Goodrick’s Advancing Guitarist

[Bach5G]

Any thoughts about this book?

[jazznylon]

That book is a black hole. Not even light can escape it. Still my favorite bathroom read though! Its fun to play bebop heads on one string. Something I thought about from multiple readings of the book over the years.. If you can play anything on 1 string you can play anything on any tuning.

[Jimmy blue note]

It's not a method book. It's the collected unadulterated treatise of the many possiblities of the guitar.
The Advancing Guitarist is a book of potentials, options, navigation, harmony, melody, advanced harmony, very advanced harmony, simple and basic principles 95% of guitarists miss... all in a form that lets the reader discover how, where and when to make it into music.
You won't get anything from this book if you won't put in a lot of hard work. If you love the guitar enough to make your own method, this book is an amazing proto almanac of what one man thinks is possible.
And it's highly entertaining. Wise. Funny.
IMHO

It's been discussed before
"The advancing Guitarist" Mick Goodrick HELP!
Help with The Advancing Guitarist (Mick Goodrick)

[FwLineberry]

Every time this subject comes up, the responses run the gamut from complete waste of paper to greatest guitar book ever written.

I rate it very high for the right type of learner. If you're the type who needs explicit directions on what to do and how to do it, this is not a good book for you. If, instead, you like the approach of somebody pointing out all the possibilities and very little direction or dictation regarding how to explore those possibilities, this is an excellent resource of those possibilities.

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[Cunamara]

I rate it very high for the right type of learner.

That is exactly right.

[christianm77]

I like this book more than I actually use the material in it, if only because I don’t find myself using books very often. I like the attitude of it and try to cultivate that in my own practice as a player and teacher.

I think its most valuable aspect is a sort of meta, imaginative, creative and divergent approach to practicing and learning the instrument.

much jazz guitar material seems designed around the fiction that you start off at point A and progress linearly to point B like a guided tour. This is not how jazz guitar or creative music making works generally, ultimately; you can acquire basic skills in a somewhat linear spoonfed fashion but beyond that you have to be self directed.

Goodrick seems to be encouraging you to veer off and get lost in the woods, and come all the richer because of it. You can’t find your own thing without doing this....

If you are feeling uninspired, open this book to a random page.

[Alter]

It depends on what you are looking for in a book, and what you are missing as a player/person. It reminds me of Jo Damian's "Guitarist guide to composing and improvising". If they speak to you, they may open doors to new areas of musicianship. That alone is worth reading them.

[marcwhy]

Any thoughts about this book?

There are many thoughts on this book. Are you thinking about purchasing it, or starting a discussion, or starting an argument?

Any thoughts?

[GTRMan]

Well, he already started a discussion.

[marcwhy]

I guess ...

[JohnoL]

I remember when I bought the book. I was in Atlanta for a software training course in December 1998 and found it in a Borders or Daltons bookstore.
I have no regrets about the purchase.

[Gearhead]

IMHO: Funniest and probably "deepest" guitar book out there. Taught me a lot about melody and everything else, and above all about saxophone carrying squirrels. After reading it I became a short order cook...

[Jimmy blue note]

There are many thoughts on this book. Are you thinking about purchasing it, or starting a discussion, or starting an argument?

Any thoughts?

[paulkogut]

Hello, Bach5G!

I've been lucky enough to study with Mick and have done a great deal of work out of the Advancing Guitarist. I'll do my best to answer any specific questions you might have, but if you search "Goodrick" in the forum (watch out for the auto-correct) you'll find a number of threads with some spirited discussions on Mick's approach.

Best wishes for your music,

PK

[FwLineberry]

IMHO: Funniest and probably "deepest" guitar book out there. Taught me a lot about melody and everything else, and above all about saxophone carrying squirrels. After reading it I became a short order cook...

I may have been already working as a short order cook when I bought the book. I had nowhere to go but up.

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