Practice literature recommendation?

[parlopower]

I started playing guitar when I was 15 (about to turn 40 this year). I played for several years, but in 1997 stopped playing in bands and practicing. Only did some songwriting now and then.

Now my songwriting has become a serious thing again, I am working on producing my first EP which will be published, and already recording ideas for my first album. And I am in desperate need to improve my guitar playing. My fingers have become VERY VERY rusty.

I don't need theory lessons, still fit with that, but I need a good practice plan for training my fingers every day for a while (might have 30 minutes each day for practicing techinque). So I thought I buy a book with some good practical exercises.

I thought about buying Troy Nelson's "Guitar Aerobics", looks like it just fits my need, but I thought I also ask here if there is maybe something better. Any recommendations? Is "Guitar Aerobics" a good pick?

[Waxavub]

Online Guitar Lessons

[Igotsoul4u]

the berklee complete method is pretty awesome.

[parlopower]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will check out that Tom Hess online stuff... re: Berklee complete method, I am not sure what you mean? Can you post a link?

[rhizomeman]

If you're into improvisation at all, Mick Goodrick's book The Advancing Guitarist is fantastic.

[Igotsoul4u]

Originally Posted by parlopower

Thanks for the suggestions! I will check out that Tom Hess online stuff... re: Berklee complete method, I am not sure what you mean? Can you post a link?

Amazon.com: Berklee Press A Modern Method for Guitar - Volumes 1, 2, 3 Complete Book: Musical Instruments

[SeveBC]

The Berklee Modern method is focused on sight reading if Book 1 is anything to go by. However, book one also includes a DVD which is excellent so therefore overall highly recommended. 'Guitar Aerobics' by Troy Nelson is OK but offers no information regarding technique i.e. it is simply a series of exercises. Probably a better technique / exercise focused book is Scott Tennant's Pumping Nylon but it can get tedious; whereas I find scales therapeutic!

Three recent purchases that are well reviewed on Amazon (but are yet to be received by me as I've been moving around) are:

• Ultimate Guitar Technique: The Complete Guide (Musicians Institute: Private Lessons) Bill LaFleur
  Sold by: Amazon EU S.a.r.L.
  
• Guitar Fretboard Workbook Barrett Tagliarino
  Sold by: Amazon EU S.a.r.L.
  
• Chord Chemistry Ted Greene
  Sold by: Amazon EU S.a.r.L.
  

• For more advanced technique Troy Stetina's Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar (Hal Leonard) is very good and includes a CD.

[nightscope]

ns

[wesarvin]

Originally Posted by rhizomeman

If you're into improvisation at all, Mick Goodrick's book The Advancing Guitarist is fantastic.

+1000

My professor in college gave me that book. He actually taught alongside one of Mick's teachers.

It's great for breaking boxes and turning you into a musician.

The next best piece of advice is probably to just transcribe whatever catches your ear. Get it perfect, no matter how long it takes, and then...the most important part... analyze how it works and where it came from.

There's no use in practicing mindless technical exercises all day long. I've never gone "wow, listen to all those fast arpeggios" or "dang, those are some fast scalular sequences." I have gone "dang, that lick sounded cool" or "that's crazy...why is he playing an Eb triad over an A minor chord?"

Practice music and technique will come naturally. Practice technique and music will never follow.

[SeveBC]

Suggests that 'The Advancing Guitarist' polarises opinion and is theory heavy…… Is this true????

1.0 out of 5 stars The advancing guitarist Hmm!?, 20 Mar 2011
By
Gary Sellars (Glasgow) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
This book is zen type guitar thinking, but for the majority of players wanting some real inspiration, stay well away from this! I've been playing 30 years and this, i have to agree with D.Jones is pretty useless. The idea from Mick Goodrick seems to be "i'll give you a couple of pointers then you figure it all out yourself from there!" Yeah sure Mick! then what's the point of buying the book then?

Completely useless for the average player. The author try's to be too zen like and obscure and it just doesn't come off, at best he sounds pretentious and at worst totally ridiculous. Sections of ridiculous quotes that you'd need to be a psychologist to work out what he's talking about!

The book has some decent ideas such as working with a metronome but on the whole has to be the worst book i've ever used, it truly is that bad!
The Advancing Guitarist polarises opinion
If you want some real guitar tuition "in the real world" instead of Mick Goodrick's "imagination", then seek out Howard Roberts's three volume "Guitar Compendium; The Praxis System" which cover everything, scales, chords, harmony, musicianship and don't buy this drivel whatever you do! I think a lot of people who buy this type of book like to kid themselves on that they're more advanced musicians than they really are and this zen type thing appeals to their vanity.

