THE LUTHIER'S HANDBOOK, A Guide to Building Great Tone in Acoustic Stringed Instruments. Roger H. Siminoff.

INCLUDES : STRING GAUGE CALCULATOR

LIBRO MANUALE DI ACUSTICA DEI LEGNI E DI LIUTERIA PER CHITARRA ACUSTICA.

CALCOLATORE PER DETERMINARE IL GIUSTO SPESSORE DELLE CORDE. 

Series: Book
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Medium: Softcover
Author: Roger H. Siminoff

An essential item for the instrument builder, The Luthier's Handbook explores the secrets and science behind making good-sounding acoustic stringed instruments. Renowned author Roger H. Siminoff brings to the table more than four decades of luthiery experience and shares the time-tested philosophies, tips and technology of the craft. As the ideal complement to other books on building instruments, this text describes the structural and acoustical attributes of air chambers; what to listen for when tap-tuning; selecting a good piece of wood; placement of the braces and tone bars and how to tune them; how to select the right strings; what to consider in bridge design concepts; and much more. Includes a free String Gauge Calculator for determining the right set of strings. 96 pages.

SIMINOFF

THE MYSTIQUE:
I am a hardcore sailor. And while I sail a fairly modern
sailboat with the latest electronic gear, I have dreamt of the
great crossings of Columbus, Balboa, Erikson, and the rest.
I ponder their bravety, their fortitude, and that certain charm
and splendor that accompanies such heroic and fearless
acts of long ago. And, I wonder how they connected with
their vessels and understood their whereabouts in the
absence of today's modern technologies.
The craft of lutherie boasts such connection. It calls upon
the introduction of modern tools while carrying the
mystique of leather aprons, handmade chisels, smelly
hide glue, and the hands of artisans like Stradivarius,
Guanari, as well as the more contemporary work of
Gibson, Martin, and others.
As sailors learned from the rutters (diaries) of sailors
before them, we have learned from the rutters
(instruments) of these great craftsmen. We evaluate their
measurements, count their grain lines, test their finishes,
and listen to the musical wonderment of instruments
hundreds of years old. Not only do we love how old
instruments sound, we love how old they smell.
It is often suggested that technicians of yesteryear
seemed to do a better job than we can today ... that they
had some secret sauce that made their instruments
sound sweeter. What did they know that we don't? How
did they learn to do that? Who did they learn it from?
And, the most commonly asked question; why does that
"pre-war" instrument sound better than any of those
made today?

THE REALITY:
Maybe one should ask, "what did it sound like then?" As
my friend Mike Longworth of C.F.Martin used to recount,
"we have never learned to make a new instrument that is
100 years old!" Age, and the contribution that time and
years of playing make to an instrument is one of the major
dividing lines between today's lutherie and yesterday's.
The truth is, we have more knowledge about wood and
finishes today than craftspeople did 100 or more years
ago. Our tools are better as are our measuring devices.
Our adhesives are better and our finishes are better and
more durable. The ability to season wood correctly greatly
exceeds what was done in the past by stacking, stickering,
sealing, air drying, and keeping fingers crossed. And, with
today's modern machining and CAD/CAM devices, we can
hob out a neck or body, gang-saw perfectly aligned fret
slots, and build production instruments almost faster than
the wink of an eye.

THE VISION:
There are a lot of wonderful books on instrument
construction and maintenance authored by some of the
best luthiers (and good friends) in the business. I'm guilty
of authoring four. The Luthier's Handbook is not about
making good instruments, but about understanding the
science behind making instruments that sound good. My
goal here is to go behind the scenes and talk about the
philosophy and technology involved in this craft including:
why we choose certain woods, howto select a good piece
of wood, where to put the braces and tone bars, how to
select the right string gauges, whatto listen for when taptuning,
howto tune the components, and more.
My primary focus in this text is on issues which are
acoustical or structural in nature - I'll leave the
cosmetics and instrument design up to you. For example,
I am concerned about the height and weight of the bridge
as it relates to transferring and driving the strings' energy
to the soundboard. While the design is certainly tied to the
bridge's functionality, in this book, I am only concerned
about selection of wood and shape as it relates to
acoustical properties and providing the right leverage or
torque. I talk about finishes from a strictly acoustical
standpoint - whether you choose dull or matte, sunburst
or plain, tinted or clear, is up to you. If your instrument
has a tailpiece, I speak about how it works and not how it
is engraved or plated.
You can build the instrument, I want to help you think
about it. I want to share my experiences of more than 40
years with you. All you have to do is read, think, and, I
hope, build better instruments.

