Product Description

Veteran musician and educator Mick Goodrick presents practical information for guitarists who want to improve their playing technique and style and simply become better musicians. Rather than a step-by-step method book, the information is presented in a general essay format, discussing ways that the various techniques covered may be applied by the advancing guitarist to enhance his/her own style of playing, some of the areas discussed include: basic fingerboard mechanics * modes, scales and chords * contemporary harmony * harmonica and overtone influences * being self-critical * improvising short pieces * different playing situations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #86990 in Books
• Published on: 1987-11-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 120 pages

Customer Reviews

The Advancing Guitarist (or how to learn all those things you should have learned years ago!)
Mick Goodrick's book - The Advancing Guitarist opens the door to playing the guitar properely (whatever 'properly' means to you).
If, like me, you learned to play folk music and the good old 3-chord 12-bar blues rhythms by ear, without actually learning the guitar or without even learning to read music than this book will open your eyes and show you a whole new realm of guitar playing you probably never even thought existed. If you look at some of the great rock players (yes some of those guys REALLY do know how to play), like Carlos Santana, Brian May, Eddie Van Halen, Brian Setzer and see them tripping through scales and arpeggios at close to the speed of light and fingering chords which simply do not appear in the "Boy's Own book of Guitar Chords" or if you listen to the gentle finger-style of the likes of Eva Cassidy then these people are using techniques and abilities which can be learned from this book. If the thought of a BbM7#11 chord scares the life out of you then this book explains the simplicity of it. With the wild exuberance of youth, a teenager will absorb this book and go from strummer to musician (and probably no longer have time to go out and beat up little old ladies any more) but with many of us the 115 pages will take half a lifetime to learn.
If you are going to get one book on Guitar Techniques and Musical Theory with the intention of really getting to grips with this versatile instrument GET THIS BOOK!
If you want to learn to front the next generations rock band and play scintillating riffs to your enthralled audience GET THIS BOOK!
If you want to play your classical guitar like Segovia, reading from an orchestral score GET THIS BOOK!
If you can't tell the difference between a Dominant Seventh and an Augmented Seventh GET THIS BOOK!
If you are serious about wanting to play the guitar GET THIS BOOK!

great book
This book is really good with giving tips, suggestions, and explanations. It really makes you think and figure it out on your own. But, if you don't have an elimentary knowledge of guitar or music theory in general you'll get lost really quick. Overall, I was really satisfied with it.

Excellent, but not a technique or beginner's book
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.