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43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For the musician willing to do a little advancing, July 7, 2004
This review is from: The Advancing Guitarist (Reference) (Paperback)
"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.
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39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Searching For Your Zen On Guitar, August 20, 2000
This review is from: The Advancing Guitarist (Reference) (Paperback)
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...
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great "bathroom book" for guitar, July 13, 2001
This review is from: The Advancing Guitarist (Reference) (Paperback)
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.
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