CHAPTER 1

ZEN AND THE ART OF BUILDING ACOUSTIC STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
There are many steps to building instruments and a life
full of opportunities to learn to use them. Practice and
devotion to the craft will help you achieve the knowledge
expected of a luthier.
The great philosopher John Locke, said that "knowledge
was the agreement or disagreement of two or more
ideas." The length of time you spend practicing and
focusing on your craft will develop wisdom (knowledge
plus experience). And, if you have the gift of creativity
and the art of sensitivity, you are clearly on your way to
plateaus of satisfaction and achievement beyond your
wildest dreams.
Whether you build only one or many instruments, you
will learn processes that take you from A to Z. You will
learn to select the right materials. You will learn
techniques and tricks. And, you will learn - from trial
and error - how to work each step through until you
arrive at the desired destination. You will, I hope, learn
from your mistakes and failures. These become the real
tools and secrets of your trade.
But it is not the knowledge and wisdom that will make
you a great luthier. Rather it is the application of this
knowledge and wisdom that become your fingerprint,
your signature. In the final analysis, it is how you apply
the combination of your skills that will herald what people
will see in you through the instruments you build.
Beyond these traits, there is another piece that others will
not see. There is a component of the real you, should you
choose to accept the challenge, that speaks to how you
wear the inner garb of luthier, and how you personally
accept the challenge of devoting your life to being a true
instrument maker.
I know of some luthiers who approach their craft almost
spiritually. They attempt to maintain the greatest presence
of mind and rationality when they are building an
instrument. Their approach to instrument construction is
not just mechanical, but sensual as well- with all of their
senses invited to take part in the process. Their beliefs on
how parts work, and how parts fit, and their reverence for
wood is, to say the least enlightening. To them, the
instrument is not just a bunch of pieces glued together,
but instead an imaginary entity being contained by sides,
top, and back - each of which plays an important role in
unifying the whole. Each corner is not a joint, but the
union of two planes. Each line has a purpose. Each curve
has a thought. Everything has a wholeness, beginning
from the builder's complete vision, continuing through a
finished instrument, and ending with a glorious tone.
I think there is much to be said for having a feeling - a
sense - of what do and how to do it, in addition to the
mechanical knowledge of the craft itself.
While an industrial design student at Parsons School of
Design, I remember being exposed to the idea of feeling
art from the inside of the piece as well as from the
outside. A chair, for example, wasn't just a nice form to
look at; it has an internal meaning and shape, too. You
may have seen sculptors who worked as hard on the
inside of the piece as they did on the outside. Their art
has no boundaries; it is not just outer shapes, but an
entire multi-dimensional piece of sculpture.
When I was living in New Jersey, I had the pleasure of
knowing Keith Ferris, a highly respected artist who
specialized in renderings of Air Force and Navy aircraft.
His work is superb. I remember watching him begin a
wall-size piece of art of several aircraft. His first lines
were those of the superstructure and struts. Then he
penciled in the fuel tanks and innermost components of
the plane. Finally, he covered all of that line work, hiding
it forever under his paint as he completed the picture of
the planes' exteriors. He knew his aircraft were right -
because everything inside them was in place.
To those luthiers I mentioned previously, creating the truss
rod pocket, slot, and filler strip, and gluing in the truss rod,
is as important a procedure as polishing the sound board's
face, even though the rod will not be seen once the
instrument is completed.
The creative process has no boundaries. There are no
rules, there are no guidelines. Anything goes - at least
in the realm of thought. The truly creative work we see in
luthiery comes from free-thinking craftspeople who have
learned the thrill of allowing their minds to take them
away from their textbooks, workbenches, and tools to a
place where they can think, envision, and dream,
returning only when they are ready to create.
For the creative luthier, the mind takes great risk. Their
work is typically unconventional, untraditional, and
possibly unmarketable. They spend a great deal of time
pursuing the infinite aspects of their instruments so ...

