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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 |
December
23, 2001 Volume 68
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The Fundamentals of Fun
The subject of Fun is one of the most serious topics we can discuss.
One of the greatest achievements of my lifetime has been the maintenance
of the capacity for fun from early childhood. Another has been coming
to an understanding of what Fun is. And so, Fun is the cornerstone
of my life, and the foundation of everything I do.
I know that I am sometimes perceived as a serious person, talking
about Principles and other not-so-fun topics, but when you know
what Fun is, then you will see why even serious, or thought inducing,
weighty matters can be Fun.I want to talk about this subject because
it is vital to making progress as a guitarist. In fact, you cannot
MAKE any progress as a guitarist, unless you know how to have Fun.
We "play" the guitar. You cannot "play" if you
don't know how to have fun. It's true that "practice"
sometimes seems like "work", but you will see that work
is not the opposite of play, or the opposite of fun. Work can, and
should, be Fun.
Now, Fun is a funny thing. For some people, going out dancing and
drinking all night is fun. For others, that would be torture, but
sitting quietly and reading a book on philosophy is Fun. For some
people, jamming on the electric guitar for hours is fun, for others,
sitting with a metronome for an hour of disciplined practice is
Fun (and yes, the same person may find each of these things to be
Fun at different times). For some people, having to solve difficult
problems requiring great thought is Fun, and for another, it is
nothing but a headache. So, what is going on here?
The fact is that anything can be Fun for some person or the other.
However, the particular things that we find to be Fun say everything
about who we are as people, and what our level of personal development
is. However, there is one common denominator that is always present
when a person says "this is fun". That common denominator
is "creative enjoyment". Fun is creative enjoyment. Einstein
working out the theory of relativity, or Michael Jordan shooting
a basket; both are having Fun. Both are "creatively enjoying".
As long as this quality is present, ANYTHING can be fun. Without
this quality, NOTHING is fun.
What is "creative enjoyment"? Well, "creative"
is almost self-explanatory. It is basically bringing something new
into the world. It could be a dinner, an idea, a blanket, a building,
whatever. Whatever is being created, it involves bringing something
"out" of yourself, and giving it some kind of form on
the outside.
The universal human urge to be creative stems from the one characteristic
that always accompanies a creative act: a pleasurable energy sensation
in the inner being. The person who knows how to have Fun is the
person who knows how to be good to themselves, how to give themselves
pleasure, how to make themselves happy.
Everyone is inherently creative. All children are naturally creative.However,
creativity carries with it a certain "natural aggressiveness",
and "natural assertiveness. To be creative is to affirm and
assert oneself, to use one's power. Many children have this natural
assertiveness conditioned out of them as they mature, and so they
cannot find their creative powers when they have become adults.
They also cannot find their ability to have Fun. In fact, I have
met many adults who actually believe that adults are not supposed
to have Fun! When I am teaching such a person, I have to try to
re-connect them with their lost ability to have Fun. Sometimes I
can , and sometimes I can't. Some people will not allow it; giving
themselves pleasure, and having Fun, makes them feel guilty.
And enjoyment? That is a very interesting word. "En-Joy".
According to the dictionary, "en" means "to put into".
Now, this is a very key understanding. People usually think that
things are enjoyable in and of themselves, as if "joy"
positively radiates from various things, and we merely have to bask
in the "joy" that shines out of them like sunlight. A
new car, a million dollars: wow, what happiness, what joy! And yet,
we often read of millionaires with lots of money and fleets of cars,
who kill themselves after falling deeply into despair and misery
for one reason or another. So, obviously, there is no "joy"
emanating out of any of these exalted "things".
When we en-joy something, it is because of what we are putting INTO
it, not what we are getting OUT of it. "It" has nothing
to give us, until we give "it", us! What we put into it
is the Joy that is already inside of us! Well, obviously, you must
already HAVE this Joy inside of you before you can put it into something.
That Joy is the native Joy of simply being alive, simply existing,
along with everything else. We would all do well to check up on
our personal "Joy Quotient". If it is low, or missing
entirely, we should find out where it went. We won't find it gone
to anywhere outside of us, only buried, perhaps smothered, deep
within.
