Guitar method books from the past can provide an interesting source of instruction. Apart from the information, these books usually display an attractive old-fashioned graphic style on the front cover and occasionally include interesting advertisements from a bygone era ...
George Van Eps (1913 - 1998) was one of jazz guitars' great chordal exponents. He was a pioneer of the seven string guitar which allowed the incorporation of sophisticated bass lines into his distinctive style of playing.
George Van Eps' original guitar method (front and back cover pictured above) explores his approach to guitar-based harmony. The method book consists of 82 exercises (including a short etude study on the last page) of major, minor, diminished, dominant and augmented triads in all inversions on each set of three strings. Upper, lower, inside voice movement and contrary motion exercises have been included - in short, an excellent, meticulously presented and valuable publication for the jazz guitarist.
A highly informative interview with George Van Eps on the Ted Greene Website :
Ted Greene "George Van Eps Interview" - circa 1981 (audio and .pdf)
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