An essential item for the instrument builder, The Luthier's Handbook explores the
secrets and science behind making acoustic stringed instruments. Renowned author
Roger H. Siminoff brings to the table more than four decades of luthiery experience
and shares the time-tested philosophies, tips, and technology of the craft.

The Luthier's Handbook includes expert advice on:
Wood selection
Tap tuning
Bridge designs
Bracing and tone bar configurations
Soundboard design and construction
String selection
Truss rods
Tools and fixtures
Much more ...

"When you're in the music business for any length of time, you have the opportunity
of meeting the 'best of the best' ... people like Roger Siminoff. As a designer,
musician, and luthier always looking to make stringed musical instruments better,
Roger has a rare talent for doing just that. Having worked on many projects with him,
I can't say enough about his thoroughness and intuitive skills. As a writer, he expresses
ideas from his heart but with a complete understanding of the subject matter."
Bruce J. Bolen
V.P. Marketing Development
Fender Musical Instruments

 Preface
 Chapter 1 - Introduction
 Chapter 2 - How It Works
 Chapter 3 - Woods
 Chapter 4 - Structure
 Chapter 5 - Bridges
 Chapter 6 - Sound boards
 Chapter 7 - Truss Rods
 Chapter 8 - Strings
 Chapter 9 - Tailpieces
 Chapter 10- Finishes
 Chapter 11 - Tuning The Assembly
 Chapter 12 - Wrap Up
 Index
 About the Author

FAST FORWARD, JAZZ GUITAR IMPROVISATION. CD TABLATURE

LIBRO DI MUSICA PER CHITARRA CON CD E TABLATURE

So you want to play jazz and improvise like a real pro? This book will show you how, fast! First learn a few basics: the all-important scales, fingering and chord sequences, starting with a simple Bossa nova solo. then move on to arpeggios and more complex patterns such as the be-bop scale. Experiment with melodic shapes and discover the jazz-based blues progression used at most standard jazz gigs. The music examples then demonstrate rhythmic and free flowing ideas with lots of tips on the advanced techniques used by professional jazzers. In no time at all you will be creating your own solos in the style of such great jazz legends as Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall.
Five complete solos are included in the book in easy-to-follow tab.
On the CD you'll find a matching audio track to every music example in the book. Each track is recorded twice: first with the guitar, the with backing track only so you can play the guitar part.

Playing A Solo
Imagine you're in a recording studio. The red
light is on; there's a session in progress. You can
just about make out the faces of the engineer and
the other band members behind the glass. You're
holding a guitar, and through your headphones
you're listening to the tracks for a newly-recorded
song. Verses and choruses pass by, and soon ...
very soon ... it will be time to record a solo. How
confident would you feel about playing the
session?

FastForward Jazz Guitar Improvisation will
give you the confidence to create awe-inspiring
jazz solos and breaks. No-one can teach you how
to improvise - however, you can learn a lot about
technique and musical sense to give you a better
chance of being able to playa great solo when
the time comes!
The book is divided into five sections. Each
section represents a different recording session
and a different style of playing, including Bossa
Nova, and Blues and Jazz progressions. Before
each solo, you get to playa few simple phrases at
a slow tempo and practise some scale patterns
and some other ideas that you could use in a solo
of your own.
Then it's your chance to learn a solo (usually 24
bars) that fits the chord sequence and is
accompanied by a 'Spotlight on Technique' which
focuses on some of the ideas featured in the solo.
Later, you can use the backing tracks to
improvise your own lead breaks. Each backing
track is twice the length of the solo track, to give
you more time to get your creative juices going!
Along the way this book will answer some of the
common questions players have about soloing:
What scales should I be using?
Do I have to change the scale when the chord
changes?
Which scales go with jazz? Are these the same as
for other styles of music?
What is syncopation?
Which scales go with which key?
How do I build a whole solo?
How do I make the scales I know sound more
like a solo?