Only gets one star because i can't award it none! Quite possibly might go down, in the annals of guitar history, as the worst "instruction??" book ever written. Truly terrible.

Avoid at all costs! a complete waste of money!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unquestionably the best guitar manual I've ever worked with., 24 Oct 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
I've been an active guitarist for over 30 years now and nothing I've come across is as simple, as comprehensive and so univesally applicable (no matter what style of music you play) than "The Advancing Guitarist". It written so well that you'll find yourself going back to it year after year. If you could only buy one book to learn the guitar in your lifetime, this would be it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Zen and the Art of Guitar Playing, 3 July 2007
By
Robert W. Palmer "bassinstinct" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
A wonderful book for the thinking guitarist. Goodrick's 'The Advancing Guitarist' seeks to bridge the gap between guitar player and musician, a gap that surprisingly few seem to cross. It is about making the music and not playing the instrument. It is about finding your voice and not imitating those of the chosen few. A lot of guitar literature presents as 'all you need to know' about playing the instrument. 'The Advancing Guitarist' should be subtitled 'all you need to ask'. It doesn't preach, it suggests. It doesn't tell, it guides.

Goodrick was a teacher at Berklee and he has directly influenced a generation of US guitarists like Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Wayne Johnson and John Abercrombie. He has performed and recorded with musicians of the calibre of jazz legends Gary Burton and Jack DeJohnette. That's one hell of a pedigree.

If you wish to rise above the writhing masses and make your own mark as a musician, 'The Advancing Guitarist' may provide you with some things to think about. Serious brain food and worth its weight in gold. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Continues to through up new material three years later..., 12 Oct 2002
By
"ors100" - See all my reviews
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
No - that's not because I'm a slow reader. It's because this book presents a vast spectrum of different ways to look at the technicalities of the guitar. Goodrick explains that his book isn't a "method book", but rather an essay which hints at methods but leaves much up to the reader to deduce. And that's how it should be when you reach a certain level of musicianship and need to take the next step to get 'out of a rut.' This is an essential part of every practicing musicians library.

And he taught Pat Metheny. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm full up on this food for thought!!!, 26 Sep 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
OK so, like people have said, *nothing* is handed to you on a plate in this book, but man there's SO MUCH information here I've been playing for 24 years and I've never come across such a great book.On page 37, under the heading "What Next?" one of Mick's points is "Explore counterpoint and harmonic material from all above modes and scales (he lists 23 for one tonic) for at least 20 years". And it really is possible to do that! There's so much you can take away and build on, and keep coming back and keep building on that I can't see why anyone so inclined couldn't base an entire career on the information on this book.
Yes - you need *some* knowledge of theory to follow this book, it's certainly not a beginner's book, and there's no TAB; it's all "tadpoles on gates", but come on, if you're a musician you should be able to read it, right?
If you can read basic notation, you understand the difference between a flat 3 and a sharp 4, and you want to increase your fretboard and musical knowledge, musical vocabulary, ability and confidence, get this book. It's that good.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a 'must buy' for all guitarists, it makes sense., 2 Jun 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
I run a music school in Glasgow, and for years I've always looked a great teachers for advice and guidance. This book encaspulates all that is sensible in learning the most beautiful instrument in the world. You might not be a brilliant sight-reader, no TAB, but it has plenty of relative music theory and is presented clearly and precisely. A job well done from M. Goodrick. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BEST GUITAR BOOK EVER - THE REAL DEAL, 16 July 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
It's all here. Re previous reviews: of course it takes a lot of work - music is work.Hard work. This book cuts thru all of the crap and gets to the heart of the instrument, allowing the player to find his OWN heart. I return to it often. There is a lifetime of learning in this great book. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not for Beginners!, 29 Mar 2010
By
A. LINNELL - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
WARNING! This book is definitely not for beginners or intermediates or even advanced players whose theory knowledge is in any way lacking.

This book I'm sure is great if you have the relevant experience and knowledge but seeing as it discusses the subtle creative aspects of modal theory within the first few pages, unless you know your C lydian from your A Dorian steer clear.

