Not really. Rock,Blues Pop, and Country are the main targets. Gospel falls in there a little harmonically. The arpeggios and scales do prepare you to start jazz, but that is in a separate volume coming later. (Originally called Modern Improvising)
Not specifically. The five CAGED fingerings are found in the fingerings used however, so it all goes together.
No, but sort of Yes. The book introduces sounds in fingerings that are in a particular position, but the point is to learn the sounds and forget the positions. Until you do, however, you can use the positions in “Styles.” Very early in the book we show how to move easily between positions and to [...]
Yes. The material that was going into volume 2 became a book called “Modern Improvising” so no “volume two” exists.
No. Styles will introduce you to harmony, and carry chord and scale spellings (C D E F G A B C) along throughout the book, but you don’t need to know it to start. And you don’t need to study it outside of “Styles.” Styles does explain things about harmony, but in a simple approach, [...]
No. But the arpeggios in “Styles” are the foundation of Jazz playing, so the arpeggios get you about one third of the way there. Of course all the scales and modes can be used in Jazz, but “Styles” does not focus on their Jazz usage. Learning Jazz soloing (depending upon which part of Jazz we’re [...]
Yes, definitely. “Styles” will give you the framework for seeing each lick in its proper fingering(s) and key. It can be like a roadmap to your closet full of licks – you’ll be able to see the context, the chords etc. for a lick
I’ve been a guitar-aholic over the years, owning a lot of different wonderful guitars. Most often I play a semi-hollow body two pickup electric like a Gibson 335. I’ve been lucky enough to own some great vintage guitars (’66 335s, ’53 tele, ES-5, ’57 Les Paul Black Beauty, etc) but they’ve all found homes elsewhere. [...]
Yes, via Skype. If you live in Honolulu, I'd be willing to travel.
No. But I think you should learn to at least ‘decode’ music notation. You can learn things much faster.