Each example is given in musical score and in
guitar tablature. With the latter each number
indicates the fret at which the note is played,
each line is a string. If you find it hard to
remember which way up they go, think always of
pitch: high notes are above low notes, therefore
the high-sounding string (1st E) is at the top.
Each musical example is played once with the
lead guitar, and once without. The first is for you
to learn by listening, the second 'play-along' track
is for you to practise.
The examples have a one-bar count-in.
TRACK I Tuning notes

Guitar Tablature Explained
Introduction
Playing A Solo

Chapter 1: The Big Bossa
Bossa Nova Scale Shapes
Arpeggio Chord Tones
Five-note Scale
Scale Patterns
Spotlight On Techniques
The Big Bossa (solo)

Chapter 2: Where's Montgomery?
Blues Scales
Blues Arpeggios
Arpeggio Impro
Solo Patterns
Spotlight On Techniques
Where's Montgomery? (solo)

Chapter 3: Tune For Toots
Scale Shapes
Repeating Patterns
Arpeggio Shapes
Classic Chord Sequence
Spotlight On Techniques
Tune For Toots (solo)

Chapter 4: Bygones
The Circle Of Fifths
Half-scale Patterns
Arpeggios In Fifths
D Minor Arpeggio Patterns
Spotlight On Techniques
Bygones (solo)

Chapter 5: Song For Sonny And Jim
Standard Scale Shapes
Repeated Scale Patterns
Standard Arpeggio Shapes
Chord Tone Patterns
Spotlight On Techniques
Song For Sonny And Jim (solo)
Conclusion
 

ULTIMATE PLAY-ALONG, JUST CLASSIC JAZZ GUITAR 1. SHEET MUSIC BOOK WITH CD JAM ALONG & GUITAR TABLATURE. 

LIBRO DI MUSICA JAZZ CON CD.

CD DI BASI PER CHITARRA. 

SPARTITI PER CHITARRA CON:

ACCORDI, PENTAGRAMMA, TABLATURE.

Ogni titolo è arrangiato in: CHORD-MELODY SOLO, GUITAR SOLO CON TABLATURE, LEAD SHEET.

Basi: Body and soul -days of wine and roses -star dust -invitation -over the rainbow -'round midnight -Laura -when I fall in love -in a sentimental mood. CD TABLATURE

MONTGOMERY WES, FOR GUITAR TAB. SHEET MUSIC BOOK WITH GUITAR TABLATURE. 

LIBRO DI MUSICA JAZZ.

SPARTITI PER CHITARRA CON: 

ACCORDI, PENTAGRAMMA, TABLATURE. 

Eleven great songs in easy-to-read guitar tablature and standard notation. 96 pages.

Airegin
Besame Mucho
Blue'n'boogie
Dearly Beloved
Ecaroh
Golden Earrings
In Your Own Sweet Way
Satin Doll
The Way You Look Tonight
Whisper Not
Yesterdays

introduction
by andy jones
John L. 'Wes' Montgomery was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on 6 March 1923. He started playing the guitar at the age of 19, moving quickly from a four-string guitar to the six-string model. His first influence was the great Charlie Christian.
Wes immediately set about transcribing Christian's recorded solos. One of his first gigs had him reproducing Christian's solos note for note. He wouldn't play anything else!
Wes lapped up information from colleagues and was soon working in his own right. By 1948 he was playing with Lionel Hampton's big band, but, ever the family man, he still operated around Indianapolis.
In 1959 the great alto saxophonist Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley heard Wes one night and immediately decided to introduce him to a wider public.
On Cannonball's recommendation Wes secured a deal with Riverside, beginning an extremely fruitful collaboration which was to revolutionise jazz guitar. Later on he also recorded some fantastic music for the jazz label Verve. Wes was to encounter some criticism over some later recordings with orchestra which focused on lighter pop tunes, but even on these dates there's always something worth checking out. Wes died on 15 June 1968 after a heart attack.
Wes played with his right-hand thumb. He had amazing facility and could play things that few guitarists could come close to even with a plectrum. Wes plays fast eighth-note passages so strongly that he must have used both up and down strokes with his thumb. He also popularised the use of octaves in melodic playing - with fantastic command, as ever. One of the marks of a great player is that he can make very difficult passages sound effortless. Wes always had a strong sound on the instrument where many players lose a considerable amount of tone at fast tempos.
In rhythmic innovation Wes was right up to the minute. He was probably the first guitar player to really absorb the intricacies of rhythm cooked up by the more adventurous modern jazz drummers. He has the ability to really nail a heavy jazz eighth-note feel but he also plays rhythms which use odd groupings of beats, and he could even play all over the underlying pulse. Few guitar players have ever had this hip kind of feel. It's no surprise that John Coltrane asked Wes to be in his great band with Elvin Jones (Wes said no, thinking he wasn't up to the job).
Wes was a true improviser. You can hear this quite clearly by listening to out-takes from his records
(many of the CD reissues of his albums come with out-takes as bonus tracks). His lines encompass
bebop, blues and a free-wheeling approach to melodic improvising. He also had an extremely advanced sense of chord movement, often introducing sly chord substitutions into his treatments of standard tunes. His own tunes are full of hip jazz harmony. Check out 'Twisted Blues' from 'So Much Guitar'.
Regarded as one of the finest jazz musicians on any instrument, Wes is still studied by all serious
aspiring jazz guitarists.
 

