No comments about Emotional Response to Music: Pat Metheny's Secret Story (Studies in the History and Interpretation of Music, V. 80,).

No comments about Pat Metheny - Rejoicing.

3 comments about Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up (Pvg).

1. 2005 has seen the Pat Metheny Group accomplish their greatest musical achievement, an epic 68-minute work entitled "The Way Up", one which has been hailed with mass critical acclaim.
   Fresh on the heals of "The Way Up" CD and tour is this - the complete score of the entire "Way Up" piece as transcribed and edited by Metheny Group bassist Steve Rodby. While the 256-page transcription does not duplicate the piece exactly note-for-note, it does include every theme, variation and movement of this monumental epic. It is arranged and notated in such a fashion that it can be performed with any instrument (whether it be a full band, guitar, piano or string ensemble) which is ideal for diverse musicians.
   All in all, this is a great companion to the "Way Up" CD and is a must not only for Metheny enthusiasts but for the adventerous musician looking for something challenging to perform.
   Fantastic!!



2. Wow. I was excited to get this book. I'm a composition major in college and was so excited to read the map of what was going on aurally.
   When I received it, I opened up to the first page and found no list of instruments used. The first page of music had no beginning dynamic marking, and each clef was un-identified as to what instrument its notes were written for. This is basically 252 pages of notes. VERY small amount of dynamic or expressive markings. The simplest notation errors are all over the place. Did anyone edit this? I know if Pat saw this, he'd be ashamed to have it printed. I know I would. DONT BUY THIS BOOK.



3. Hal Leonard really has no right to call this book the "complete" score because it is in many ways incomplete. In fact, I think it would better be described as a quasi-condensed score because there is no indication of which instrument plays which line of the staff and many times the music that the horn and vocal parts play are notated on one line in condensed form. I love The Way Up, it's my favorite Pat Metheny album and it features some of his most intense guitar solos, and yet the score leaves every one of them out. Most of the reason I was excited to have this book was because I hoped it would have transcriptions of his solos, but alas, nothing but four dashes per measure. Maybe if I were a guitarist I would see this as a challenge and take it upon myself to learn and transcribe it by ear, but I am not. I am just sorely disappointed.
   
   Don't buy this book unless you're looking for transcription homework.

1 comments about Pat Metheny Trio - Live.

1. For those who know Pat's work well and are a fan, this is Pat PLAYING. No new compositions, just Pat in a jazz club, with a post bop rhythm section. You know how amazing it is going to be. The rest of this review is for casual Pat listeners or the uninitiated.
   If you are a jazz fan, you know the challenges of the jazz trio. For all the freedom the trio format gives the artist, there's also a lot more responsibility. Oscar Peterson's trio work certainly set a standard. The guitar-led jazz trio standard could be set by any number of killer records. "Trio Live" is not only a new standard for guitar-led trios, but for the jazz trio in general. Metheney, upright bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Bill Stewart, have created an amazing, empathetic language that is based on jazz vocabulary (first and foremost), instrument masterey, interpretation skills, and gigantic, mountain sized ears that are ON! When they take a tune out, they keep one foot in the composition, and their ears on each other and that's when magic happens. The trio collectively exudes a sense of adventurousness that never leaves the listener benind. And believe me these cats get out there. "Soul Cowboy" is a blues that goes to Mars and back. "Question and Answer" gets nuts as well. But they go "out" together, with cohesion and a sense of collective composition. All great improvisors get up everyday trying to find that "thing." When everybody goes to the same place together while improvising, it feels like magic. Metheney and Co. find the "thing" on almost every song. Do we really need another version of "All The Things You Are" and "Giant Steps"? You do if the players A) have something to say and B) are saying something special TOGETHER.
   This album is a landmark because of its unprecedented number of places these guys take the tunes. The sets (one per disc) have a flow and these guys are aware of it. They are responding to every detail of what makes trio work amazing on every tune, with complete masterey on every level. If there is one jazz trio record to have in your collection; this is it. The deeper you go when you listen, the more you will be rewarded.

No comments about Pat Metheny - Trio 99-00 (Tab).

2 comments about Pat Metheny - Question and Answer.

1. You can't go wrong when the composer himself does the transcriptions. The music is one of his greatest collaborative works. The recording itself is rare and hard to get a hold of. But it is truly a brilliant album. As a guitarist, I found it extremely helpful in not only learning Metheny's great playing, but also in the development of my humble studies into Contemporary Jazz.



2. He practicality invented a new language in this recording from 1989. Having all these notes as accurate as they seem is a realized dream,good luck!

1 comments about Pat Metheny - One Quiet Night (Pvg).

1. It's great and very accurate. It is written for a standard tuning so the songs are transcribed up a fifth (you can hear it played here at [...] There are some changes made to go along with the tuning being different. It is worth the time to take on the challenge and the music is great.

2 comments about Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life.

