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The
Principles of Practice
Based on "The Principles of Correct
Practice for Guitar"
by Jamie Andreas
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| IN
THIS ISSUE |
June
3, 2001 Volume 47
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Attention And In-Attention
I was in a lesson the other day, and had a very typical experience
with a student. In fact, you might say it was THE experience. It
was THE experience that displays the fundamental condition that
must be overcome in each of us, if we are to connect with our inner
teacher, our inner master, and that inner voice I spoke of a few
weeks ago.
So the other day, I had THE experience, once again, of showing the
student sitting in front of me that the reason she was having (and
keeping) the "problem" she was having (building speed
on the Walking Exercises) was because she was not paying ANY attention
to what she was doing. Of course, she did not realize she was not
paying attention, because she has not yet developed one of the skills
of mastery: the ability to pay attention to your in-attention.
She was doing 1-4 across the strings, at 60 in 8th notes (playing
a classical, so the neck is wide, and stretch demanding). She kept
working up to the second string, and breaking down. Then, she would
go back to the beginning, start all over, and break down in the
same spot! Over and over and over. She would probably still be sitting
there doing it if I didn't intervene!
Could you imagine walking down the road and tripping over a rock,
and then going back to the beginning of the road, walking down the
road again, and tripping over the same rock, again and again? Isn't
it a better idea to stop when you get to the rock, and take a good
hard look and a good hard think!
My student, Kathy, was not even LOOKING at her fingers, which was
the first thing I pointed out. As she began to look at her fingers,
and REALLY paying attention to what was going on, where the fingers
were breaking down, what it looked like, what it felt like, she
began to notice things, and she began to talk to herself out loud.
"Hmm, I think it has something to do with my thumb. My thumb
doesn't feel comfortable."
"Oh, really" says I, "maybe you want to think about
that a bit, maybe experiment a little"
"Hmm," says Kathy, "if I move my elbow out a little
when I get to this spot it feels better. I notice how the pressure
changes when I lift my 4th finger,", etc. etc. and blah blah
blah.
She started to reel off a such a long train of investigative thought,
talking stream of consciousness, that I just sat back and listened,
learning a lot myself!
And that, people, is what it is all about! If you can realize that
when you are practicing and you are "stuck" that your
"stuckness" is being held in place by your own RESPONSE
to it, then you are on the road to increasing your power as a practicer
and player.
Kathy was like a little car, with its nose up against a wall determinedly
trying to go forward, but instead, just spinning her wheels and
staying in the same place. I just came along and gave her a kick
in the rear to get her back on the road! I didn't TELL her anything
in terms of a solution to her problem, I just made her aware of
the fact that she was "stuck" in the problem, instead
of being busy finding a solution!
Now you know I would like to be there to kick you in the rear also
when you get stuck, but you will have to learn to kick yourself!
( And remember, recording yourself and listening back will almost
always provide the "shock treatment" that will motivate
you to face and pay more attention to the sounds you are REALLY
making).
Good luck!
Whispers on the Web
Someone was kind enough to send me a post that he had read, which
led him to my book. It's very gratifying to know that there are
people are out there spreading the good news: there IS a book that
actually WORKS, that isn't like all the other ones you've bought.
It is for ALL players of ALL styles, and of ALL levels. The Principles
of Correct Practice will show you how to move to your next level
of ability. It shows beginners how to start without getting bad
habits, and shows long time players how to get rid of the bad habits
they have.
Here is the post, and thanks, Timo for sending it, and Theron for
writing it. (And by the way, Theron, coincidentally, I had just
finished looking at the question you sent me, and will answer it
next week).
Hello Jamie,
Thanks for your message about the book. It was alt.guitar group
where I found out about "The Principles of Correct Practice
for Guitar". One post I found there 01.05.27 might be of your
special interest, so let me quote it here for you:
Hi Timo:
I am NOT speaking on behalf of Jamie Andreas and his book
"Principles of Correct Guitar Practice" nor am I endorsing
it. Rather I am recommending it as an excellent guide to help
you get the most of your practice... It was one of the best $24
I have spent recently.
Check out his site: http://www.guitarprinciples.com
it's excellent... Jamie's book has helped me identify the difference
between effective practicing for results and ineffectively "noodling"
around. 15 minutes of effective practice is far better than 2
hours of ineffective noodling.
My guitar instructor told me it's better to practice daily
in shorter increments than 1-2 days a week in long increments.