Someone who has nothing they enjoy, simply is empty inside. The
reasons why this happens would require other essays, but understand
that an artist MUST have an inner fullness that is brought out,
and combined with "the world" in a creative way, and VOILA,
art appears. Music is written and played and sung, because someone
has the capacity for "creative enjoyment", for FUN.
As we go from child to adult, the particular things we find to be
Fun will change, and be added to. However, the intensity of that
Fun, and the ability to have it, should never diminish. Unfortunately,
it almost always does. There is no sadder sight to my eyes than
the disconsolate child, moping and moaning "I'm bored, there's
nothing to do". This poor child is already old, the spark has
left, the inner fullness has turned to emptiness, and that emptiness
is projected outward, so that the world, full of so much beauty
and amazement, looks empty.
No, the opposite of Fun is not work, it is boredom, which is "apathy
for existence".
It can truly be said that the passage from childhood to adulthood,
when properly traversed, is characterized by the ability to transform
Fun into Work. The only difference between Fun and Work is that
Fun is the creative enjoyment of an activity which has no goal other
than the activity itself, and Work is activity that has a predetermined
goal (Intention). That is why Work can be Fun, because Work is simply
Fun with an added dimension. Work, like Fun, can be a form of creative
enjoyment; it simply has a goal also. This is the difference between
practicing and playing. Practicing is Work (Fun + Intention, or
the goal to learn and improve), Playing is just plain Fun (we play
because we want to play, it feels good). Fun has no structure imposed
upon it from outside, Work has an imposed structure, that is why
it is more "adult".
The properly developed adult should feel both a need for Fun and
a need for Work. For myself, I am switching between the two all
the time. Even sitting practicing, I may do some technical exercise
for 15 minutes, with intense focus and concentration, and then,
I will feel the great urge to just PLAY something and have Fun.
Which I do. Sometimes, I just feel the need to play for half an
hour. Sometimes, I feel the need to Work for an hour. One feeds
into, and leads into, the other.
There are two types of students: one needs to learn how to Work,
and the other needs to learn how to have Fun. The first is more
common. Most people have never learned true Work. Most people's
relationship to Work began as that most distasteful intrusion upon
our personal time and energy, when, as children we encountered that
thing called "homework". Yes, homework, another word for
"the demand to focus our inner resources upon something to
which we have no connection, and no desire for connection, but we
do so under threat of some type of punishment from all the Big People".
Wow, what a wonderful way to discover how to "en-joy"
life! What a wonderful way to get a good attitude about Work!
So, many people I meet need to be trained to put out the level of
energy and focus required to learn the guitar as it should be learned.
They simply have never encountered something which made this demand
on ALL their physical, mental, and emotional resources. You can
fake your homework. You can't fake your guitar practice, and you
sure can't fake your guitar playing!
However, I will occasionally get the type of student who is happy
to practice exercises with the metronome all day, focusing on those
fingers for hours all day, every day. However, they never pick up
the guitar to just play and have Fun! How sad, how tragic! That
is not how we get to be guitar players or musicians. Musicians specialize
in having Fun. We are Fun Masters. I have to tell these people "
I am ordering you, as part of your practice, to just pick up the
guitar, play it, and have Fun! Remember, have Fun, that's an order!"
Often, beginners on guitar delay having Fun, putting it off until
some time in the distant future when they deserve it. This is not
good. Fun, and music making should come into the picture as soon
as possible. Anyone just learning to play should have two goals
in mind: one, making sure the technical foundation being laid is
correct, and strong so that continuous growth is possible, and two,
making some MUSIC as soon as possible, something, anything that
that turns you on, that gets your emotional juices flowing, whether
it is Bach or Rock.
Yes, anything worth doing should be worth having Fun while doing
it. The United States Marines live by a Principle, their motto,
"Semper Fi", which means "always faithful".
Here at GuitarPrinciples, I have told everyone involved in the day
to day workings of things (and "not-workings, such as computers,
printers, etc.!) to keep our Motto in mind. It is the Principle
we operate on here, our first Principle of Business, Work, and Life:
Semper Fun
How Not To Practice!
Well, once again I had the very interesting experience of meeting
someone who has been using my book on their own. He was very impressed
with it, and believed he was getting something from it, but he also
felt very strongly that he would greatly benefit from having personal
instruction from yours truly. He was right. He was very right.