1. The guy that transposed this for Hal Leonard (Alejandro Mora) is very accurate. He got every nuance of every note on the title track. 'Bright Size Life' is a low key modal jam in D. Eventually you'd play this song your own way but learning Pat's licks 1st would be prudent. This song could easily be 'overplayed' and the restraint Pat shows on the tune is admirable. It's all beautifully tabbed out for guitarists. Jaco's bass parts aren't. That isn't too clear up front so I'll clear it up with this review. Pat's music on this record sounds easy but if you try to play along you'll find it's anything but. 'Omaha Celebration' is an example of a tough chordal song with some tricky rhythms. In the middle he does a free form jam with Jaco and then returns to the chordal 'head' to conclude. 'Sirabhorn' is a haunting/beautiful piece played on an electric 12 string with Jaco's chorused bass adding surreal textures. It's one of just a few tunes where Pat plays more than 1 part,(he overdubs the lead lines which are in the book as well). 'Missouri Uncompromised' is for me the most impressive song with it's tricky,fast phrases that just keep going and going. The'head' is tricky as heck and then it just gets progressively better.'Broadway Blues', the Ornette Coleman cover is also a great licked jazz club trio jam. Wow ! This book should be included in college jazz studies for improvisational guitarists! My only critcism and it could be partially the year of release 1976 when groups like Kansas, Neil Young and Steely Dan were huge, is 'Midwestern Night's Dream' which seems gratuitously somber with not the musical interest or the haunting beauty of 'Sirabhorn'. 'Sirabhorn' would be a stretch to play in a jazz club but 'Dream' would be out of the question.



2. Seems extremly accurate. If your gonna go through all his latest music books,you should start from the beginning,this is it. The notes aren't so hard,it's all about the fingerings. I wouldn't touch something like "Question & Answer" before starting with this excellent book, capturing the spirit of Pat Metheny.
   PS-
   Where's Jaco's part?

2 comments about Jazz-Rock Solos for Guitar: Lead Guitar in the Styles of Carlton, Ford, Metheny, Scofield, Stern and more! (REH Pro Licks).

1. This book can help any intermediate level guitarist and it's very similar to the Brian Setzer learn a lick book available here. They're good values but I deduct a star for method. You are presented with the lick at full speed with a backing track and then played at a very slow speed without anything. Then you are given the backing track to play with at full speed. The way to properly learn these licks is to practice them slowly with a metronome and gradually increase the tempo until you can play them at proper tempo. Only then should you attempt to play them with the backing track. The author does not suggest this or even give the tempo. You have to figure it out for yourself. Also there is significant space used in explaining how the licks should be fingered. That could easily have been notated, freeing up space for more licks or rhythms. There are 39 pages in the book I got so that 16 page thing here is most likely a mistake. At 13 bucks, I thought it was a good value. The licks are pretty good and they'll get your fingers flying !



2. Having been through several jazz instruction books, this is by far the best. It runs its solo lines over complex chords- the kind you hear the better players actually playing over. It explains the concept behind the lines before giving them. This way, not only will the lines stick better, but you will have the background material to build your own lines. It is not a beginner book, but even a beginner could follow the well laid-out diagrams; it may just take him a while to get up to speed. Highly recommended if you desire to play in the styles of the artists mentioned. Great jazz guitar instruction book.

5 comments about Pat Metheny Songbook: Lead Sheets.

1. I could have just taken a few days and transcribe the Metheny songs I love, that's what real guitar players do. But instead I bought his lead sheets. My teachers aren't proud. Yet I'm glad I did. Most of Pat's hits are here, well worth the money. Plus you can see why he uses those funky grips to play some of the chords. If you love Metheny, you need this. If you worship Metheny then transcribe the songs, you'll learn more.



2. Pat Metheny is one of the greatest composers of the past 50 years, a modern day Ellington. This huge volume of his works covers everything from heads for a small combo (Bright Size Life) to his elaborate group compositions with Lyle Mays and the Pat Metheny Group. Don't be mistaken, this is not a book of transcriptions from a third party publisher, but rather a volume of Metheny's own written charts.
   
   While it does include bass lines, chord structure, and melody/counter melody parts, enough content to easily write ones own arrangement of the piece without major transcription, it lacks detail of some deep, inside parts to some of the group's work. Even so, they are rarely necessary or needed unless you are writing an arrangement for a precise replica of his work.
   
   This book is gigantic as it is, but it does NOT cover any of the songs from his collaborations that were written entirely by other band members. If a song was written entirely by Lyle Mays or Charlie Haden, you will not see it in this book, however songs where Metheny had at least some hand in composition are documented.
   
   Whether you're looking for some sheet music to follow or play along with, or are writing elaborate arrangements, this book is perfect. I even find myself using it to take a sneak peak of the weird meters in his songs. Great book.



3. As a long time fan for PMG's music this book is a must. If one disadvantage should be mentioned, it is, that this size of a notbook is not too easy to handle + it is quite fragile. But for me, this was my most wanted songbook ever.



4. I should warn you that I am not an accomplished musician. I bought this book with great hopes of learning something special, but it's really a disappointment. Sure, the main theme of each song is listed, but solos are listed as just that: "SOLO", with a chord listing. That's all. Not a big help, and not anywhere near the "every note" that I thought I would see. It goes on the shelf for now. I'm not sure it will ever come off the shelf, to tell the truth. If you're a beginner, don't waste your time.



5. Is Metheny a Genius -- well, Duh!
   This book gives you the perfect technical framework of his lead lines and the space to apply your own creativity and interpretation to that work. Clean and thorough -- but not for the "tab at heart".