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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 |
January
26, 2003 Volume 108
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Climb Every Mountain
The longer I teach, the more I am impressed with one unassailable
fact: most of what becoming good or great on the guitar is about
has nothing to do with "musical ability". It has everything
to do with that group of qualities loosely spoken of as "character".
When I was 16 years old, I met a friend who enabled me to put an
end to my desperate search for a classical teacher. Scott played
the classical guitar, and was taking classical guitar lessons at
a music school I had never heard of, but started going to immediately,
where I took lessons with his teacher. It was thrilling to meet
Scott, because I had never seen a person play the classical guitar
in person, only heard it on records (and from that, was trying to
teach myself: wrong move!). It was more thrilling to meet his teacher,
a trained, experienced, and fine classical player.
As time went by, I remember going over to Scott's house often and
playing guitar with him, and hanging out and practicing and playing
at his house. After awhile, it became clear that I was surpassing
Scott in my classical playing. His mother was a very astute and
intelligent person, and would always listen to me play. I remember
that she used to remark about a difference she noticed between my
relationship and approach to guitar and that of her son Scott. She
noticed that I applied myself with an intensity that Scott never
exhibited. For instance, she noticed that I would work relentlessly
on the same piece, the same passages, the same problems, always
striving to reach a higher level of perfection with what I was playing.
For whatever reason, Scott just did not do this. (Actually, all
reasons come down to one thing: I needed to do it that way, and
Scott didn't. The entire "why" of it all would be another
essay!)
Believe me, Scott had as much ability to play as I did, as much
"natural talent" for music. It took him so far, and apparently,
that was far enough for him.
I am in the business of building excellent guitar players, and so,
I must convey a certain truth to them along the way, one that does
not seem to be obvious and sufficiently appreciated by most people.
It is this: it is relatively easy to achieve about 80% of anything.
It is relatively easy to develop ourselves to about 80% of proficiency
in any field we may choose. If you want to become a computer programmer,
a business person, own a restaurant, be a carpenter, be a musician,
anything, you can study it, get experience, and become "functional".
Most people that bother to develop something useful ( and most do,
being forced as we are to "make a living") achieve this
level.
But to become really good, to start to rise above, and noticeably
so, the average person doing what you do, THAT takes a whole different
kind of effort, and a whole lot more of it. Most people do not do
this in their particular field. Most people really are, when it
comes down to it, content with doing what they "must",
and keeping their standards and goals low enough to avoid too much
demand and discomfort. That is why the age old lament of all employers
is "you just can't find good help anymore". Yes, because
the #1 goal of most people is to DO as little as possible and GET
as much as possible. That is the formula for mediocrity.
To put it simply, it is easy to be mediocre, that is why so many
people are achieving it.
We are all climbing a mountain. In fact, we are climbing various
mountains all the time. Becoming a guitar player is a mountain,
and every piece of music you work on is its own mountain. It is
easy to work on a solo, a song, or a piece, and get it "pretty
good". You know, 80% of the notes are there, so hey, leave
me alone, what do you want, ALL the notes! Come on, I would have
to REALLY work hard on it to get that! To bring a piece of music
from 80% to 90% is an incredibly demanding process. Climbing that
mountain further and further is the essence of being an artist,
no matter what your field of endeavor is.
Yes, that is the truth. It is easy to get 80% of the way up the
mountain, any interested party can do that. Closing in on that last
20%, well, that separates the men from the boys, as they say. Here
is the thing to understand: every step forward and upward required
to move past the common crowd will most likely require as much as
ALL the effort previously put out. The higher we climb, the more
we must exert for every inch gained, but every inch is precious,
and worth more than everything before it. The gap between 99% to
100% is, in fact, infinite.
Yes, the real polish, the real excellence, comes only to those deeply
committed to it. I don't know why, I didn't make up the rules. However,
I believe it has something to do with some natural "filtering
out" process. As if Life were saying "only those acting
from great desire, great need of the highest kind, need apply. Only
those willing to prove themselves by using every ounce, and then
more, of their strength, will achieve greatness".
This is why it is very common for me to have the kind of experience
I just had with a student who is working with my two books, The
Principles, and The Path. Jim is working on getting his first songs
together, beginning to end, strumming, changing chords and singing,
and doing it from memory. He was working on the song "Amazing
Grace", and has dutifully practiced the chord changes according
to my instructions, and was in the process of putting it all together.
I told him I wanted the song memorized, and showed him how to go
about it.
He came in the next week, and announced that he did some practice
on it, but really spent most of the time on the new blues shuffle
I had given him. Obviously, it was "spanking time", and
I reached for the paddle!
I explained to him "yes, you have achieved the ability to play
that song with a lot of hesitation and stumbling, and losing your
place. Congratulations. You have climbed part way up the mountain,
and that is good enough for you. You decided you would do what was
easy, fun, and exciting, the new blues shuffle (exciting because
it is new, left up to him, it would receive the same treatment,
left half done and never "polished"). You decided to avoid
the REAL work of bringing that song all the way to perfection, where
you can grab that guitar, and sing and play that song from beginning
to end."
Yes, Jim hung his head in shame, and admitted I was right, and resolved
to do better!
What I was doing was preventing the swerving toward mediocrity that
was already beginning to assert itself for this new student, by
giving him the attitude that leads to good and great playing. Now,
understand that this student is not intending on being a professional,
and in fact is an adult with many responsibilities, and so gets
little time to practice, sometimes only a few minutes a day. It
doesn't matter. That is no excuse for letting months go by, and
ending up with a bunch of butchered and dismembered "pieces"
of music that are just that: nothing but pieces!