I am always extremely gratified with all the letters of thanks and
reports of major breakthroughs in playing, that come in on a daily
basis at GuitarPrinciples. There are over 3000 people worldwide
who have bought a copy of "The Principles of Correct Practice
For Guitar". People enthusiastically tell other people about
my work. And yet, I have a major fear. I have a major fear that
many people, far too many people, have gotten my book, gave it some
kind of read through, knew it sounded good and made sense, and In
fact, felt certain that my book contains the answers to their years
of struggle or stagnation with the guitar. BUT, and it is a BIG
but, they are not digging into it with the necessary intensity,
and they are not doing EXACTLY what I say to do when it comes to
the Tools and the Exercises, and so, they are NOT getting anywhere
near what they should from the book.
All you have to do is read the recent "confession" by
student Dave Sinclair to see this situation illustrated. For whatever
reasons, busy schedule, basic inability to follow written directions,
whatever, he missed about every important point in my book, and
I would have to say, got nothing out of it, other than the conviction
that it DID contain the answers to his problems. Compare that to
Power Users like Eric K and John Parsons, people who I have never
met, who testify that The Principles caused a revolution in their
playing, and in their ability to make continuous progress. (Don't
worry about Dave, he has plenty of natural talent, and simply needs
a "major re-alignment" to get the most out of it, a process
already begun. Here is Dave's story:
I would like to start my response to Jamie's comments
by giving my own experience with the guitar. I started playing about
20 years ago. I started as an adult even though I played clarinet
and sax when I was in grade school.
I started guitar at a local music store that gave lessons. I had
always wanted to play guitar and I wasn't getting any younger. The
teacher I had then took me through both sets of the Alfred's and
Mel Bay lesson books. This gave me a basic knowledge of the guitar.
I always liked finger style ragtime guitar so I decided to pursue
that. I found another teacher and I was off and running.
The teachers that I have had so far didn't seem care too much about
technique. In fact there wasn't much said about it at all. Definitely
not the detail that Jamie gets into in her book. I played this for
about 4 years and then I stopped playing for about 15 years. The
good news is I picked it back up again hopefully for the rest of
my life.
Since I picked it up again I have been through several teachers
but have now found a classically trained teacher who also plays
many other styles. I have been with him for about a year now.
I have been learning new songs along with studies and scales but
very little focus on technique and how to practice although more
so than previous teachers. In fact I let him borrow Jamie's book
but he said he could only skim through it.
I have been playing again for about 1-½ years. I still felt
I wasn't making the progress that 1 to 2 hours of practice a day
should give me. I read about Jamie's book "The Principles of
Correct Practice for the Guitar" on a guitar web site. I immediately
bought it as this seemed to be what I was looking for. How to make
vertical growth and not horizontal growth.
I proceeded to read the book cover to cover. I then went back through
and started on the exercises. I found this to be a very difficult
task as there is so much information in the book that I didn't want
to take the time to really study it, so I didn't. I just didn't
take the time to pay enough attention to detail. Again I found I
wasn't progressing like I thought I should be.
All during this time I continued to go on the web site daily and
tried to stay up on what Jamie's latest advice was. I also read
the "Taking lessons with Jamie" section. I thought this
might be a possibility because I just didn't feel I was getting
all I could out of her book.
When I found out her studio was north of New York City and within
a 3-hour drive I made the decision to get training and teaching
direct from her. I believe very much in what she is trying to do
but just couldn't seem to get it on my own.
I have now had two lessons with Jamie and I already can see a difference
in my playing. She shows me exactly what she is saying in her book
so there is no room for misinterpretation.
Now I will try and document what we are working on and how it has
effected my playing
I agree with most of what Jamie say's about my guitar playing. I'm
anxious to listen and improve my playing so that I can get to the
next level and beyond. I plan on doing exactly what she says. I
will chronicle my progress on this site.
By the way everything we are working on is right out of her book,
in fact, we refer to the book frequently during our sessions.
