Customer Reviews

The Advancing Guitarist

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"This is a guitar method that ridicules guitar methods. It's a self-help book that does not claim to ever help anyone. It covers everything, and at the same time leaves it up to you to figure everything out. If you don't have a solid way to come up with a good practice routine for yourself, this book is not for you. However, there are plenty of pointers inside on how to develop a practice routine.
Paradox is the true path to learning your instrument."

I imagine if Mr. Goodrick were to write a review of his own book, it would read something like the paragraph above. If I were Mr. Goodrick (and perhaps also a strict disciplinarian), I'd leave it up to you to figure out the content of this book and say no more.

Truth be told, The Advancing Guitarist is really a good kick in the behind to every slacker out there who knows what he ought to be learning but chooses to take shortcuts instead. The overall tone boils down to, "You want to know how to advance on guitar? Have you tried this? Well, why the heck not?? Oh, so you have... in every combination, everywhere you go, in every style, with every scale in every key, in all possible variations? No? And you dare ask me how to advance?" While the tone is poking and prodding, it's usually more encouraging than condescending.

It is my impression that such a book is excellent for a unionized-type musician-for-hire guitarist who needs to learn how to do everything and has time to sit down with it. While, within its 110 or so pages of no-nonsense text, all things about music cannot be outlined, the philosophy (of which there's plenty) and the examples that are given (also plentiful) give enough for someone who's serious and dedicated to excel at his craft. Many things are left unsaid, but quite a few of those are tacitly understood, and increasingly more will be understood with time.

There's no tablature in this book - everything is in standard guitar notation, similar to the way classical guitar music is scored. I find this beneficial for any musician; Mr. Goodrick would probably tell you to go tab everything out with a blindfold while playing your guitar left-handed, for an interesting learning experience.

Of course, if you don't want to do anything of what the author recommends or insinuates, it's still a good read. As another reviewer mentioned, great bathroom book on the subject of guitar.

Sections are:
* Approach - mechanics of playing guitar
* Materials - music theory as applicable, general and guitar-specific
* Commentaries - philosophy and discussion
First two sections build in a logical fashion; last section is broken down into topics that are self-contained and don't relate to each other in any structural way.

I like this book, I read it for leisure and for practice hints, I use it for reference, I use it for reflection, I use it for self-evaluation. It's good for educators who are looking for new approaches to teaching, and it's good for students of all levels. Recommended highly.

I am a performer, teacher and composer for the classical guitar. While I am always striving to improve my technique, I've always felt that technique was a means to an end, which is to make the best music that one can. Therefore, I am not one of the most disciplined technicians of the six-string siren, but I really play from the soul.

When my students get too hung up on Segovia Scales, Giuliani Arpeggios and Classical-era etudes, I give them one and only one tidbit from Mick Goodrick's book to chew, savor, ruminate, in the hope that they will find the muse again.

This book will help any guitarist who is dedicated to understanding music, not just the guitar. The guitar is merely a tool, a pontential conduit for the essence of your musical being to pass from you, through an audience, then back through you with their blessings.

Mick's book contains the seeds for a lifetime of musical growth. This compilation of musical Pandora's Boxes is best understood conceptually. If you're getting bogged down with what finger goes where, positions beyond open, etc., please, do not give up on this book! Work harder on the basics until your mind can begin to make some informed musical connections.

The beauty of Mick's work is that, if you dig deep, you can't help but begin to uncover what excites you, the player, about choosing the guitar to make music on. Not every exercise is for everyone's taste, and is not intended to be. I learned this lesson in college. I use to hate Renaissance music. After years of hating it, I realized that the reason was I couldn't play it convincingly. Now, I love it, and work harder than ever on it. Mick's book will help you to help yourself, to tackle those aspects of guitar that you probably hate because they are too difficult for you at this point in your training.

Yes, you need to be able to read music to learn from this book. A fundamental knowledge of modes derived from the major scale, and how triads are built from scales, will make the exercises in this book a seemingly endless array of playground activities.

Mick's book does what most books on playing the guitar do not: it makes you wonder. I consider wonder, especially a child's wonder, the ultimate key to making self-fulfilling music. While he does not say it aloud, Mick, in my opinion, speaks of many Zen-like concepts.

As does another great teacher of guitar, Pepe Romero. For those who are interested in reading about Pepe's teachings, I will gladly and freely send you an e-mail transcript of notes I took from a master class that I participated in with Pepe, in Corboba, Spain at La Festival Internacional de la Guitarra in 1998. Combined, I think you'll hear in Pepe's thoughts and Mick's ideas the sound of one hand clapping in the woods...

Some books are great to read in the bathroom... you just open them to any random page, and brilliance pours out. This book is like that. Now, this book is NOT for the vast majority of guitarists out there, the ones trying to figure out how to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn with a $50 fuzz box. But if you're one of those determined to find *your* voice on the guitar, i have not seen a better book. Mick Goodrick's approach is to smash your preconceptions, and help you to keep yourself fresh. It's not something he does for you, because NO ONE can do that for you.

