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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 |
August
5, 2001 Volume 54
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It's Not a Problem, It's a Process!
When you have a problem in playing, you SHOULD get excited and interested.
You SHOULD say "oh goodie, another opportunity to explore,
experiment, study, and form new conclusions that will result in
me being a better player". I know, I know, the only result you
get when you have a problem is that big hole in your bedroom wall
where you threw your favorite axe!
But, it is possible to achieve the great state of maturity enjoyed
by myself and other seasoned players, and to help you, I am giving
you some guidelines to follow when you find yourself in a state
of paralyzing perplexity in your playing.
If you are having a problem somewhere, i guarantee that some or
all of the following conditions are present. Use this as a checklist
to solve problems, by becoming more aware of your weaknesses during
practice.
If you are having a problem in playing (the definition of a problem
is "what I want to happen isn't happening" )then:
1. You don't really know where your fingers are;
2. You don't really know what your fingers should be doing to get
what you want;
3. You don't really know what you want;
4. You don't really want to hear the notes that badly;
5. You're not really listening to yourself;
6. You are constricting or stopping your breathing;
7. You think you should be able to do something, but given your
background, ability to practice correctly, quality of training,
and true developmental level, you shouldn't.
Now, some of these conditions can be uncovered and dealt with on
your own. The first one, for instance. I often solve a problem I
am having by paying closer attention to a finger in action (Following,
for Principled Players).
Some of these conditions can only be dealt with by getting correction
and advice from an experienced player/teacher. Number 2, for instance.
Explaining the details of technique is one of the primary functions
of a teacher.
Number 7 often needs someone with experience and perspective to
be properly dealt with. A student will show me something they want
to play, and then play it very badly, and complain to me "I
should be able to play this". I will say, "no you shouldn't".
Not with the ineffective way you have been practicing it you shouldn't.
You have gotten exactly the results you should be getting from the
efforts you have made".
Or, I may simply say, "your fingers are not ready to make these
moves at the required speed with the required relaxed control, YET!"
In other words, even with the best practice, we must respect the
fact that the development of playing ability is a process that takes
place over time, and to a certain degree, on its own schedule. As
in other "natural processes, such as growing plants, you can
provide the best conditions possible, but the farmer is still going
to have to allow time and the seasons to do their part. He can't
plant the seed, throw some water and fertilizer on it, and expect
to come back the next day and harvest the corn! And yet I have seen
players with those kind of expectations. They expect they should
be able to play something like the guy on the record just because
they spent a little time doing some (usually bad) practice on it!
So, remember as you go about your practice from day to day. When
you encounter "obstacles" or "problems", say
"It's not a problem, it's a process", and just make sure
that YOU enter INTO the process, the true process, of your own development
as a guitarist and musician.
I received a number of reactions to my thoughts on practicing versus
buying expensive guitars as a way to improve ourselves. And of course,
as in everything else, there is more than one side to the story.
I took the position I did because I think the understandings I wrote
about are of primary importance. However, once those things are
understood, then, it becomes very useful and necessary to add a
few other understandings into the discussion.
I am indebted to my good friend Mark Stefani of Vision Music (check
out his great web site if you haven't already, www.visionmusic.com),
a life-long, dedicated teacher of guitar and music, for the following
contribution to "round out" the discussion from last week.
Mark writes:
Jamie, Thanks for the newsletter -- always great reading what you have
to say! Of course I totally agree that it's the player and not the instrument,
though I routinely suggest that a student buy the best, most expensive
guitar that they can afford, just to eliminate the excuse for lackluster
performance (e.g. "I know I'd sound MUCH better if I just had
a better guitar!";-) That way, as you way, it's all on them
and their work ethic in the practice room,
eh?
And while you or I (or SRV) may be able to wring the most emotion
out of whatever instrument we pick up, it sure is more inspiring
to have one that works with you as opposed to fighting you tooth
and nail, every step of the way.
The sound and feel of some guitars (and basses) really helps my
playing rise to a higher level. Keep up the excellent work! Talk
soon... - Mark
Another player wrote in with some useful comments.
I just finished reading your article about the million dollar
guitar with the hundred dollar sound. Have to say I agree with most
of it, but not all. The point you make about ability and personal
development is number one. I have been reading your book and am
getting a lot out of it. As a matter of fact I'm thinking about
it right now as it relates to my typing ability... Ha, ha. Well
I am. But anyway, what I wanted to say about the article is that
a decent instrument CAN make quite a bit of difference in one's
playing. When I think about the first electric guitar I owned I
just think to myself, "What a piece of CRAP!" It was a
badly made Squire Strat with a warped neck and lousy pickups. The
thing is it seemed to be out of tune no matter what I tried to play,
and that made me think I was the problem, when in fact it had a
lot to do with the guitar. There are similar problems with cheap
acoustics and classicals alike.. bad necks, intonation out of whack,
action too high or low. Once I got myself a decent guitar, I found
I suddenly sounded a whole lot better.
