Anyone else really enjoy picking up new ideas from books? There are a lot of crap ones out there, but some real gems too.
Pic related is what I’m working through now and it’s fantastic. Randy has another book that’s a more general introduction to jazz guitar, which is probably the most useful information dense guitar book I’ve ever found.
What are your favorites?
Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick and Guitarist’s Guide to Composing and Improvising by Jon Damian. I found the latter much easier to read and digest than the former, but they’re both great for when I’m in a rut or feeling demotivated.
Yeah I knew it would be when and not if on the advancing guitarist popping up. I got my copy of it like 10 years ago, and I definitely wasn’t ready for it. Only relatively recently am I really starting to get a lot out of it.
I’m not familiar with the other one but will have a look!
I had the same experience. The knowledge and concepts in that book are invaluable, but it demands a lot of the player intellectually (to be fair, Mick did warn us of that in the foreword). As a strictly amateur guitarist, I doubt I’ll ever be able to fully digest it. I just try to take what I can from it when I’m feeling stuck in my playing.
However, I would highly recommend the Jon Damian book if you liked the idea of Advancing Guitarist but want something a bit more structured and focused. I found most of the concepts in it really easy to apply.