Product Description

Now for the first time ever, all musicians can play and study nearly every note Pat Metheny has ever written in this amazing new book that he deems his "most exciting project since (his) first album." Over a decade in the making and done with Metheny's intense involvement every step of the way, the Pat Metheny Songbook is a complete collection of this genius guitarist/composer's songs from the recording of Bright Size Life in 1975 to today. This comprehensive tribute includes compositions from all of his solo records, group records, collaborations with Lyle Mays and others, and more - 167 songs in total in its more than 400 pages! The compositions are presented in lead sheet arrangements, enabling all musicians unprecedented access to Metheny's music. Also includes a two-page time line of Pat Metheny milestones; an introduction from the editors; a table of contents which lists the songs and their composer credits; a biography; a complete full-color discography including album covers, musician credits and Metheny's commentary; plus his thoughts on composing, improvising, developing a unique style; and more. This long-awaited, landmark release is absolutely essential for all Metheny fans!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66619 in Books
• Brand: Hal Leonard
• Published on: 2000-04-01
• Released on: 2000-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Plastic Comb
• 448 pages

Customer Reviews

Where else?
Could you get almost all of Pat's compositions in one easy to follow book with album cover art, notes and details on the compositions. This is the real deal: chord changes over guitar lines (no tab). A real benefit of this book is looking at the chord structure and form that Pat uses to build each song. Of all the "guitar things" I've bought over the years, this ranks as one of the most useful. Thanks Pat.

It's a long time in coming
We long time admirers of Pat Metheny and group have been waiting a long time for this great compendium of his music. This contains everything he has written since 1975 to 2000, including solo material, those co written with Lyle Mays and others. It's great to be able sit down and play through these tunes presented in chart format (melody and chords). Bass and keyboard parts are written out if they are nessesary. Every once in a while I run across an error or a place where an important musical figure, mostly orchesral, was left out to save space. Overall this is a book with hundreds of of pages of material to improvise on and have fun doing it. Hopfully Lyle will have a book soon to contain the tunes acredited to him. A must for all jazz players!

It's Good and I Liked it
This is really a no brainer: if you play jazz or are learning to play jazz and you are a fan of Pat's music, this is a great reference. It's well produced in every respect and defintely well worth the price. An added bonus are Pat's comments on the tunes and his thoughtful quotes regarding improvisation. Seeing that much of Pat's music in one place gives you new respect for the range, quantity and quality of his compositions. A few minor quibbles- I wish the book had been arranged alphabetically- the way it is, you have to look eveything up in the index first- no big thing but mildly annoying. Also some complex charts have been rendered as simple lead sheets making casual performances unlikely unless one is familiar with (and willing to transcribe from) the original recordings. That aside, I can't think of a reason that anyone wouldn't like this book. I should really give this 4 and a half stars for the little flaws, but since Amazon won't let me, I'll round up just because Pat writes such great tunes.
Highly recommended!