During the first lesson it was evident that I needed a lot of work
on my technique. We started from the bottom. (The Foundation Exercises)
As Jamie has said above one of my weaknesses, and I have many, is
"Attention and Intension". I need to know exactly what
my intent is in a certain situation and then having the attention
to detail to follow through with it even if it is 4 beats per click
at 60. I have a metronome and now use it all the time. If you don't
have one I strongly suggest getting one and using it as stated in
the basic practice approach.
We started with the finger dipping exercises.
Before meeting with Jamie I would just blow through them with out
really knowing what I was doing. I did this so I could get to play
songs. Big mistake. I was not paying attention to what I was doing
thus getting very little from it.
I really didn't understand what Jamie was trying to tell me. Ex.
When you pluck a string and follow through and bring your nail against
the backside of the next string or even the 2nd string. This insures
that you move the finger correctly. I totally missed this point
when doing it on my own. You want to move the finger from the knuckle
joint and this movement insures that you do.
By using no tempo and slow tempo practice with this exercise I'm
keeping my right hand still and my fingers are moving more independently
of each other than they were before. I work on this exercise for
about 15 minutes every day some times longer if I feel the need.
I start with no tempo and work my way up to 1 beat per click at
60.
I find the movement of the middle finger to be the most troublesome
and to do this while keeping the index and ring finger in place
is tough. By using the basic practice approach this is getting much
better.
I also get a lot of tension in my shoulder, which we are
working on. Every time I use my middle finger my shoulder tenses
up so I'm concentrating on relaxing it when I use that finger. I
purposely relax my shoulder so I'm giving more attention, which
I never did before, to the shoulder. Eventually I won't have to
think about it. All this built up tension definitely effects the
smoothness my playing.
In closing I would like to say that in just 2 lessons with Jamie
I have seen enough progress to keep me going back and to follow
her book very closley with great attention and intention. I look
forward to working with my left next.
So, why the difference between Dave and others using The Principless?
Well, obviously people are different; we all have our relative strengths
and weaknesses. And maybe it was because Dave Sinclair knew in the
back of his mind he was going to come for some private instruction
that he didn't make a full effort. I don't know. But as I am beginning
to meet with people who are working with my book, I am trying to
discern WHAT they are getting wrong, and WHY, so that I can alert
everyone else to be extra careful about these things.
And the first thing most people are doing wrong is that one basic
issue I am always harping on: ATTENTION. They are simply not paying
attention. The words are sitting there in front of them, the directions
are crystal clear, but they are not really seeing them, they are
not really absorbing them and combining themselves with my words.
They are not penetrating the meaning of the saying with which I
open the second chapter: "when you see the complexity of what
you think is simple, you will see the simplicity of what you think
is complex". This simply means that when you have sufficiently
great awareness of the fundamentals of playing technique, there
will be no barriers to developing advanced abilities on the guitar.
If you find that advanced abilities are denied you, it is because
your foundation is weak, often severely weak.
Understand this. When I say, as I do say, in the Right Hand String
Shifting Exercise, "take at least 10 seconds for this move",
I MEAN TAKE AT LEAST 10 SECONDS! Why do I sit there, time after
time in a lesson, and watch someone show me how they "practiced"
this exercise, and it's ZIP!! The move is made in about 1/10th of
a second! One quick move down with the arm, hand and pick, while
everything moves with all the tightness and tension which the exercise
is designed to uncover and eliminate IF DONE PROPERLY!
There is no excuse for this, just no excuse. Especially since I
have gone through so much trouble to tell you WHY you need to do
it this way (the Understandings part of this book). I have done
this because I believe that a student must clearly understand why
I am asking them to do something if I really expect them to do it.
I have done my part. Why are so many people not doing theirs?
A lot of the problem is due to the fact that the subject itself,
gaining expertise on the guitar, is inherently complex. People are
a bit overwhelmed with the detail and demands for attention found
throughout my book. Well, I'm sorry, I didn't invent "playing
the guitar", I just learned how to do it, and I teach it. And
I teach it in a complete way, and in a way that works for everyone.
Everyone who USES it, that is.
Be very very suspicious of yourself when you ask yourself if YOU
are really, intensely, working to absorb every idea in my book.
In fact, assume yourself guilty until proven innocent when it comes
to whether or not you are meditating upon every detail and every
direction I give for doing the Foundation Exercises. Because I want
to tell you, from my experience, the chances that you are giving
it this intensity, this much of yourself, are not high. Some are,
I know. Everyone can.