PS: I have been playing 2 years and know a decent amount of theory (probably about grade 3). Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but heavy going and not for everyone, 22 July 2010
By
Kenny - See all my reviews
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
I'm a young and enthusiastic guitarist and bought this book to try and push my playing on. I'm certainly very pleased with it, it is well written and quite humorous. The style of teaching is basically: do everything yourself, the book simply suggests new approaches to playing and offers plenty of material to work with. Goodrick's habbit of exhausting mathematical possibility can either be inspiring or depressing, and it is certainly not a book that is to be worked through cover to cover. If you are feeling repetitive in your playing though it is an excellent book to use in small doses.
I would say then that this is book is invaluable to guitarists looking to push themselves with minimal support (or at least not from this book), and if you are capable of withstanding some of the heavier chapters, it will certainly offer far more than most method books (this is not a method book).
However this book is not for beginners and some people will find the do-it-yourself style completely unhelpful.If you are looking for a convential step by step guide, this is not it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

34 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Be aware of the standard when purchasing this book, 9 May 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Advancing Guitarist (Sheet music)
I recently bought this book and I am sending it back. This is not meant as a direct criticism of the book, as it may well be very good. I just think that potential buyers should beware that the book launches in with quite advanced musical concepts, and having played the guitar for a year or two I hadn't a clue what it was on about. I've never had formal training so terms like phrygian etc. mean nothing to me. It's not for the beginner, or anywhere near beginner so just be careful. Again, this is more a misunderstanding on my part than a downfall of the book.

Carl Verheyen believes that up to 70% of what guitarists play is down to well practiced licks that have become integrated. YouTube - ‪Carl Verheyen "Creating Melodic Lines"‬‏ Carl Verheyen "Creating Melodic Lines"

His Intervallic theory book(s) are defintely worth exploring. Amazon.com: Mel Bay's Improvising without Scales: (includes CD) The Intervallic Guitar System of Carl Verheyen (9780786646999): Carl Verheyen: Books

Personally, as an analytical ex drummer I will be buying the Advancing Guitarist book in a few years time after significantly more community guitar and music theory lessons at Leeds College of Music (I'm 46 not 18 by the way).

[wesarvin]

This book is heavy stuff aimed at guys who already know theory and who've already studied with some great teachers. It's aimed at breaking down the vertical matrix style of thinking (i.e. scale shapes and chords) and turning everything horizontal, thinking of the linear aspect of the instrument, much as any other instrument does.

Playing shapes is not making music. Shapes are the crutch in which every method book makes a sale. Shapes are a tool, not a magical device to let you hit "right" notes in a solo.

I now start my students that are learning major scales to learn them on one string, learning the wwhwwwh pattern first. Only once they've mastered the concept in a couple of different keys do I show them patterns (CAGED system) to more quickly get through scales.

The Goodrick book is a great book, but as it is with anything musical, books are no substitute for studying with other musicians, namely musicians that are better than yourself.

For example, I've spent the last 2 weeks in a class studying moveable solfa and singing instead of our normal number-based system. I haven't even touched a guitar until last night. I can play and read better now than before, just from working on my musicianship.

Oh...as someone else said earlier:
Pumping Nylon is a great technique book. Though it's written for classical guitar, the technique can translate to any style. It'll make you fuss and curse at it for a few hours, but you'll be able to play things you've never thought was possible, with effortless ease.

[SeveBC]

Originally Posted by parlopower

I started playing guitar when I was 15 .....
I am in desperate need to improve my guitar playing. My fingers have become VERY VERY rusty.

I don't need theory lessons, still fit with that, but I need a good practice plan for training my fingers every day for a while (might have 30 minutes each day for practicing techinque). So I thought I buy a book with some good practical exercises.

Originally Posted by wesarvin

+1000

My professor in college gave me that book. He actually taught alongside one of Mick's teachers.

It's great for breaking boxes and turning you into a musician.

The next best piece of advice is probably to just transcribe whatever catches your ear. Get it perfect, no matter how long it takes, and then...the most important part... analyze how it works and where it came from.

There's no use in practicing mindless technical exercises all day long. I've never gone "wow, listen to all those fast arpeggios" or "dang, those are some fast scalular sequences." I have gone "dang, that lick sounded cool" or "that's crazy...why is he playing an Eb triad over an A minor chord?"

Practice music and technique will come naturally. Practice technique and music will never follow.

Well Alfred Brendel amongst others endlessly worked on technique as well as musicallity and in depth analysis of the score. Clapton would record himself playing on a little reel to reel and work on the track until it sounded like the original record. Hendrix ran through chord sequences and fingerings during class on an imaginary fretboard.

I get what you are saying but it isn't necessarily responding to parlopower's original request

I think we can probably agree that technique offers a substantive foundation on which to develop musicallity, However parlopower had a specific aim in mind which was:

Originally Posted by parlopower

buy a book with some good practical exercises

.

Originally Posted by wesarvin

......the most important part... analyze how it works and where it came from.

