Reviews

Worldwide Students Speak

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This IS the guitar of one’s dreams…

First, the punch line: After a month I’ve concluded that this guitar is not a substitute, surrogate, or compromise for that more expensive jazz box that one longs for and cannot afford. This IS the guitar of one’s dreams.

I’ll be as brief as I can. I have many guitars. But no real jazz guitars. I don’t play much jazz, but sometimes want to go there, and somehow my .strandberg* just isn’t right. I try to stay away from retail stores because there is ALWAYS something that catches my eye. But, I needed a set of strings and since I was near a store, I stopped by. As usual, I looked at used wall. There was nothing interesting. Walk away. Quickly. But… what’s that? Needing a ladder to get to it, there was a red wine archtop high on the wall. Conti? What’s a Conti? I’d never heard of them. I suspected that it was some Asian product, à la Cort (Nothing wrong with Cort. I believe they made my .strandberg*.) I found someone to get it down and I played for three minutes. I was meeting someone for lunch in fifteen minutes so I had no time to play much. I put it back.

It was two weeks before I was back in that neighborhood. In that time I did some research and if you are reading this, you’ve done the same and I won’t bore you with the details of Robert Conti’s business model to bypass the middleman. None of his guitars would be sold in stores. No distributors. Instead, he sells direct to player. He asks his prospects to trust that the guitar he gives them will make them exceptionally happy. That’s a big ask. You can’t play one to see if you like it.

Armed with this information and with more time set aside I went back to the store. While every other Conti customer needed to muster faith to buy, I had the luxury of actually playing one. The model is Equity, discontinued after the first production contract ended. The guitar played well and seemed well taken care of, 99% brand new. There were very few scratches, no dings. I copied the serial number and went home.

I went back to the Conti website but could find no serial number reference, nor a support page, but I could chat online with Steve. I asked about the serial number, and he told me the guitar was built in 2013. He also said that from what he knew of the previous owner, it should have been well taken care of. Wow. Steve told me the guitar was solid wood, not laminate. He asked me about the price and told me it was a very good deal. So, I went back the next day and bought it.

The next day I cleaned it and changed strings. It was clean but needed a little detailing. The cleaning process brought me closer to the instrument (LOL the truss rod cover on the headstock still had it’s original protective plastic covering). At every turn I was surprised and impressed by the build.

I love this guitar and I consider myself lucky to have it.

T
The Formula
Tancredo Netto - Brazil
I think it is the best

I think you are the only one that explains the magic of chord melody! I admire Conti's method, I think it is the best, a hands on approach and at the same time it teaches the way professionals play. Like we Brazilians say, he doesn't only give the fish, he teaches to fish! I love jazz standards and I hope I will study a lot with Conti's help!! Thank you very much! It's a pleasure for me to recommend a very good teacher and Conti is one!!!

Will re-energize my daily practice routine.

Robert is an entertaining and competent instructor with a wide range of past real-playing experience of the bandstand. Mike provided tech support and sent ZOOM setup instructions before the lesson to avoid wasting time on video-audio snags.

Robert took a few minutes at the start of the ZOOM lesson to review my personal history, music experience, and to assess my technical skills. He came well prepared for my lesson (3 handout documents) with a focus on improvisation, as requested. He “tuned” this first lesson to my level of interest and playing ability.

His approach to improvisation is direct, different, and perhaps unique. He presents a down-to-earth focus on fingering the fretboard rather than using a theoretical approach of pairing various scales/modes to each chord in a progression, one at a time.

Robert demonstrated the wide application of major scale riffs to a surprisingly wide range of chords built from the major scale. This simplification avoid overthinking (my bad habit) which creates lock-up, anxiety, and lag when suddenly called upon to solo on the jazz bandstand. He played these riffs over backing tracks “live” that he called out to Mike who played the audio files on-demand. Both Robert and Mike were attentive to my music lesson. Robert concluded the lesson with additional tips and a clear assignment and challenge to be completed before a future lesson.

