Mel BayPresents
Intro To Polyrhythms
Mel Bay Publications
www.melbay.com

Mel Bay Presents
Master Guitar Symposium, Volume 1
Mel Bay Publications
www.melbay.com
By George W. Harris

Here are a couple of new instructional dvds that fit the novice and advanced students respectively.

“Intro To Polyrhythms” is a thorough investigation into the variations of jazz rhythms that are common (and uncommon) to modern musicians. Drummer Art Hoenig and bassist Johannes Weidenmueller conduct a casual hands-on workshop, explaining the intricacies of things like dotted quarter notes, quarter note triplets and the like in various meters. The visuals of the different beats, especially as the bass and drum mix and match, is essential to understand and appreciate this complex topic that sounds so easy in the hands of masters. For aspiring members of a rhythm section, this is an important foundation to grasp.

The Guitar Symposium is essentially three clinics with guitarists Brad Shepik, Ben Monder and Steve Cardenas in duo formats performing intricate interpretations of standards like “I’ll Remember April” and “Nefertiti” and explaining their musical worldview. Each of the three have unique and personal approaches to their respective guitars (which are all gorgeous to look at on the camera close-ups), and the fingerwork and sound variations of the three masters is a lesson in itself. Too bad there isn’t an accompanying cd of the music, as guitar duos make some of the most sublime music in the world.