If you feel that you are not getting the results you should from
The Principles, examine yourself in light of what I have said. And
study the reports of the people I am working with personally, so
that through their efforts to overcome their own obstacles, you
will realize what you need to do to overcome yours.
Report from the Front Lines
Soon after writing the above, I got an e-mail from someone who just
came in for a lesson, someone who has been working with my book on
their own. John had written to me, asking me to assess his experience
with two teachers he had recently tried out. He was not happy about
the fact that they were not going to address his fundamental playing
problems, but were going to pile on more chords, scales, etc. I told
him I wasn't happy about it either! So he made the trip to see me.
I asked him to try to summarize his experience in his first lesson
with me, and try to communicate to other book users what he felt was
of most value. Here is his warning to other book users:
"When I got to Jamie's place after a 3 & 1/2
hour road trip, I wondered as I got out of my car if this was really
going to be worth all the driving I had just done. I met Jamie and
we quickly got started after exchanging some pleasantries. Jamie
sat me down, and the first thing we covered of course, was my sitting
position. Jamie did not even pick up a guitar herself for quite
some time throughout my lesson. She sat there in her office chair
with her feet drawn up into her chair in a most comfortable position,
as she intently watched me and listened to me.
This immediately set her apart from every other teacher I've ever
had. She was there to LISTEN, and WATCH me. She was not there to just
pick up her guitar and start throwing things at me, rather she first
got a true sense for who I was and how well my playing ability was.
As she watched me play for her, after a few minutes she quickly
made her assessment. At that point she picked up her guitar and
showed me in one breath a very important, yet very simple part
of my playing which has been lacking all my life, yet was NEVER
pointed out by any teacher I've ever had. Jamie showed me how
to play a quick chord and a few bars with proper ATTACK. As she
attacked the strings with an aggressive, almost forceful motion,
those few bars that she played rang through with so much life and
sound that it opened my eyes immediately to what she is trying
to teach.
At this moment I realized that my major road excursion to see
her was going to be worth every mile I had just trekked.
From that point on, as we went through some of the exercises in
her book, and as she checked my position, technique, and proper
form of those exercises, I came away with one important point
I wanted to share with everyone. DO NOT take lightly anything
Jamie instructs you to do in her book, as I had. (I have to admit,
there were certain things that I 'grazed' over, or did not take
totally seriously.)
Example; on page 54, exercise # 15, The Right Hand String Shifting
Exercise, Jamie points out that in order to complete this movement
correctly, it should take TEN SECONDS for you to complete the
shift from the 6th to the 1st string. As I read this and tried
it myself without her guidance, I thought 'ten seconds is too
long, and way too boring......I'll just do it in three'.
But the important point here is that Jamie insists on a ten
second movement (and capitalizes the words TEN SECONDS) for a
good reason. That reason is, that taking the proper length of
time to complete this move will allow your hand, arm, and muscles
to 'memorize' the correct position to be in at all times. Very
Important!
So I'll sum up by saying, if you can't take lessons with Jamie,
and you're using the book on your own, pay very strict attention
to EVERY word and follow her instructions to the letter. There
is a reason for all the detail she provides, and you must pay attention
and follow everything closely. Especially pay attention to anything
she highlights or CAPITALIZES.
Good Luck with the book
JohnnyO"
Two New Additions to "Technique" Section
Slanting
The Pick:
I have noticed a lot of questions in the Forum concerning this issue,
so I want to clarify it for people. There seems to be a lot of confusion
about what is meant by "slanting" the pick, as described
in The Principles.
The reasons for slanting the pick are as follows:
- You get a better, "rounder" tone. Slanting the
pick causes a different set of harmonics to be emphasized, and
present in the sound. The exact combination of harmonics present
in a sound are what give it its "tone";
- It helps with speed. You "slice" through the
string, and it offers less resistance.
Tone:
The other day I chipped the nail on my ring finger, resulting in a
horrible tone from that finger. This is about the worst thing that
can happen, and thank God I didn't have a concert coming up! That
would be like a singer getting laryngitis right before a performance.
