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Are you a guitarist who started out playing rock, pop, country, or other forms of commercial music and have wanted to advance your harmonic knowledge and compositional skills to a new level? Then Alan's book, The Harmonic Expansion Process: The Rock Guitarist's Guide to Playing Jazz, is the tool you need!
NOW AVAILABLE!
“Alan Robinson’s book Harmonic Expansion Process is based on a simple idea: Learn jazz based on what you know from playing rock guitar. Rather than starting at the very beginning, he assumes you can play and goes from there. It’s really common for rock guitarists to get interested in jazz, but many don’t know where to start. Here. Start here!
I love his book because it gets really deep in to the weeds about how to create interesting and useful jazz chord voicings. What’s unique is that every concept is built using guitar-friendly principles. It is a demanding book that asks you to pay close attention to each lesson and work through it before moving on. “Thumbing through to get the basic idea” won’t get you very far. But studying and practicing every chapter will.
If you do all the work the book asks you to do, you will be rewarded with a far deeper understanding of how to do jazz voice-leading. You’ll know your way around the guitar better even if jazz isn’t really your thing.
Alan’s book certainly helps guitar-pedagogy at the college level move forward.
This is a worthy purchase for any guitarist looking to improve.”
~ Jon Finn, Artist/Guitarist and Professor at the Berklee College of Music
Sample Pages
The Harmonic Expansion Process is a method that harnesses the strengths of the rock guitarist, utilizing techniques like power chords and pentatonic scales to build complex harmony without requiring years of study or multiple music degrees to understand. The book provides numerous examples and play-alongs to aid in your successful growth. By using chord progressions based on jazz standards, it establishes a robust foundation in harmony. The lessons learned can be easily applied to any musical style or genre, allowing you to confidently participate in jam sessions like a pro in no time!
What You’ll Learn
This book is the first of a series designed to make the complexities of chord structure, improvisation, and compositional approaches used in jazz music easily accessible. Alan presents musical tools that most guitarists make use of daily, such as power chords and pentatonic scales, to develop sounds that go beyond the basics.
Part 1 - Power Chord Method
Alan will explain how to use power chords to instantly sound like a jazz player. You will use basic power chords that you have always used, but position them in a way that highlights the most important part of the harmony: the guide-tones.
Part 2-4 - Power Chord Plus 1
Alan shares an easy way to advance your power chords by simply adding a single note.
· Understand tension theory and how to justify the 9th, 11th, and 13th extensions
· Learn what notes to avoid in order to not confuse the harmonic situation
· Learn how to voice lead the most important progression in jazz: II-7 / V7/ I∆7
Part 5-6 - Double Power Chord Method
Learn Alan’s method for creating four-part harmony by stacking two independent power chords.
· Create common voicings used by jazz guitarists, arrangers, and composers: Drop2 Chords
· Apply the methods to a variety of jazz standards to better understand music theory
· Learn how to use specific voicings that are more ambiguous and can be used for multiple roots
Check out Alan’s free online lessons that are available to take your guitar playing to the next level. Read here what others have to say about their experience studying with Alan.
The Harmonic Expansion Process:
The Rock Guitarist’s Guide To Playing Jazz
NEW BOOK AVAILABLE!!
One of the most essential parts of learning guitar is understanding harmony and having a wide vocabulary of chord voicings. Many guitarists eagerly dive into learning scales and solos without realizing that solos are directly related to harmony; they are not separate entities. Additionally, it’s crucial to recognize that a significant portion of a guitarist’s role is to accompany others. Thus, possessing a strong knowledge of harmony and understanding how to transition smoothly and efficiently between chords is immensely important.
This book was designed to assist guitarists in learning chord structures, starting from triads to 7th chords, through an easy and productive path. By mastering the fundamental basics of harmony alongside a solid foundation in music theory, you can express yourself musically while ensuring that the harmony provides solid support for the music you play.
I will guide you through basic chord forms and shapes while introducing you to common chord progressions and turnarounds found in most forms of commercial music. Jazz tunes are primarily used to introduce more harmonic complexity, and once mastered, you’ll be able to tackle any genre you desire.
Keep in mind that since harmony and soloing are interconnected, the more you understand about chords and their structure, the more likely you are to create better solos. This realization has been a significant motivator for me and many of my students.
I hope you enjoy your harmonic journey!
Alan
What You’ll Learn
This book presents a chronological order of chord structure studies designed to assist the student in better understanding the guitar fretboard and the mechanical movements related to voice leading and harmonic progression.
PART 1: Triad Forms & Shapes, Linear, and Horizontal Motion
Learn all inversions of each chord quality (major, minor, augmented, and diminished) across all string sets through the use of TABS, standard musical notation, and guitar grids. This approach can also assist in enhancing abilities in musical reading.
Learn progressions commonly found in many forms of commercial music and how to voice lead the chords for smooth transitions. Gain basic music theory knowledge as you apply voice leading to musical examples. Learn how to voice lead the most important progression in jazz: II-7 / V7/ I∆7. Also, learn the Circle of 4ths/5ths and how harmony progresses. Explore other important harmonic cycles and how to effectively voice lead in ascending and descending motion.
PART 2 & 3: 7th Chord Harmony
Discover Drop2 and Drop3 chord voicings that are essential for advanced harmonic situations. Apply 7th chord harmony to common chord progressions and turn-arounds with Chord Pools. Additionally, learn the Quick Analysis method to instantly identify common chord progressions.