When improvising, what your mind hears is more often than not determined by what your body can reproduce on your instrument. Much of your conception as an improviser is determined by your technique. If you can't play certain types of ideas, you are simply not going to conceive of them while you are improvising. Even if you could, it wouldn't matter, since you couldn't play them anyway. This book presents serious chops-building technical studies for single note lines and chords. Plus, the examples feature a lot of harmonic content. The material is written in standard notation.

Learn modern jazz guitar and theory with virtuoso Jens Larsen

(Guitar Solo). Jazz guitarist Matt Otten, who has over 23,000 subscribers on his YouTube page which includes hundreds of video lessons, has authored this book featuring 16 jazz guitar selections in standard notation and tab. Songs include: Beautiful Love * Comecar De Novo * Days of Wine and Roses * Dolphin Dance * Estate * How Insensitive (Insensatez) * In Love in Vain * Laurie * Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) * My Foolish Heart * My Funny Valentine * My One and Only Love * My Romance * Nature Boy * Never Let Me Go * You Must Believe in Spring.

(Musicians Institute Press). Perfect for seasoned rockers seeking new challenges and jazz newcomers looking for a good start, this book/CD pack covers scales, chords, licks, techniques and other vital jazz improv concepts step by step. The accompanying CD features 65 full-band demo and play-along tracks.

General Reference

Anyone with a knowledge of basic chords and guitar scale fingerings can dig right in and start learning to play jazz right away. Spanning from the major scale and basic triad theory all the way up to extended chords and the modes, this book features a full-length etude or song to go with every new concept introduced. Beginning Jazz Guitar breaks the age-old tradition of dry, intimidating and confusing jazz books, and provides an actual step-by-step and enjoyable method for learning to play in this style. Clearly organized into easily mastered segments, each chapter is divided into separate lessons on harmony or improvisation. All music is shown in standard notation and TAB.