Yes, without good tone, there is no full musical experience for player
or listener, and yet, many students really don't know what good tone
sounds like. So, I thought I would use my misfortune for the benefit
of others, and while I had to suffer a few days with a bad sound in
my playing, I might as well use it to demonstrate the difference between
good and bad tone.
Why Different Fingering For G Chord?
Jamie:
I make the G chord with the 2nd, 3rd, and pinky fingers, not using
my index finger at all. Does your finger choice have any definite
advantages?
Thanx,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Yes, you are referring to my newly released lessons for Beginners
and Non-Starters. I have the G chord with fingers 1, 2, and 3, and
a number of people got confused because they have learned it by
using fingers 2, 3, and 4. Well , here's the deal.
You must first understand that the important thing, as far as the
chord itself is concerned, is not the fingers you use, but the notes
those fingers are playing, which means the exact fret and string
where the finger is placed. Either fingering mentioned above will
give you the notes necessary for a G chord.
Now, while it makes no musical difference which fingers you use
for the G chord, it makes a whole lot of difference which you use
when it comes to the concerns of the guitar player. For a beginner,
fingers 2,3, and 4 are much harder to use, because of the demands
on the weak 4th finger. So, I give the other fingering first. Later,
2, 3, and 4 should be learned. This still doesn't mean one is better
than another. You will use both fingerings all the time, it is a
matter of knowing when it is best to use one or the other.
I have specially designed those lessons to give the beginner the
best and most accessible way to learn the principal chords of the
key of G, which are the G, Eminor, C and D chords. Using fingers
1,2,and 3 on the G chord allows for learning one of the most important
principles of left hand functioning, and to learn it right from
the beginning. That principle is the use of common fingers between
two chords to be left in place, and used as a point of orientation
for the hand as it performs the change, in this case, the 2nd finger
is held down as the hand changes to E minor.
The other fingering, which is used all the time, is great, for instance,
when changing to a C chord that has the high G on top (the 3rd fret,
1st string). But, this should be learned after the fingering which
I included in that lesson.
Cracking Wrists & Numb Fingers---Bad?
Two Questions Put Together:
1st Question:
Some of the stuff I play is so crazy, fast, technical that I feel
I need to freak out in order to play it. I'm worried that my right
wrist is too loose or maybe my positioning is incorrect (these are
just guesses) and I am worried about getting arthritis in the future.
I can bend my wrist back and forth all day and it cracks everytime.
My left wrist does not. Should I worry about this?
2nd Question:
My left hand tends to get numb and tingling begins in my fingers. Is
this normal or could I have a case of carpal tunnel syndrome.
You both are worrying too much. There is no reason to suspect that
some medical malady is waiting for either of you. Numb fingers may
happen occasionally, and cracking wrists and so forth. Just use common
sense. If ever there is real pain involved in your practice, back
off, don't push it. Never play with pain, but these things you mention
sound like temporary circumstances, or simply developmental issues.
Hi Jamie,
I am trying to keep my left hand fingers very close to the fingerboard
and relaxed. The exercises in your book have really helped me get
my fingers low, loose, and light. Really, the book has some very
good exercise that are improving my playing. But what about bends
and vibrato? When playing blues and rock, I shift my thumb around the neck
of the guitar to get those really big bends. This really pulls my
left hand out of position and the sympathetic tension in the fingers
not involved in the bend is tremendous. Same with vibrato. I'm having
trouble staying loose and light with a really juicy vibrato. What
to do?
Brian
Hi Brian,
Bends and vibrato on electric are one of the most strenuous moves
we make on guitar. Because of this, there is no way adjacent fingers
are going to stay totally relaxed, but you certainly can reduce
the tension by about half with careful practice. And anyway, as
long as its not interfering with your control of the bend and/or
vibrato, don't worry about it. If it is, that's another story.
And when you say "bends pull my hand out of position",
understand that the "classical position" prescribed in
my book is not to be used for bends and vibrato. You should have
the good ole slanted position, with thumb wrapped around, for bends
and vibrato.
What you really want to make sure of is that, while doing these
moves, don't allow the large muscles of the shoulders and upper
arms, as well as back and sides, to get all tensed up, which they
definitely tend to do.
All
material copyright © 2003 by Jamie Andreas, GuitarPrinciples.com |
