David's Pick of the Week: Jam With… Guitar Series

The “Jam With..” series of guitar books do exactly what they say on the cover! They give you the chance to fulfil your rock god dreams and take centre stage, playing the lead guitar part with a host of famous artists and groups.
Featured artists range from Hank Marvin, one of the grandfathers of electric guitar, to Joe Satriani, arguably one of today’s most respected virtuosos. Whether you want to recreate the melodic work of Mark Knopfler or the hellraising of Angus Young, this series caters for all tastes.
The lead guitar parts are transcribed in both traditional notation and tablature, so whatever your background you can jump straight into learning your favourite track. The transcriptions are some of the most accurate you will find, so you can play every riff, solo and fill note-for-note.
These books also boast some of the best backing tracks on sale, recorded by a professional band and capturing perfectly the sound of the original arrangement.
Combine all this with some useful performance notes and advice on fine tuning your guitar sound, and you have the recipe for one of my favourite playalong series – so much so that I own several!
If (unlike me!) you manage to nail every track in the book, the benefits don’t have to stop there. The backing tracks are a perfect platform to work on your improvisation, building your own solos around the style of your favourite songs.
Musicroom Portsmouth carries a selection of titles from the series for you to browse or try out. If you don’t find the book you’re after, the staff will always be happy to order it for you – don’t be afraid to ask!