Biography
The Advancing Guitarist
By Mick Goodrick

Though I've never met Mick personally, I've studied with some of his students and I've also seen him play several times. He is another professor at Berklee College of Music and I also believe he teaches at the New England Conservatory as well.

I think Mick says it best in the opening lines of this book..."This is a do-it-yourself book. It's not a method book. You supply the method." Basically Mick takes the approach of exposing you to certain music ideas in a sort of broad brush fashion. He merely points to a number of paths that you can take, but he doesn't necessarily walk down them with you.

Specific topics covered in the book are: Fingerboard mechanics, modes/chord scales, triads, seventh chords, triads over bass notes, voicings, pentatonic scales etc. One of the biggest things I drew from this book was an idea that he has for practicing scales. He talks about playing up and down one string with one finger only...then making it 1 string with 2 fingers, then 3...etc. Pat Metheny has also talked about the value of trying to solo on a tune just using one string. What happens is that you're forced to see the notes on the neck and not rely on finger patterns alone.

The other thing I love about this book is the commentaries written by Mick at the end. They are just musical philosophies regarding practicing, performing, and playing in general...definitely a book you can keep by your bedside.

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