I "force" myself to get up an hour early before work
to practice. Then I come home during lunch and practice for about
25-30 minutes and then in the evening for 1-3 hours if I can during
the week.
thanks,
Theron
Bar Chords Tight Fit Up Neck
Hi Jamie,
I can bar from a "E" position 3rd fret "G" note
to 8th fret "C" fine, but cann't seem to get or FIT my
(large) fingers on the "D" note 10th fret. My fingers
are medium large. Is this something I CAN REALLY LEARN or should
I quit trying. Its very frustrating for me. Thanks
Larry H.
Hi Larry,
Don't worry, Larry, you don't need to bark up that tree. The E position
bar chord is not very practical up at the 10th fret, for two reasons:
on most guitars it is too tight for anybody to be comfortable doing
it, and two, it doesn't sound good anyway. You will be much better
off using an A position moveable form at the 5th fret when you need
a D chord, or, of course, the good old 2nd position open form. (Often,
people get so enamored of the technical accomplishment of playing
bar chords, they fail to realize that the open position chords sound
the best in terms of resonance, due to the fact that they contain
open strings, sounding their full length.)
Now, if you need that high D note on top of the chord for some reason,
as in chord melody playing, there are many other choices, such as
a small first position F chord moved up to the 10th fret, or, my
favorite, half bar at the 7th fret, with the pinky getting the D
on the first string 10th fret.
----10----------
----7----------
----7-----------
----0----------
--------------
--------------
This voicing sounds nice because it has the open D string, however,
you have to do a half bar, so you better make sure you keep everything
relaxed! Approach the half bar in the same way I have described
for the full F bar on the essay on my site Easy
Bar Chords.
The Twanger-Good Idea?
Hi Jamie,
I came upon twanger.com and read about its portable picking
device for practice. Your web page is listed as a link with this
site. I have great respect for your straight shooting opinions (
I have your book and read your Principles of Practice each time
it comes out via email). Can you give me your opinion on this device?
Best regards,
Tony
Hi Tony,
Yes, well, the maker of the Twanger wrote to me, asking if I would
send him my book if he sent me a Twanger. I always like to try new
things, so I said sure. The problem was, I didn't really try it.
I have always had a problem getting myself to do guitar exercises
away from the guitar! If I am going to practice the right hand,
fingers or picking, I just prefer to have the rest of the guitar
there too! (The twanger is just the area of the guitar over the
soundhole, or where you pick).
Now, of course, my life is arranged around the guitar, so I have
the luxury of being able to do that. However, I remember many years
ago, finding my practice time severely cut into after doing that
very dangerous thing for aspiring guitarists (getting married)!
I used to keep an old guitar in the car, and actually practice while
I drove, one hand or the other, with the neck sticking out the window
(while I was on the lookout for cops). When I came to a light, I
would use both hands. It was my own personal twanger!
So, bottom line, for better or worse, I never took to such things,
maybe I will later. I recommend that anyone interested try it, and
you may very well find it wonderful. I can't think of any reason
why it wouldn't be a good thing to do. You could certainly be training
the individual muscles of the hand and arm by using it.
"Can't Relax My Shoulder!"
Dear Jamie:
I bought The Principles a few weeks ago. After reading through
it and then playing slowly, I found all the problems involving tension
that you write about, especially shoulder tension, in my playing.
Thank you for bringing this problem to my attention. As they say
"knowing that there's a problem is the first step to the solution."
However, no matter how much I try to relax, I can't seem to get
rid of the tension. Any suggestions?
Thanx,
Eli
Hi Eli,
Eli, I hear this all the time. You have not yet generated the intensity
of awareness necessary to be there, in your body, BEFORE the natural
tendency of the body to tense AND muscle memory from past tension
TAKE OVER and run the show.
When you do REAL No Tempo practice, when you really use POSING,
you will not say "no matter how MUCH I try to relax".
It is not a matter of MUCH, as if you should do MORE of what you
are doing. You are not actually doing the right thing!
I know it's frustrating, because, by definition, what we are talking
about is a BLIND SPOT for you. I guarantee you, if you were sitting
in front of me, I would point out the tension AS it is beginning,
and I would focus your attention to the point BEFORE it occurs.
This is what I call "deepening the bottom of your practice".
Your practice is not deep enough yet. Realize this, and work to
deepen it.
Here is a little device to try, which I use myself when I am having
trouble locating tension that I know is present, because it is manifesting
as a "playing problem". Play up to the very note that
is the "stress point", and STOP! Stop right there, in
position, and examine your entire body. And then, RELAX in that
position. In this way, you teach your body HOW IT FEELS to be relaxed
in that position, even though your body does not think it is possible.
Then, through no tempo and slow tempo practice (following the Basic
Practice Approach), re-create and build those relaxed sensations
into the movement process required by the music.
Try this, and good luck.
All
material copyright © 2003 by Jamie Andreas, GuitarPrinciples.com |
