Berkleee at one point before Zappa.

[@tmusic99]

Used them, parts 1 and 2 and some of part 3 in the seventies. Memorized much of the material and focused on listening to the ideas, built accurate picking technique, speed, and stamina. Do periodically revisit and find new hidden gems from time to time. This set of books is pure gold.

[@jazzguitar]

💯

[@richardmills9994]

Bonjour, Marc! You are spot-on with your analysis. I used this for my core practice at Jazz Music College. I had to stop due to illness, but i cannot bring myself to throw this book away. It's inside me. Best wishes and bonne chance.

[@darkoperkovic5544]

Thank you for the review! I have had this book for 24 years. I expected it to be The One book for guitar. Tried it out and felt it is a drill book, as you said, not yielding the results I was hoping for - knowing how to play music, especially jazz standards and improvisation. I always felt I didn't put enough effort in it and perhaps missed the point because of that. Thanks to your review I now can be at ease, it is what it is.

[@drew1841]

I’m going through this book now with my instructor. I hadn’t heard of it but came recommended by him as he is a Berklee grad and I can’t believe how good this book is. It does several things so well and all at the same time. Sight reading, chops building, finger dexterity and strength, etc. I feel like this is needed for almost everyone no matter where they are in their guitar journey.

[@jazzguitar]

Glad you picked it up! Enjoy :)

[@gustavegflaubert]

6 years ago I was stuck in my guitar playing mainly because I couldn't read music. I found the first Modern Method textbook I had as a teenager and started studying it. I then abandoned my entire musical repertoire to study this method in depth. It took me 2 years, 10 hours per week to complete the 3 textbooks. I did all the exercises and recorded them to make sure I incorporated them. In the end, I am satisfied that I have studied a wide range of music and I sometimes come back to it for more details. I think it's no longer a "modern method"... the learning style dates from the 60s. But I'm old and it suits me well. Some exercises took me at least 1 week to perfect. Fortunately, when I was stuck on certain exercises, I realized that many guitarists posted the exercises from the manual on KZbin. Do I recommend it? I would say yes because among all the manuals, it remains the most complete. On the other hand, you have to be patient but it's worth the cost.

[@jazzguitar]

It indeed requires some level of patience and diligence. Well done completing the 3 volumes! :)

[@mattwallis1893]

Still have my copies from the 80s. Pure gold.

[@urkosh]

Thank you, Marc. The hockey game parallel is very insightful.

[@jazzguitar]

Thank you!

[@harolddecker4666]

Thanks Mark. Working on book 1 now.

[@MyJ2B]

This ia a very balanced review of the pros/cons of this "classic" Berklee trio of textbooks. I agree with the sports analogy that it is comprehensive on skills/drills/theory aimed at the practice room. However, at game time (on the bandstand), there is a big gap to applying these skills spontaneously. Luckily, there are books (too many on my shelves) that fill the gap from theory to practice, but they are usually focused on single specfic topics ( e.g., quartal voicings, comping, improvisation). Lessons from a qualified instructor (like Marc-Andre) will guide each learner through this maze of options. Ultimately, nothing beats "learning by jamming" and performing publicly with other players. The jazz learning journey never ends - you just go through stages of growth, climbing a series of plateaus at successivley higher altitudes!

[@jazzguitar]

I completely agree!

[@joephillips4082]

I've been in and out of these books for about 50 years, and I agree with your hockey analogy. I said in and out because I keep coming back. I've played the simplest etudes and duets for the grounding and discipline of playing written music in time with a metronome. I think it was the Johnny Smith biography that said that Leavitt wrote the book as the first academic text on playing the steel string guitar pick style in a serious educational context. You're right, It's not exactly a jazz book, but it is a great book on learning to play music on our chosen instrument. It's not the only book necessary to play jazz guitar as we know it, but I think it belongs in everyone's library. Thanks for giving us your thoughts on this.

[@OGStazzy]

I just got this after getting a book called building jazz vocabulary and I couldn’t figure out to read and then along came this book somehow and now I have some basics to help me continue in hypedddddddd

[@michaelleavey6533]

I really liked what you said about this. I'm on book three right now page 101. Been working through the series over the last 2 years. It's made me a better reading musician but you must combine with learning real jazz tunes. This for me is a good supplement to transcribing solos, memorizing a core group of standards inside and out and playing with other jazz players.