This isn't education from the professor at the head of the classroom. This is wisdom from the old man on the mountain, who will answer all your questions with a single question of his own, and send you away to contemplate.

Thank you, Mick.

I am an avid jazz player and have been playing guitar for close to 38 years. This book can open your eyes and make you look at the guitar as if you were experiencing it for the first time. Between this and two additional studies by Steve Khan (Chord Kancepts and Pentatonics) in the past 8 months I have advanced my playing in light years. If you really want to play and understand exactly what you are playing, this book holds most of the keys. Now that I have this material to work on, I have another 30 years of work to do.

It's all here. Re previous reviews: of course it takes a lot of work - music is work.Hard work. This book cuts thru all of the crap and gets to the heart of the instrument, allowing the player to find his OWN heart. I return to it often. There is a lifetime of learning in this great book.

Mick Goodrick's book was recommended to me by a guitar teacher some years back, and I am glad I took him up on his recommendation. The book is continually expanding my mind as a guitarist and musician. Mick is very thorough and sticks to what is important. He is also very philosophical. His philosophical tidbits are alone almost worth the price of the book. If I could only reccommend one book to intermediate and advanced players, it would be this one. There is a lifetime of learning in these pages. I am a professional guitar teacher myself and am in awe of Goodrick's knowledge. Anyone who could master the contents of this book would be a stellar musician indeed. I doubt I will ever exhaust the possibilities hinted at here.

I love how he begins with a linear approach first - what he calls "the science of the unitar." This not only develops single string playing, but helps the student better visualize what is happening more like a pianist. His wholistic approach where anything goes is quite appealing.

I got this book about 10 years ago when I was desperately trying to learn how to play be-bop (a la Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, etc.). Unfortunately, this book was little help, despite the author's bona fide jazz credentials. This book might be helpful for a seasoned pro who needs a new perspective on scales/harmony, but, in my case, I needed a little more focused guidance.

For anyone who's learned the fundamentals (scales, arpeggios, etc) and is ready to move on to soloing over chord changes, I'd recommend carefully studying the Charlie Parker Omnibook. Analyzing Parker's approach to common chord progressions will open up your playing immensely.

This same approach can be used with any other transcribed solos; Hal Leonard Publishing has a lot of good transcription books. I'd recommend The Jazz Style of Tal Farlow, and The Motivic Basis for Jazz Guitar Improvisation, both by Steve Rochinski. These books give good insight into the classic jazz idiom.

However, like I said, if you are an advanced player, Goodrick's book might be worth checking out; if you're an intermediate player, you'll just get frustrated.

This is a great book. It does not spell everything out for you but it does open many doors. It would take years to work through this book. Mick gives you enough on one page to keep you busy for months of diligent work. I feel this book is too much for a beginner but it is great for taking the intermediate to the next level.

This is probably the greatest guitar instructonal ever. What is the most amazing thing about this book, is that you can apply it to your playing no matter what level you are. I have owned this book for nigh on 6 years, and everytime I go back to it I learn a little more. It's written so well, and is so accesible, that you get out of it what you can, every time you look at it you might learn or realize something different. I have only heard Mick Goodrick play twice, but through thtis book, he has been one of the major influences on my playing. I recommend this book to anyone who truly wants to understand music on the guitar.

I purchased this book on the recommendation of a fellow guitarist, if we can call ourselves that. He noted that it was not a technique book and that it would probably take me a good course of the rest of my natural life to get through. He was right. This book is, as the title suggests for the "Advancing Guitarist." You need to have a solid foundation in a few things in order to a: understand what he discusses, b: practice what he suggests, and c: glean information to incorporate into your own playing. A short non-comprehensive list of the foundation elements you will probably need to have down before picking up this book are: 1) knowing how to read music (not tabs, real music (you do not need to be a master at sight-reading, but you should at least be comfortable with sheet music)); 2) Basic Music Theory (This is a bit ambiguous, I know. You should be familiar with scale formulas, chord formulas, intervals, and modes. Ideally you should have all the major scale formulas memorized, the circle of fifths is your friend.); and 3) Basic left and right hand techniques (You need to be able to grab almost any chord immediately, with no delay, you should also have most barre chord formulas memorized. With the right hand, if you are right handed, you need to be comfortable individuating the string, in other words, playing individuals strings rather than all the strings in a strum.)

If you are serious about learning your instrument, the guitar, buy this book regardless of your situation regarding my list of foundational elements. That list is merely my opinion. It may take you a while to get through, but this book will serve you well. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to seriously pursue the guitar.

If you are a weekend guitarist, or someone who is interested only insofar as knowing how to play a few popular songs by tab, this book is not for you. If you are that type of player, this book is a waste of money. This is not a denigration of those types of players, they are just not as obsessed as other are. But if you really want to know your instrument, this book can help you out...a lot.