So wesarvin would you care to illustrate this approach with for example "I am the Walrus"…… how it works and where it came from?

[wesarvin]

Originally Posted by wesarvin

Pumping Nylon is a great technique book. Though it's written for classical guitar, the technique can translate to any style. It'll make you fuss and curse at it for a few hours, but you'll be able to play things you've never thought was possible, with effortless ease.

Refer to the above quote for my direct answer to the OP's question. However, I feel that it must also be realized that simply buying a technique book would not be the best answer to his issue. It will lead to another stagnation of musical development.

The long answer was derived mainly from jazz experience, which also translates to other genres. It was specifically aimed at guitar improvisation and performance, not songwriting.

Can you give an analysis to Trane's "Giant Steps" solo, or more simply to Page's riff in "Good Times, Bad Times?" That is what I meant by analysis. Realizing for example, how Page's opening D5 (though he's probably thinking A minor pentatonic) riff then outlines a C triad before using chromatic passing tones to begin the cycle again. Simply spelling scales is Knowledge/Comprehension. Analyzing the music and later synthesizing that information into your own music takes us further in Bloom's Taxonomy. The music will become part of your being, both on a cognitive level and in your soul. By concentrating on the music in this manner, technique will naturally improve. If you're still having trouble with hammer-on's, refer to "Ascending Slurs" in Pumping Nylon and you will probably never have trouble with them again.

I will disagree with the notion that technique provides a foundation for musicality. It's the other way around. Musicality is a foundation for technique.

Hendrix: Horrible technique. Exceptional musicality.

Zoltan Kodaly once said "I heard the world's finest singing from the world's worst voice" when referring to Toscanini.

My final quote is as follows:
"You will not be a good musician if you shut yourself up like a hermit and pursue mechanical exercises, but only if you live a many-sided musical life and have particularly close contact with choirs and orchestras [or "other better musicians" for modern times and musical genres]."
--Robert Schumann

I apologize for the seeming-rant. I feel strongly in these philosophies. The best improvement for technique on guitar is to study with a great teacher. The best ones will make you learn musical pieces and teach technique along the way. If a teacher isn't readily available, a book such as "Pumping Nylon" is a great reference to aid in overcoming mechanical hurdles. One can also transcribe great solos, riffs, and songs, then play them over and over, in different keys, different string sets, and different phrasing. Simply "playing hard music" will improve technique much more than repeating scales and exercises all day.

Edit:
I must add that simplicity is not stupidity. "I am the Walrus" is a simple bluesy tune. It is not to be looked down upon nor un-musical. I understand that my entire spiel may seem pretentious, but it is not meant with that heart in any way. It is simply written to provide personal insight and a somewhat-experienced perspective on the issue that I perceive that the original poster is facing.

[parlopower]

Hi guys,
finally time to get back to gearslutz for a few minutes more than usual and able to read all the answers to my question. First of all a big THANK YOU to everybody who wrote here!
Now, after the debate about technique and musicality, I feel I might have to explain my situation a bit closer:

Songwriting and playing guitar / singing has become a bit more of a serious thing again since a year or so, but I still have a normal day time job and most of all a family (wife, one daughter, and a son is on the way ).So I can make about 2 hours time every two or three days to work on my songs. That time goes to programming VSTi and record vocals and guitars and mix demos of my songs. (I write the songs and the lyrics "in my head" wherever I am.) One of my problems when recording is sloppy timing when recording guitars (especially getting doubles tight), another is that sometimes I have written things "in my head" that I can't play because my fingers are not fast or flexible enough.

So, I have tons of creative ideas, there is no problem with coming up with melodies and chords and rhythms and stuff. I always "hear a complete song in my head" and therefore hardly even think as a guitar player and don't have many limitations by trying to stick to certain scales or licks or whatever. I have no problems with musicality I think. My problem is to get that stuff that I have in mind played properly for the demo recording!

To tackle that problem, and to make the best use of the limited time that my family and job leave me for the music, I look for a well-planned exercise plan, to practice up to 30 minutes a day, that helps me improve timing and technique, so I can play and record tight and clean what I got already in my head.

I found from the description that "Guitar Aerobics" fits that picture. "Pumping Nylon" also sounds like a good candidate. Since a book is not such an expensive investment, I might just get both and see if I can go through both at the same time, or one after the other, or whatever. Any other recommendations maybe?

Thanks again for every suggestion!

[wesarvin]

Originally Posted by parlopower

Hi guys,
One of my problems when recording is sloppy timing when recording guitars (especially getting doubles tight), another is that sometimes I have written things "in my head" that I can't play because my fingers are not fast or flexible enough.