To conclude, the “hands-on” Conti method avoids over-complicating the improvisation process and it will re-energize my daily practice routine.

Video Comments

See attached video for Lee's comments

Judge.me YouTube video placeholder
A brilliant approach

The Precision Techniques has helped me hone my technique tremendously and like every Robert Conti Book with CD it is extremely practical and gets you running in the real world playing while mastering the theory as you go so it is extremely efficient and all-encompassing and frankly, better than the dozens of books and classes that I’ve tried. It is a brilliant approach.

Robert's teaching approach stands out

It was a pleasure to spend the two hours with Robert and I must also thank you for the technical assistance and making sure everything went smoothly - I know it’s a team effort on your end.

As for my comments on the lesson : Robert gave me plenty to think about and I’ll be putting the ideas into practice in the woodshed. It was particularly enlightening to hear how he approaches improvisation over certain chord changes and this is something I look forward to picking his brains about in future sessions too on other standards. Roberts teaching approach is something that stands out - he has a way of making you feel comfortable and engaged whilst also being very to the point. I particularly appreciated that he didn’t waste precious time just having me play things over and over as from experience a lot of ‘teachers’ seem to do that instead using the time to impart as much advise and information they can on the student - often a means to get more money out of students and not give too much away in terms of valuable information. As Robert said - he’s not here to teach someone how to play, he’s there to show you what to play and why etc. this is exactly what I need. He had me play the lines to get them under my fingers and ensure I understood the concepts and knew that I am to take them away to practice in my own time. This allowed Robert to use all the time available to feed me more and more ideas and pearls of wisdom.

I will most certainly be booking another lesson after I’ve got some more practice in as there are many more things I’d like to ask Robert and certainly a lot for me to learn!

Best and most efficient way to learn jazz guitar

So much easier for me to practice and learn all of the valuable information Robert has shared on these videos! This is without question the best and most efficient way to learn jazz guitar and I plan on ordering more around Thanksgiving! I totally stand behind Mr. Conti's teaching methods 100 percent as they really work! He truly understands what he is talking about and knows how to teach it to others in the most comprehensive and applicable ways possible! It also helps that he is one of the best Jazz guitarists I have ever heard!

Tired of low paying gigs?

Robert Conti maintained a top level gig in a luxurious Southern California hotel for 10 solid years, performing five nights per week. How did he do it? Learn to play pro level, elegant sounding chord melody arrangements and you’ll rival any piano player.

Two weeks became 10 years

The Irvine Marriott, a luxurious Southern California hotel contracted Robert Conti to perform for two weeks.  However, the overwhelming guest response caused hotel management to keep Robert performing his exquisite chord melody arrangements nightly, in their gorgeous lobby lounge for 10 straight years.

BUT, you don't have to be Robert Conti to play these lush melodies:

“I have started by learning Robert’s Conti’s chord melody arrangements which I have now performed a couple of times in front of an audience at a jazz open mic night.  They really liked how the arrangements sound and congratulated me on how well I played them.  Before I learned from Robert Conti I knew some chord melodies but I hadn’t the guts to go perform them. I think as well as teaching you – Robert gives you inspiration and belief – and I have never even met him. He gives you the feeling that you can shoot for the stars!” 

Adam Hinchliffe – Huddersfield, United Kingdom

“Today I, (again!), ordered some of your books. The ones I already have are of great inspiration. I’m not a pro, not even a gifted amateur, but…..one with a good ear for chords and embellishing melodies, mostly the famous standards of The Great American Songbook, which I perform with a female singer with a clear sensitive voice and a bass-player.  As you take many of these songs as vehicles for showing beautiful chord melody playing, I’m in the right place with your books. so …to say it in one word: THANKS!”

Louis Frederix – Nijmegen, Netherlands

“What I lacked, you provided in spades ! I love Jimmy Van Heusen’s songs and you’ve exposed his fondness for chromatic movement and tomorrow, I shall be learning your great arrangement. I’ve learned many of yours via your Signature Chord Melody Arrangements series and cannot thank you enough for removing the mystique and often high-brow pompousness associated with the genre. May you long continue to inspire, teach and amaze!”