[@jazzguitar]

Awesome! "A good supplement" is a great definition for this indeed

[@Bloozguy]

Book 1 is great. I would recommend getting the video version. It's truly a great stand alone teaching aide...not so much without the video accompaniment. A complete beginner that has a fairly good 'natural' ear for music, with a high degree of commitment & discipline, could, theoretically, get fairly good on guitar , all on their own, from just that one book. Larry really leaves no stone unturned. The big issue for a raw beginner , imho, would be to make sure you can get the guitar in tune. I'm just too much of a simpleton on guitar for that level of commitment now. lol. I would call this more like, a pre -jazz guitar method. A very solid foundation is laid out for you to now begin to study jazz guitar later, without being confused as like coming straight up from just the rock/blues world you learned just by ear. You just won't be learning anything like Eddie Van Halen here though, lol Larry Baione is a great teacher, and explains every single page of book 1 in video format, and you can play along with him, duets & all. Too bad they didn't have video for volume's 2 & 3. I think you would definitely need someone expert to guide you through them. Totally accurate assessment.... I should get back to it, but you know. Once you can run around the fretboard with pentatonics a bit, that book 1 brings you down a notch, .. maybe several, lol. I have dozens of books, mostly on rock/blues...how to....etc... a few jazz books, ... gypsy jazz etc, But I think Modern Method is the go-to book anyone serious about guitar should invest in. At least Volume 1 ..with video explanations. Fantastic indeed.

[@fenderlead1]

Thanks for the review. I will revisit them more up on my site reading than anything else. Is there a single book that will take you from point A to point B in jazz guitar? I don’t know… But I got a lot out of the Mickey Baker booksand I think a lot of well-known guitarist who started in the 60s and 70s also back to that book.

[@mbmillermo]

I think the great beginning jazz guitar book is the "Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar: Book 1". I know that Lenny Breau used it to teach Randy Bachman and that Robben Ford learned from it, too. Over the years I've heard the same from many other great players, and I haven't heard one bad thing about these books. When I look at my own experience, the first book in this series *immediately* improved my playing a lot and the effect is still there 40 years later. Robben Ford can still play what he learned in that first book and Randy Bachman used it to write some of his most famous songs. So this is my vote for the best way to start learning jazz guitar.

[@steevkelly]

towards the end you mention that it how it's missing more "modern" training (harmony that became popular in the 60's, t0's and 80's). is there a book(s) you would recommend that picks up where these leave off?

[@DeGroove]

I tend to believe this is a meaningful coincidence…I lately started thinking that I am really missing out not to be able to read music better than I currently do, I blame it on tabs… And I wanted to find a way to get at it again, when I saw your video, it occurred to me I had bought this book (3 in 1) years ago, but never managed to get through it. I’ve been playing for 30 years now. Thanks for bringing this to my attention again, this is the time, gonna grab it off the shell get at it!

[@jazzguitar]

Yes, this is the sign you were waiting for 😁

[@DavidGatto]

I have it - checking it out for nephew. I also recommend Ted Greene's series of books, especially chord chemistry. These are a necessary supplement and it will provide you with the only chord dictionary you will ever need. Also Berklee melodic rhythms should not be neglected.

[@jazzguitar]

Awesome! You can share these to our community if you'd like! :) www.skool.com/jazz-guitar-fellowship

[@frankaccardo2519]

He is correct-- but you have to realize that this was originally a book for Berklee students who were in theory classes, taking private lessons, in ensembles, and impromptu jams (the "game").

[@zeus-bx9xw]

in the middle of vol 1....will carry on, i like it

[@jazzguitar]

Awesome! I hope you enjoy reading further.

[@graemero5532]

Thanks Marc 😁

[@jazzguitar]

You're welcome! :)

[@kevinbyous6095]

Where did you have your book turned into a hardcover at?

[@jazzguitar]

I used to work at the municipal public library part-time ... I had some contacts in the "book-binding" world ;)

[@jfar3340]

imo this book is not a jazz method. It's good for sight reading and learning the fretboard, necessary for jazz (and any other style of music), but not a jazz method. Berklee just released a new method btw

[@jazzguitar]

That is true, this is generally for all guitarists, but is really helpful for jazz as well. Thanks for sharing!

[@armandosinger]

What’s the new method book called?

[@steevkelly]

@@armandosinger - berklee guitar theory by Dr. Kim Perlak - published april 1st 2023. it's on my list to get, i just have other books i'm working on atm.

[@Kevinschart]

Telling a student to fight through this book for the next 2 or 3 years has got to be the worst way to learn guitar. Not to mention you're learning to read while learning to play. I dint think berklee students have time for that. Most likely the professors are grabbing a few lessons from this books, and using them to emphasize their instruction. This is not a book for beginners, this is for guitar players good enough to be accepted into Berklee. You can work through a theory book in 6-9 months and have a much better understanding of how to make and play music of any genre. Everytime I skim through this book I'm thankful I sought out a different path.

[@jazzguitar]

Seems like skimming through the book and grabbing some key lessons. All the while taking music on the side is a really solid approach. Keep it up!

[@davidmilton9616]

There is no one book, and, there are better books available

[@pauldawn550]

Can you recommend any?