To tackle that problem, and to make the best use of the limited time that my family and job leave me for the music, I look for a well-planned exercise plan, to practice up to 30 minutes a day, that helps me improve timing and technique, so I can play and record tight and clean what I got already in my head.

Thank for clarifying. Personally, I'd stay away from a book to fix this problem. Practicing with a metronome and with recordings would probably be your best bet. Even something as simple as playing a chord progression with different strum patterns along with a metronome or drum machine would help your timing immensely. It's not so much speed or flexibility as it is coordination and getting the hands in sync with the head. For example, Django Reindhart only had a 2 finger "claw," but could play stuff that most guys only dream of.

Spend a few minutes (15-30) every day just playing along with recordings until you feel that you disappear with the music. You won't notice an improvement right away, but after 7 days, you'll find that you are a week better at it. There's no such thing as pure talent. It's time and dedication. I've been doing it for 21 years now and still get my butt kicked every day.

[doorknocker]

Originally Posted by wesarvin

Hendrix: Horrible technique. Exceptional musicality.

I REALLY hope you are kidding! (If not, watch out for a black car with tinted windows and 3 stern-looking and well-built men inside appearing at your doorstep in a short while ....)

Well, care to explain your take on 'technique'? Hendrix had the most incredible chordal technique IMO and while his right hand technique was certainly not speed-picking or GIT-approved, it helped him realize some of the most amazing phrasing ever.

Listen to the original studio version of 'Red House', try to REALLY nail it and realize that you never will get the same flow and tone, nor do I or anybody else.

Hendrix's technique incorporated not only the guitar itself but also the amp/effects/sonics in general. The Woodstock version of 'Star Spangled Banner' or 'Machine Gun' are great example of genius musicianship and GREAT technique.

Coming up with a great sound demands great technique, no matter whether it's Django Reinhardt, Mark Knopfler or Albert Collins.

[wesarvin]

Please fully read my previous posts before jumping to conclusions.

On that note, I feel that our definitions of technique are different. In no way did I mean that Jimi couldn't play things with a sense of phrasing and musicality that we all dream of, but if you were to ask him to rip through an altered dominant scale in every inversion and position at 250bpm, he'd just look with a stoned expression and then laugh.

Jimi's technique worked for Jimi. He did whatever it took to get the ideas in his head and heart and move them through his hands and through the instrument. Do you think that he sat with a Guitar Grimoire book and played exercise #352 ad nauseum?

When I said that Jimi had horrible technique, I meant it as a statement of musicality. Jimi never had textbook technique. The only technique he studied would have been Albert King's bending, or instructions on a bottle of lighter fluid. He actually created his own technique which textbooks now flock to copy. Still, his music came first, technique was an afterthought.

I may not be able to explain this clearly enough, but maybe Satriani can.
YouTube - ‪Joe Satriani Shows How to Play Like Hendrix (Part 1)‬‏

This is what technique study and "book learning" does to you: YouTube - ‪Michael Angelo Batio - Double Guitar‬‏

This is what musicality, transcription, and invention does to you: YouTube - ‪Castles Made of Sand- jimi hendrix‬‏

No offense to shred demons, but which artist would you rather listen to?

[doorknocker]

I agree with everything you say but I'm just allergic to the technique = speed equation which is totally a guitar thing. No piano player but also no piano music listener ever talks like that.

As for Jimi Hendrix I think it's a mistake to stop at the guitar itself when judging his technique, it clearly included his masterful use of sound and amplification. And you could write a book on Jimi's bending technique alone.

Listen to the beginning of 'Still Raining, still dreaming'. By what other means than great technique would anybody be able to come up with those sounds? And you need to think of them first in your head which nobody but Jimi did.

[wesarvin]

I also agree with what you are saying. I surrounded myself with other musicians that were NOT guitarists during college. It gave me a new perspective of music and fueled an utter abhorrence for the mass of "technique" literature marketed for guitarists.

I still wouldn't call knob-turning a technique, but a creative skill. As mixers, do we read books on proper slide-fader operation, or do we get in there and mix with our ears and hearts?

I know pianists that can perform every Bach and Bartok exercise with flawless technique, but they can't compose nor improvise their way out of a paper bag.

I feel that we are speaking the same truths, just using different words and terminology to do so.

[wesarvin]

Originally Posted by doorknocker

And you could write a book on Jimi's bending technique alone...

And you need to think of them first in your head which nobody but Jimi did.

...Meaning that he created the technique to express the musical ideas that came first.