About Volume 2

Before you read my description of each level, I have a disclaimer. I believe that unless you are truly advanced, there are many aspects of  jazz guitar improvisation that can’t be properly learned without having regular interaction with a qualified mentor through “one on one” instruction. Having said that, unless you consider yourself fairly advanced, or are on very tight budget, I recommend that you join at the Platinum level so I can personally mentor you and help take your playing to the next level. Please keep this in mind when making your decision regarding which level to choose…

The Silver Level simply enables you to purchase the 3 E-Books that comprise the Bebop Guitar Improv Series…the Lesson Book, Workbook and Scales & Arpeggios book. After purchasing the books you can register to download the accompanying MP3s and Band In A Box files of all the featured etudes and selected exercises. This is a good choice if you are an intermediate jazz player and have a fair amount of sightreading ability as well as the confidence to work out the etudes and exercises without the aid of the added demonstrations and explanations provided by the online videos. It is also the best option if you are on a very limited budget and don’t want to miss out on this information. At $49.95 it is a steal even if I say so! I have taught the contents of this series at various universities and I can guarantee that you are getting a good 4 semesters worth of Jazz Improv Theory as applied to the guitar, condensed into 3 books!

The Gold Level is probably the wisest and most popular choice, especially if you are on a budget. For $89.95, only $40 more than the Silver Level, you get: the 3 books / the downloads / 150+ HD streaming videos demonstrating and explaining every detail in the books / access to a members forum where you can discuss any subject within the program with other participants / plus several added bonuses not available in the book.

All of this is available to you 24/7 for 12 months for a one time payment of $89.95! This is definitely serious bang for your buck! Even though you can find fragments of the information presented here for free, scattered throughout the internet, if you wanted to learn it in an orderly logical manner you would have to enroll in a good music school! This in turn would cost you thousands of $$$ and put you under the pressure of  having to master it in a limited amount of time. Of course, this would be fine if you were going for a music degree. However, if you are like most players interested in jazz these days, you most likely have another source of income and want to learn this art at your own leisure without breaking the bank! On the other hand, even if you happen to be planning on going to school for a music degree, your small investment in this program is going to help prepare and place you well ahead of the rest in your scholastic endeavor.

The Platinum Level includes everything featured in the Gold Level and on top of that, it adds 6 -30 minute “one on one” Skype Lessons, the Arpeggio Frameworks book and video supplements and a host of other exclusive resources that will further guarantee that you truly learn! Like I said in my initial disclaimer, jazz improvisation is not something that most guitarists can learn on their own. Believe me, I tried back in the day, and I wasted precious years trying to “reinvent the wheel”.  Fortunately I finally got wise and hooked up with several great mentors who set me on the right path. Today I am happy to do the same with my students and pass on the valuable knowledge and advice I received from them.

At the risk of sounding like a salesman (which I’m not!!), the Platinum level is obviously the best value for your money! For $199.00, only $109.00 more than the Gold Level, you get my undivided attention for 6 -30 minute sessions, which you can schedule at your convenience anytime during the first 9 months of the program! If you do the math you’ll learn that each lesson comes out to roughly $18! That is way under my pay grade and for that matter, of any musician with my expertise and credentials. However, after giving it lots of thought, I have decided to accept a fixed number of Platinum members because I believe that these are the truly serious and committed students that are in it for the long haul. And yes, these are the students I love to teach and am personally interested in helping out. Furthermore, I am confident that many of them will continue with me long after this initial course is over.

I have experienced that those that regularly interact with me through “one on one” lessons make much more progress than those that don’t. Every player is at a different level and has different challenges. The ups and downs of the learning process often requires the personal guidance of a mentor. As a result, through the Platinum Level I want to make available to you my expertise teaching jazz improvisation for over 20 years and personally oversee your progress in learning this art. I look forward in guiding you and answering any questions you may have during this journey.

Please keep in mind that the Platinum Level has a limited capacity throughout the year and is subject to availability. If it is not available at the time you wish to enroll, you may request to be placed on the waiting list. Your other option is to enroll in the Gold Level and purchase “one on one” Private Skype Lessons.

If you enroll in the Platinum program, it includes 6 “one on one” Skype lessons which will provide  personal guidance and ensure you are on the right track with all the assignments. Otherwise, you can always purchase an individual lesson every now and then if the need arises. For more info please check out “Private Lessons”.

In addition, the members forum is also a great place to post and seek answers to any questions you might have about the subjects being thought. Here you will also benefit from those questions posed by others.

Yes, but preferably during your first 3 months in order to avoid the possible accumulation of wrong practice habits and thus save you valuable time and frustration! The main difference between the Gold and Platinum Levels is that the latter includes 6 half hour “one on one” Skype Lessons and some free evaluations of your assignments. Because these lessons are offered at a substantially discounted price and must be scheduled during the first 9 months of the program, they have a limited capacity. In all honesty, the number of “one on one” lessons I can commit to teach in a given month has a “ceiling”, which means that there is no guarantee of their availability throughout the whole year.

If you want to take advantage of this special offer, I recommend you grab it now if it is available. Otherwise  you always have the option to sign up for Skype Lessons at the normal rate, should the need arise (See Private Lessons) .

Band in a Box by PG Music, is a piece of software available for both Mac and PC which allows you to type in the chords for any song using standard chord symbols (like C, Fm7, or C13b9), choose the style you’d like, and it automatically generates a complete professional-quality arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar, and strings or horns. It retails for approximately $129.00, if you purchase the Pro version without all the unnecessary bells and whistles.

You don’t have to own or purchase the program to enroll in this program. MP3s of all available jazz etudes and specific exercises are available for download in 2 tempos. For those that already have the program or wish to purchase it, alternate versions of the material on the MP3s are also available for download as Band in a Box files. The advantage here is that if you open up any of these files in Band in a Box and hit play, you will not only be able to hear the given etude or exercise, but you will be able to alter its playback to any tempo you desire, loop any number of measures and transpose it to any key with the simple click of a button. All of this is very advantageous when you want to play along in a certain key or at a specific tempo if the those provided in the MP3s end up being either too slow or fast for your level or rate of progress. Something to consider…