Rating: 
Summary: For the musician willing to do a little advancing
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: For the musician willing to do a little advancing
Review: "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?" 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.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful wonderful!
Review: amazing content. more amazing when applied. i have not found a way to contact mick goodrick because i want to tell him how he'd changed my life and perception of the guitar. it's a great book..but slackers beware..it's not for you.
Rating:
Summary: The best!
Review: As many other guitarists, I try to constantly improve my playing and improvising. As a self-taught musician, I purchased several books on jazz guitar methods, improvising and so forth. This book really so far has been wonderful, it feels like that I am re-discovering my instrument. In my opinion, this is a must-buy for anyone who seriously wants to improve his/her playing skills, improve his/her technique, and is willing to work hard on it. Here are some reasons why this book is a great buy: 1. He makes you improvise on one string at a time, a wonderful and very important concept. And you do this way before working on 2 strings, or on position playing. 2. Overall great music theory, and insights from a very experienced musician. 3. no tabs (in my opinion this is an advantage) 4. endless material to work with This is the best guitar book (that I know).
Rating:
Summary: One of the best music instruction books ever written...
Review: For years this book served me as the guitar player's Holy Grail. Yes, it definitely comes from an abstract point of view so you need to make your exercise's yourself but guitar players do so any way (at least the ones who are not expecting free lunches...). The information value of this book is immense.
Rating:
Summary: Searching For Your Zen On Guitar
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent tool for guitarist
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Eye opening
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly taught ideas. Get Fretboard Logic instead.
Review: I am an intermediate guitarist with just basic theory knowledge. This book is just the author's brain dump of what he has learned over the years. There is no real organization nor is there any explanation of concepts. For example, he starts using the term "modal vamp" without ever defining it before he even goes into explaining modes. He gives you lots of things to practice, which is fine, but he does not explain any more about them. It's hard to even know what he is talking about at some point. Sometime he'll just throw a scale on the page without any context. That is poor teaching/writing.
He spouts a few vague pseudo-philosphical comments without any real meaning. It feels like just wrote down everything he knew in blurbs throughout the book. There are some gems like the single string solos and learning of intervals. However, this book could have been boiled down to a 20 page booklet from the meaty information in it. If you want a good guitar book then get the Fretboard Logic series. Oh well, at least this book was cheap.
Rating: 
Summary: What I Wanted
Review: I bought to the book because I wanted to learn more advanced guitar techniques and musical theory. It definitely was a musical theorists dream, but many of the lessons were too over the top for most players (in my opinion). Some of it bordered on fluff. But it contained some good insights into the melodic minor and harmonic minor modes for which I was looking for. Unfortunately for me, everything was in standard notation as oppossed to tabulature, which was a nightmare for me, who never was taught how to read that fluently. But good for anyone looking to expand their musical theory understandings. PS: If anyone has any good recommendations on melodic minor and harmonic minor songs, books, lessons, examples, etc. please email me at douggirard@aol.com Thanks, I'm looking to learn more and more about that.
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