Blues Book
Learn to write Blues tunes that showcase your strengths as a musician and express yourself in a variety of Blues genres.
Blues provides an endlessly fascinating vehicle for improvisation and Blues can be approached stylistically in many ways. Blues underlies much popular music and is a foundational skill for jazz musicians.
This spiral bound book features 11 of John’s compositions and all the musical examples in the book are included on the accompanying CD.
Tunes Book
Learn to write songs that showcase your strengths as a musician and express yourself in different moods, styles, and genres.
Compose music that is simultaneously sophisticated and accessible, music that challenges and intrigues, with natural phrasing and logical construction.
This spiral bound features 9 of John’s compositions and all the musical examples in the book are included on the accompanying CD.
New!
Digital editions of these books are now available. Read John’s books on iPad, Kindle, and Nook. The digital editions contain all the text, photographs, and educational information, but do not include the audio recordings.
Blues Book (Digital Copy)
Tunes Book (Digital Copy)
Learn John’s tunes and write your own!
“It is always great to discover people in the jazz world who are not merely dedicated to elevating their own position (musically speaking) but are willing to reach back and extend a hand to pull up those who are seeking ways to further develop their musicianship. For those who are wise enough to stick out their hand, John’s arm is already extended, waiting to lift you up to the next level.” Wayne Everett Goins, KC JAM
“What makes Stein’s books stand out among the crowd: each and every tune is fun to play. They are not studies written solely for the book, but are intended to be performed. Readers can learn any of these pieces and, while furthering their knowledge and skill set, add these tunes to their set lists and jam repertoire.” Dr. Matt Warnock, Guitar International
“In Composing Tunes For Jazz Performance, Stein covers many techniques and thoroughly explains them. Techniques such as forms, intros/endings, scales, modal concepts, and rhythmic varieties are covered in detail.
Composing Blues For Jazz Performance is similar in that various techniques are explored that aid composers in writing Blues Songs. Forms, harmonies, scales and tonality are examples of some of the elements covered in this book.
Both books are excellent resources for anyone wanting to gain more insight into composing. The recordings on the CDs are superb and are very useful.” Brandon Bernstein, Just Jazz Guitar