Dave Jones, Saint Petersburg, Florida

“Your way of presenting harmonic variations and chord substitutes are easy to read – and a true source of inspiration.  Some parts are challenging, but not out of reach.  That’s the best way to learn new things without being frustrated. My chord melody playing is improving constantly every day.  Your chord melody books are to me, the most helpful instruction since I started playing guitar 25 years ago. Thank you very much for your great work.”

Gereon Hoffmann – Cchifferstadt, Germany

What makes the Conti Signature Chord Melodies different from everything out there?

Guitar Chord Grids

Almost every chord solo arrangement in the marketplace is written in notation and tablature, which is often discouraging and perhaps, the very reason why most guitarists steer clear of solo playing altogether.

An arrangement is useless if you can’t read it due to complicated notation.  Always raising the bar in jazz guitar instruction, Robert Conti provides the student with the correct chord grid for every melody note. The focus of every Conti product is to get you playing immediately. So even if you cannot read music, you can play the arrangements like a pro.

If you can play a simple chord grid, you can sound like a pro!

Audio Samples (Note: Arrangements do not include audio or video)

Let It Be Me (Volume 2)

Misty (Volume 6)

Depending on your level of skill, you can choose to omit chords in favor of single notes as demonstrated in the sample below:

The Press Speaks

Conti Checks In Alone - Los Angeles Times

Ready to start playing pro level chord melody today?

Please Note: No audio or video is included with the Signature Chord Melody Arrangement series. Any title listed below is delivered instantly in a PDF download format. No physical books will be shipped to you. You may print the arrangements or view them on your computer with the free Adobe Reader software.

Signature Chord Melody Arrangements, Vol 1 Cover
  • A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
  • Bluesette
  • Born To Lose
  • Graduation Day
  • My Romance
  • When I Fall In Love
Sig Chord Mel Vol 2
  • Let It Be Me
  • Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars
  • Sleepwalk
  • Tenderly
  • The Nearness Of You
  • When Sunny Gets Blue
Sig Chord Mel Vol 3
  • I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face
  • Over The Rainbow
  • The Gentle Rain
  • Try A Little Tenderness
  • What A Wonderful World
  • What’s New
Sig Chord Mel Vol 4
  • Days Of Wine And Roses
  • My Secret Love
  • Our Love Affair
  • Too Late Now
  • What R U Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
  • You Stepped Out Of A Dream
Sig Chord Mel Vol 5
  • Body & Soul
  • I Got Rhythm
  • Summertime
  • The Shadow Of Your Smile
  • Willow Weep For Me
  • You Go To My Head
Sig Chord Mel Vol 6
  • As Time Goes By
  • Embraceable You
  • Fascinatin’ Rhythm
  • Misty
  • Nevertheless I’m In Love With You
  • Round Midnight
Sig Chord Mel Vol 7
  • At Last
  • Honeysuckle Rose
  • Laura
  • Softly As I Leave You
  • Someone To Watch Over Me
  • That’s All
Sig Chord Mel Vol 8
  • A Certain Smile
  • Ain’t Misbehavin’
  • Our Love Is Here To Stay
  • On Green Dolphin Street
  • Since I Fell For You
  • Today
Sig Chord Mel Holiday
  • Auld Lang Syne
  • Frosty The Snowman
  • Greensleeves
  • Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
  • Home For The Holidays
  • Jingle Bells
  • Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
  • Oh Christmas Tree
  • Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
  • Silent Night
  • Toyland
  • Winter Wonderland

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The Signature Chord Melody Arrangements are just one series in a lineup of the most result-producing learning resources for jazz guitarists.

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Through November 30, 2023, use coupon code BFCM23 at checkout (be sure to click the apply button!) to save 30% on all learning resources, both shipped and streaming. Please note that Conti Guitars are not included in this sale event, but we still have a couple of the heavily discounted Entrada prototypes available!