Written out chord melody arrangements will be regular additions. I will also post some arrangements and transcriptions from some of my former teachers and other great jazz/fingerstyle guitarist.

This will be a free site, all I ask is that you send me feedback on any of the information that will be posted here. I look forward to getting to know you.

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Chord Melody Solos - Sound Files

Chord melody solo based on "It Had To Be You"

A chord melody arrangement that plays off of the melody some improvised figures included.

Chord melody solo based on "Black Orpheus"

This arrangement incorporates material that I have learned from Jimmy Wyble's contrapuntal concepts. Check out the 2 etudes and you will see where many of these ideas came from. Mostly improvised with hints of the melody. Read through the Wyble Etudes #1 and #2 and find the phrases that I used in the Black Orpheus solo.

Chord melody solo based on "Autumn Leaves"

This arrangement also uses some of the same concepts that I have learned from Jimmy Wyble. This arrangement also hints of the melody while it is mostly improvised over the changes. The sound file is close to the printed page but not exact. I tried my best to play what I wrote! Enjoy -

Chord melody solo and reharmanization based on "Autumn Leaves"

This arrangement came about as a result of my study with the late great Ted Greene. Ted's arrangement was in a different key. Also Ted's arrangement was for electric guitar and didn't cross over well to the nylon string instrument. This revision transposed many of his ideas, revoiced many of his chords, changed fingerings and simplified some of his chord voicings. I tried to keep the essence of Ted's ideas and voice leading. He was such a master of chord melody guitar playing.

Improvisation based on "Alone Together"

I made this arrangement after hearing about Ted Greene's untimely passing. We had worked on Baroque improvisation and had analyzed Bach's music during the time that I studied with him. I have also had the opportunity to spend some time with Joe Diorio learning how he used Bach's ideas in his improvisations. This solo uses three different themes from the Courante from Partita #1 for solo violin the Fugue from Sonata #1 and an excerpt from Jimmy Wyble's Etude #1. I reworked the themes loosely around the melody and harmony from "Alone Together". I use this arrangement quite often as an introduction to the tune. I added a few bars of the tune at the end to show how I might transition into the jazz standard in swing time.

Jimmy Wyble Material - A Message from Jimmy Wyble

Etude 1 | Etude 2 | Etude 3 | Etude 4 | Etude 5 | Sound Files

Etudes 1 through 5 were originally published by Jimmy Wyble in a book called Classic Country. This book has been out of print for over three decades. There are so many cool moves in these works that they are very much worth learning. The synopsis below will give some of my insights into how I practice, analyze and organize these sounds and get them into my playing. It will be very easy to see how I came up with the ideas I did for both the "Autumn Leaves" arrangement as well as the "Black Orpheus" arrangement by learning these etudes. Again, enjoy!

Etude 1 Synopsis - Sound Files | Etude 3 Synopsis - Sound Files

A Lesson From Jimmy Wyble

This lesson sheds light on how Jimmy pratices, organizes his thoughts and creates the sounds and how he manipulates his lines. It is both very simple but at the same time brilliant.

Contrapuntal Concepts

Jimmy gave me this material last week (2/20/08) for the purpose of putting it out to the world. This information has never been published although it was used back in the late 70's as curriculum for GIT in Hollywood. These exercises were written before "The Art Of Two Line Improvisation" was originally published. There are many references in the manuscript to the contrapuntal etudes but not to the actual Two Line Improvisation book. These exercises were developed by Jimmy to help develop the technique and musicianship of his students to play his etudes. If the book "The Art of Two Line Improvisation" is challenging to you, then this material is a must have. If you don't have Jimmy's book - "The Art of Two Line Improvisation" - it is now back in print at MelBay.com. You have to order it directly off of the website. Enjoy!

Contrapuntal Scales: A lesson from Jimmy Wyble (March 6, 2008)

These are my notes from another lecture from his series at Musicians Institute. Jimmy also gave me some more material to add to this packet that he didn?t have a chance to work on that day as well as material that he would like to have added to this packet from a previous course that he taught at GIT in the 1970?s.

Developing Ideas: A Lesson from Jimmy Wyble - Sound Files

This packet comes from Jimmy's seminar he gave at Musicians Institute on March 13, 2008. Please click the link above to listen to sound files of the some of the examples. Enjoy.

Creative Practicing: A Lesson from Jimmy Wyble

This material is from a lecture that Jimmy presented at Musicians Institute on April 24, 2008. His goal for this information was to start with a simple chord shape and just go with it in as many different and creative directions as possible. So many musicians tend to practice the same thing over and over and never ask the question "what if". This lesson plan follows Jimmy's creative thought process as he kept coming up with new things to do on the guitar. I hope that these concepts will spark your creativity in your practicing.

Five Ideas from Jimmy Wyble - Sound Files

This information takes on a different angle. These are five of my favorite Jimmy Wyble licks and my goal for this packet is to help you learn how to incorporate these ideas into your playing.

Harmonic Comparisons - Sound Files

Harmonic Comparisons is a new lesson from Jimmy that adds yet another level of understanding to how Jimmy analyzes his lines and uses them. He sees different harmonies inside different chord shapes and applies this concept directly to his contrapuntal improvisation. I took this concept and tried it out against different harmonies, keys and tonal centers. I always thought that this was a major element to Jimmy's way of thinking and hearing music. This lesson confirms this. Enjoy!

Jimmy's Sketchbook - Sound Files

Welcome to a new section titled: Jimmy's Sketchbook. Jimmy has written out many solos and improvisations based on the changes to standard tunes. I look at this material not as chord melody arrangements but as beautiful compositions and studies based on a famous progression or tune. All the music in these volumes will be either composed and worked out by Jimmy himself or a transcription that Jimmy has personally approved both the fingering and notation.

Jimmy's Sketchbook - Vol I

This is an arrangement that Jimmy wrote based on the changes to the tune "Sweet Georgia Brown".