JAZZ GUITAR FAVORITES. CD TABLATURE

LIBRO DI MUSICA, SPARTITI PER CHITARRA CON CD E TABLATURE. 

6 titoli:

-All The Things You Are, Hank Garland

-I Hear A Rhapsody, Howard Roberts

-Oleo, Pat Martino

-Speak Low, Barney Kessel

-When Sunny Gets Blue, George Barnes

-Yesterdays, Wes Montgomery
 

Series: Guitar Collection
Medium: Softcover with CD
Arranger: Jack Grassel

Guitar transcriptions for these standards: All The Things You Are/Hank Garland - I Hear a Rhapsody/Howard Roberts - Oleo/Pat Martino - Speak Low/Barney Kessel - When Sunny Gets Blue/George Barnes - Yesterdays/Wes Montgomery.
40 pages

Table of contents :
All The Things You Are
I Hear A Rhapsody
Oleo
Speak Low
When Sunny Gets Blue
Yesterdays

INTRODUCTION

This publication represents a new format in jazz education which allows the learning improvisor and professional to access the benefits of studying classic guitar solos. Most transcription books require that the recordings (if available) be searched out, purchased, and only listened to since most players in the developmental stages of their playing would not have the technique to play the solos up to tempo. The solos in this book are:

1. Played in tune; many old recordings have been sped up to improve fidelity, raising the pitch as much as a whole step.

2. Recorded at an easy-to-play slow practice tempo.

3. Also recorded at a fast tempo slightly slower than the original, making performance attainable sooner.

4. Recorded on modern equipment with fidelity surpassing the original recordings with a modern rhythm section. Bass and drums are monophonic on both channels. Piano is on the right only. Guitar is on the left only.With your "balance control" you can choose what you want to hear. The solos are arranged in progressive order of technical difficulty.We chose performances that are most representative of each master's contribution to the development of jazz guitar.

Barney Kessel: This solo demonstrates his use of hard-driving melodic development and some of the first string bending on record by a jazz artist.

Wes Montgomery: The tone of the jazz guitar was forever changed by this man's thumb while adding to the post-bop vocabulary.

Howard Roberts: This early solo displays his formidable jazz talent which became unavailable to the public as Howard persued his pop hits, studio work and teaching careers in the late sixties.

Hank Garland: This Country-Western studio player shocked the jazz world in the early sixties with
his incredible jazz technique and swinging melodies.

George Barnes: With the use of almost every technique known to man, George uses bending, slides,
and hammer-ons to create a high level of expression seldom heard on the guitar.

Pat Martino: This solo is from the seventies after Pat had left his Wes Montgomery-influenced early
playing and developed his present polytonal-chromaticism, which is much different than the traditional jazz guitar approach.

The final form you see here is the result of an entire year of work; researching and choosing great solos, transcribing and proofreading for accuracy, countless hours of practicing and recording. Our motive is to increase the quality of jazz guitar playing and to preserve music which is or may become "out of print." Jeff Schroedl at Hal Leonard was a big help in developing and improving the book.

Up until starting this project I had avoided playing other's solos thinking that my own unique style of playing would be compromised. After spending a year with these masters, I've noticed that I have retained my original conception of guitar music, but have acquired a technical depth and more tools to play my music my way. So I now recommend this study to any jazz guitarist at any level.
Special thanks to the fine rhythm section who did their homework: Jim Sodke-keys, Del Bennett-drums, Tom McGirr-bass, and also Bill Littlefield-recording engineer.