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About is Book

Without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges Jazz Guitarist face is learning to read music at a level which is
on par with their piers who play piano, any of the woodwind or brass instrumentalists or jazz drummers.
Whether or not it is actually more difficult to read music on guitar as compared to other instruments is a hotly
debated topic, one which guitarists staunchly defend. Either way, guitar players need to devote much more
time to improving their music reading skills.

My goal with this sight reading book is to try to add to the repertoire of books geared towards reading and jazz
guitar. In my own studies in jazz guitar, I used many of the reading books out there along with anything and
everything I could nd or borrow. e books I used were not restricted to jazz, they included reading classical
music, pop music and just about everything in between. Aer all, reading is reading and music is music.

ere is one very important thing that I noticed along the way. It was clear to me that I would always spend
more time reading music if I liked the music I was reading. It didn't matter if it was jazz or whatever, if it was
good music, I would enjoy reading it and consequently spend more time reading. I owned a number of books
that were designed speci cally to help improve one's guitar reading skills. ey progressed very systematically
through rhythms, positions and everything in between. ey were sometimes designed to never repeat
anything and it was near impossible to memorize any of it. Needless to say, I didn't like using those books and
couldn't wait to be done with them.

is book is not like any of those. Based on the idea that reading can be fun if the music is good, my goal was
to write reading exercises that are interesting enough to want to read them.

e reading exercises move from easy to a more difficult level. Each exercise focusses on a speci c elements in
terms of rhythm, key signatures, accidentals and note types. Music uses forms. (A A B A, A B A C...... and so
on) ese exercises also use common forms. Part of the fun when reading is that you will most likely play the
2nd A section much better then you did the rst and you will most likely ace the last A section.

In an effort to try and cover a number of styles jazz guitarists will encounter, I've included pieces which are
swing, bebop, bossa nova and straight 8ths. ere are different time signatures as well including 5/4, 3/4, 4/4,
7/8 and cut time. Apart from trying to cover many of the basic rhythmic gures common I've also included
several types of triplets, duplets and other polyrhythms.

ere are no tabs, no ngerings, no position markings and no recorded examples. If you are reading an actual
chart for a gig or session, you won't have any of that. If you are truly keen on learning to read, you need to
simply read music!
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 Using is Book
For each reading exercise, there are always 2 staves. e melody is always in the top staff and the chords are in
the bottom staff. You will notice that the bottom staff contains both slash marks and rhythms. Some pieces will
have mostly slash marks and others will contain mostly rhythmic gures. When there are rhythmic gures,
play them as written. When you have slash marks, you are not restricted to playing each as a quarter note. is
is a common misconception. e slash marks are showing you the beats of the bar and where each chord
change falls in relation to those beats. Slash marks indicate that you can improvise any comping rhythm or
style which is suitable for the piece. If the music is Swing, comp Swing rhythms, if it's a Bossa Nova, play a
suitable Bossa Nova rhythm.

Reading chord symbols which contain extensions is an important type of reading skill guitarists must be
pro cient in. I've included both chord extensions and slash chords. Good arrangers and composers will most
oen indicate the exact extensions they want in their charts. Slash chords consist of a chord symbol and a bass
note. e chord symbol is always rst followed by the bass note. When reading the chords, try and play all of
the chord extensions, both the chord and the bass note when you have slash chords as well as the rhythms. For
an Am7/D, you play an Am7 chord with a D note in the bass. For C/D, you play a C triad with a D in the bass.

Practicing Reading
How you practice reading music on the guitar is also extremely important. Most important, you need to make
reading practice a daily thing. If you decide to devote three to four hours per week to reading, how you spread
out those hours makes all the difference in the world. Sight read daily. is is extremely important! Learning to
read music is a slow process. You need to do it consistantly and continually. Make a habit of spending between
30 to 45 minute a day reading. Trying to cram it all in by doing 3 or 4 hours of straight reading practice one
day per week will get you nowhere. You need to do it every day, no exceptions.

As a guitar player you need to practice reading melodies (single notes) and chord changes. It's also a good idea
to read polyphonic music. ink of classical guitar and the type of reading you would do if you were learning
to play a classical guitar piece. Chords will be written out note for note and there will be no chord symbols.
Although you won't encounter this type of reading on your average gig, it's a good idea to have some skill with
this type of reading.

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A good strategy to use with this book would be to read a couple of exercises the rst day and then read the
next couple of exercises the following day. Continue in this fasion until you reach the end of the book. Once
you have reached the end of the book, start over. If you nd as you work through the book that the exercises
are getting more difficult, slow down the tempo to a speed which allows you to actually play the majority of the
notes. If there is something you don't understand in an exercise, isolate that gure and break it down out of
time. Restart the exercise when you understand the passage and take it slow.

One last thing, when you are sight reading, try not to stop and correct your mistakes. Pick a reasonable tempo
where you will be able to play a good percentage of the music and keep going. You are not trying to master the
piece, just read it.

Copyright © 2017 Michael Berard All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying,
recording, scanning, digitizing, web distribution, information networks, or by any information storage or
retrieval system without written permission from Michael Berard, except for the inclusion of brief quotations
in an article or a review.

ISBN: 978-0-9939458-3-0

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Reading Exercises

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Reading Exercise 1

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Reading Exercise 11

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Reading Exercise 19

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Reading Exercise 30

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 About e Author
Michael taught jazz guitar, jazz improvisation, jazz composition, jazz harmony and arranging for over 25 years
at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He has studied in New York with guitarist Gene Bertoncini, in
Boston with Mick Goodrick and in Montreal with trumpeter Charles Ellison and pianist Art Roberts. Michael
has performed with international artists such as Cleo Laine / John Dankworth, Don ompson, Erich Kunzel
and the NAC Orchestra, and with numerous Montreal jazz artists. Recorded credits include: “It’s
Autumn” (Michael Berard), “Please Belong To Me” (Pascale Lavoie), “Little Voices” (Michael Berard), “Good
News” (Michael Berard), and numerous others. You can hear some of my music on iTunes, Spotify, Google
Play and at: michaelberard.ca

You can also check my jazz guitar method, "Jazz Guitar Elements," available on the iBook store or as a PDF at:
jazzguitarelements.com More information and extra lessons are are available.

All music composed by Michael Berard copyright 2017 SOCAN (ASCAP)

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