The Best Jazz Guitar Books for Beginners and Intermediate Players

For the novice guitarist, the world of Jazz guitar may be frightening. There are so many new things to learn and it can be difficult to choose the best Jazz guitar books to learn from.

There are dozens of Jazz guitar books available, many of which include comparable material and knowledge.

Some books are more suited to chord training, and to develop your harmony skills, while others intend to improve reading abilities and even improvisation and soloing. 

Whether your goal is to develop a strong rhythmic sense, improve your creative abilities while improvising, learn different chord voicings, progressions, and alternatives, or comprehend the theory that strengthens it all, these Jazz guitar books will help you!

Best Jazz Guitar Books for Beginners 

Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar

Level: Beginner

Writer: Joseph Alexander

For almost 20 years, Joseph Alexander has been a professional guitar player and music teacher. His instructional books have sold over 600,000 copies in four languages and have received worldwide critical praise. 

Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar focuses on teaching guitar players how to develop chord changes and adapt the soloing to them. The emphasis on the 2-5-1 chord progression is one of the most important chord progressions for guitarists to learn.

The book also focuses extensively on how you can use arpeggios to form the basis of your soloing, and how to incorporate different notes.

If you want to master the skill of playing the best Jazz guitar, you should read Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar by Joseph Alexander. It is especially helpful for beginners learning Jazz guitar solos since it teaches you step by step in-depth so that your fundamentals are strong enough.

It includes live recorded examples, hints, and tactics to make your learning experience more engaging. 

Most people struggle with Jazz guitar solo playing, but with this book, you can master it. It will also assist you in producing smooth chord tones and chord progressions.

Furthermore, it has all of the necessary ideas and strategies for mastering the art of guitar playing, particularly if you want to add the authentic modern Jazz taste like other famous Jazz guitarists such as Joe Pass.

Jody Fisher’s Jazz Guitar Chord-Melody Course

Level: Beginner 

Writer: Jody Fisher

Jody Fisher is a Jazz guitarist and guitar instructor who is best known for his solo guitar concerts and albums. He has worked professionally in many musical forms and has played and taught seminars and courses all over the globe.

Jody Fisher is one of the most prominent Jazz guitarists, instructors, performers, and authors in the United States. Jody Fisher offers a simple approach to creating and arranging diverse chord voicings that do not sound boring.

If you are looking to learn more about Jazz guitar chords, and voicings this is one of the best Jazz guitar books for that.

It contains easy-to-follow and detailed techniques that can be practiced and incorporated into your playing.

Hal Leonard Guitar Method – Jazz Guitar

Level: Beginner

Writer: Joseph Alexander

Jeff Schroedl produced an instructional guide in his late teens and was approached by his publisher, Hal Leonard, to join them. Since its inception in 1947, Hal Leonard has been committed to music publishing. 

Along the way, the firm has been a leader in music publications and a pioneer in many formats.

Hal Leonard Guitar Method – Jazz Guitar features 40 different great Jazz standards. It is one of the most practical Jazz guitar books because it is mostly based on well-known Jazz standards. 

This guidebook combines authentic Jazz melodies to teach students the principles of many great, vintage Jazz guitarists, which will help you improvise deeper and enhance your talents.

Chord changes, solo styles, licks and phrases, and much more are all included in the book. 

It also includes example tracks, and a section-by-section approach for changing chord progressions, among other things, to help you learn Jazz guitar skills. 

These techniques might help you stand out by learning new sounds. Finally, you’ll be able to combine classic and current Jazz music techniques.

Best Jazz Guitar Books for Intermediate Players

Advanced Jazz Guitar Concepts

Level: Intermediate 

Writer: Jens Larsen and Joseph Alexander

Jens Larsen is a guitarist-composer from the Netherlands who has played and recorded across Europe, North America, and Africa. With his group Traeben, he has recorded three albums, all of which have been warmly received by both the public and the press. 

He wrote many books, but Advanced Jazz Guitar Concepts is one of his best books. He wrote it in partnership with Joseph Alexander, a guitarist and excellent music instructor for many years, who has also written Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar.

If you want to develop your Jazz guitarist abilities, this advanced Jazz guitar ideas book will help you do that. This book provides a comprehensive method for improving your soloing expertise via triad sets, quarterly harmony utilization, and understanding of when to employ modified chords. 

This book teaches you the guitar abilities and principles of several well-known musicians. 

It also teaches you interval rhythms, which you may use to produce passionate leaps during your Jazz solos. These approaches will assist you in differentiating yourself and acquiring new sounds by shifting chords. Finally, you will be able to combine old and modern Jazz music phrasing to improve your tone.

Rhythm Changes for Jazz Guitar

Level: Intermediate

Writer: Tim Pettingale and Joseph Alexander

Tim Pettingale has worked in international publications for almost 20 years. Before starting his publishing consultancy, he worked with numerous UK publishers. As a musician, he has followed his love for Jazz guitar for many years. He co-wrote this book alongside Joseph Alexander, a brilliant guitarist who has written numerous books on Jazz guitar.

If you want to learn how to play Jazz guitar solos for the most traditional Jazz chord progressions, then rhythm charge is one of the best Jazz guitar books for that. Every Jazz guitarist needs to be aware of all chord sequences, which is why Rhythm Changes for Jazz Guitar will help you.

It focuses in detail on chord progressions, voicings, and chord changes. It is a manual guide on chord replacements that may use to brighten up basic changes. It provides fresh concepts that help you to build your own Jazz chord voicings. 

Mickey Baker’s Course on Jazz Guitar

Level: Intermediate

Writer: Mickey Baker

Mickey Baker’s Complete Course in Jazz Guitar is one of the most complete Jazz guitar books. It is a quick and easy method to learn a few new chord shapes, chord substitution concepts, and how to take an innovative solo.

Because the book is less academic, it stands out from other books in its field because it is more practical than theoretical. The excellent element is the assignment, which serves to keep readers interested.

The first section focuses on chords and progression. The second section focuses on single-note playing techniques such as scales, arpeggios, and melodic phrases.

Complete Book of Jazz Guitar Lines & Phrases

Level: Beginner

Writer: Sid Jacobs

Sid Jacobs created the syllabus for the Dick Grove School’s Advanced Bebop and Jazz Guitar course. As well as the Jazz Guitar program at the Musicians Institute (MI and GIT), where he still teaches. He published several books on various guitar courses.

Sid Jacobs wrote this thorough book for beginning Jazz guitarists. The guidebook has been described as a valuable addition to the current archives of beginner guitarists who are looking to learn improvisation.

This Jazz guitar book focus on soloing, phrasing, and licks. It is one of the best books available for Jazz guitar players to develop their soloing techniques and become better improvisers.

It includes information on whole-tone scales, pentatonic, licks, symmetrical scales, bebop phrase patterns, and many other topics.

It also includes musical notation and tabs which makes it accessible to pretty much everyone, even if you do not know how to read music.

Conclusion

Not everyone Jazz guitar player is the same. Some of us like to focus on the harmony part and would prefer to learn different voicings and chord progressions. While others are keen on developing their soloing ability and experimenting melodically. 

Others may not be able to find a good instructor nearby, or they may want to learn by themselves.

A Jazz guitar book may be the solution if you want to study Jazz guitar without a teacher.