Ciao. Mick.
Yes, I know the feeling. I started on a chintzy little Danelectro
that nature never intended for a human being to safely attempt a
bar chord on. I practiced on that thing 5 hours a day. When I got
to play a better guitar, it was like heaven. But I had to wait many
months before my father could afford my new guitar. I just trudged
ahead as best I could with what I had, while making plans to improve
the situation.
In fact, speaking of my father, he always used to say "do the
best you can with the tools you have". And that is true. It
is also true, as the above contributors have pointed out, "if
you need better tools, GET THEM!"
I Play Better When I Don't Pay Attention!
Hi Jamie,
I notice when I am practicing a guitar riff and pay very close attention
to it I don't play it as well. The mistakes are gradually less but
it is when I play it without paying so close attention to which finger
goes where or how much I should bend this string, etc, I play it better
and more smoothly. It's done without the extreme attention you say
players need. I have self taught myself for many years it is has always
been this way. Is this a curse or a gift? Maybe this is covered in
your book and I haven't gotten that far.
Thanks,
Don
Hi Don,
I can't say without seeing you, and the lick in question, whether
it is a curse or gift. I will tell you this: I have often had someone
sitting in front of me play a lick they are comfortable with. The
lick will have flaws, missed notes, or notes where the volume drops,
or it may come out ten different ways in 10 different attempts. The
player THINKS it sounds good, because they have trained themsleves
to "hear" it in a certain way, a way that conveniently doesn't
include the mistakes!
The best way to determine if this is happening with you is simply
to record yourself and listen back. If it is some other player's lick,
ask yourself if it sounds just like it is supposed to. Listen to your
recording, then immediately listen to the original lick. Only you
can decide for yourself if you are truly getting the result you want,
and if you truly want and are aware of the correct result.
I will tell you in my experience, when I come across this, it is usually
the case that the inability to do something slowly is simply a sign
of flaws in the playing that have been adjusted to. You are simply
running the lick on your muscle memory, which is fine, that's what
we do in playing. But the inability to do it slowly means you are
not able to go in "under the hood" so to speak, and change
or improve things about the playing of that particular series of notes.
For myself, I always want to be able to do that, so I always insist
on being able to do things at any speed, slow or fast.
Achieving Finger Lowness
Dear Jamie,
I bought your book fairly recently and have gone through and applied
most of the material. I have a problem that has become a recurring
theme for me however and I can't find a section in the book that deals
with it directly. When I do your exercises I can keep my unused fingers
close to the strings fine, but when I start in on my repertoire no
matter how hard I try, or how slowly I go, I can't seem to keep them
down. This goes for new material as well as already-learned. How Important
is it to keep unused fingers low to the strings and what suggestions
do you have to keep them low?
Thanks
Hunter Allen
Hi Hunter,
Okay, you need to realize that the "bottom of your practice"
is not deep enough. It is not a matter of going "slow"
or trying "hard". Realize this: there are "conditions"
that need to be trained into the fingers that require NO MOVEMENT.
That is what the whole section on Posing is about. If a finger is
raising from the strings in reaction to the action of another finger,
that finger CAN be kept low by following these steps:
- Go to the beginning of the problem area, and start with the problem
finger low, keep it lightly touching the string it will be playing,
or an adjacent one;
- Move through the passage using a combination of no tempo practice
and posing. Stop frequently and check the entire body and breathing;
- Watch the problem finger, make sure it STAYS IN CONTACT with the
string it is touching;
- Achieve the first goal of being able to move through the notes
in this manner while the finger behaves itself;
- Use the Basic Practice Approach to move to slow tempo, then up
through the tempos.
You see Hunter, you are simply missing the exact point at which
the problem begins, and you must find that point and focus. Also,
you must realize that matters like these, that involve physical
changes in muscles, nerves, and ligaments, definitely fall under
the category of phenomena mentioned in the above essay on "problems
and process". In other words, the ability of a finger to stay
low in the midst of action by other fingers, is a process that needs
MUCH TIME to develop, even with the best practice. So, check yourself
carefully in light of what I have said, and give it time.
And, to answer your question specifically, yes, it is extremely
important to train the fingers for "lowness". Fingers
sticking up in the air with a mind of their own leads to what I
call "tug of war". The finger is trying to get away from
the string, and you are trying to force it back down! Not a pretty
sight!
All
material copyright © 2003 by Jamie Andreas, GuitarPrinciples.com |