Whatever level of player or student you are, you must always demand
excellence from yourself. And that does NOT mean "do it to
the best of your ability". Who knows what ability any of us
have. It means "do what must be done to achieve the goal".
And that implies you HAVE a goal, and that it is the correct goal.
Ultimately, our goal should be to be able to say "as far as
I can see, I have climbed".
Segovia, when asked how much he practiced said "as much as
I need to". He meant "I work as hard as I have to in order
to achieve my vision of what I know is possible".
The artist is constantly climbing, growing into our abilities, constantly
surprised at what our striving brings out of us. There is always
a new height coming into view, and we climb it because it is there.
As time goes by, we occasionally look down at the view and are amazed
at how high we have climbed. People below us may look up at us in
amazement at the height we have achieved. They may applaud, and
the sound of that applause can be like a siren song to some, who
may decide to stop and listen, and forget to get up and move on.
A true artist (whether it is your first day playing or your 50th
year) will soon lose interest in that, and turn their gaze upward
once more, and begin moving once again toward their vision, to the
height that remains out of sight for others, and can only be seen
and achieved because of the height already attained.
Why Register in the Forum?
I really didn't know exactly what I would do with an upgraded forum
when I decided to get one for the site; I just knew it was going
to be a good thing to do, and it seemed like the right time to do
so. Since that time, I have seen that my intuition was correct,
I discover new, cool, and very useful features about it all the
time. In general, I find myself hanging out there more often, because
it is fun to use the features, and also, there is so much great
discussion going on.
It is really becoming a force for one of my over-arching goals regarding
my teaching work: it is helping to disseminate it. It is doing for
a number of reasons. One, there are people there who are advanced
players when they come in, and they can really take the ball and
run with it, and they soon are helping other people understand various
things. Or, there are people there who I have worked with personally,
and they are really in a position to give counsel to people trying
to understand something, or make sure they are doing something correctly.
We have people who are specialists in areas of music other than
guitar, and also those who are specialists in disciplines other
than music, and they bring a unique perspective to their study of
the guitar.
So, all in all, there is a great community of intelligent, supportive,
and just plain nice people getting together and helping each other
become better on guitar. And, the new forum allows for a much greater
exploitation of that energy. Features such as "in forum"
emailing to your own inbox, buddy lists, being notified of new messages
on selected topics, add to the overall usefulness of the Forum.
You can also bookmark threads for future reference, making notes
on it, a feature I particularly like.
I also wanted to mention that if you register, it is a good idea
to do a profile on yourself. I notice that as I am reading posts,
and trying to get a fix on someone before answering a question or
just putting my 2 cents in, I like to check the person's background.
If you put some things in the "Comments" section such
as age, time playing, styles, or anything you want, it gives me,
and I'm sure others, a better idea of how to best formulate responses.
And beside that, I'm just plain nosey (hey, I'm not alone, am I?)!
If you would like to take advantage of all our Forum has to offer,
go to The
Forum, and look at the top right side, and click on "please
register". And welcome!
When To Begin A New Piece
How is Your Garden Growing?
This question came from our Mel
Bay Study Group. It is on the familiar and all important topic
of practice approach and organization:
Knowing when to advance to another piece of music.......
What guidelines do you all use to decide whether to advance to the
next area of the book or to keep working on the current song/exercise/page?
Do you progress when you can play a song slowly without error? Or
when you may have errors but feel comfortable with it? Or when you
can play it in your sleep forward and backward at any speed? I have
a hard time gauging when enough is enough of a certain song and
going forward to learn something else. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Scott
Scott,
Consider all the various things you are working on like a garden.
If some of the plants are dying from neglect, such as not enough
time spent, or bad practice done because of feeling the pressure
to "get it all done", then, your garden is too large.
Get rid of some of the plants.
Once a plant is growing nicely, it is okay to plant another. You
must still water the first one with correct practice, but it does
not have to be full grown before planting another. If you notice
over time that you never achieve any full grown healthy plants (pieces
done to performance speed and perfection, or darn close), then,
your entire working method is inadequate and must be reconsidered
and revised.
What you don't want to do (which most students do) is plant something,
water it a bit, forget to water it some days, come back, look at
the brown sickly thing, shrug your shoulders, stick your hand in
the seed bag, throw more on the ground, and hope for the best. This
is why "Review" is considered an essential part of your
practice regimen.
Whatever level of player you are, and at any given time in your
playing life, you should have pieces or songs you can sit down and
play from beginning to end. If you have none, you are entirely on
the wrong track toward becoming a musician. Sit down, and write
down a short list of pieces you are going to master, and keep going
until you master them. When you feel you hit obstacles you can't
overcome, look for some outside help to overcome (all the resources
on GuitarPrinciples, all the people in our forum, and whatever else
you find useful.)
For more on the subject read "Practice
Organization".
Understanding Rhythm, Finally and Completely!
Win A Free Copy Of An Important Essay!
Whether you read music or not, you are required as a guitarist to
understand rhythm. At the very least, you are required to understand
it enough to actually DO the correct rhythm to whatever you are
playing. In other words, some people cannot explain a rhythm, or
notate a rhythm, but they can DO they rhythm, and that is the basic
minimum requirement. But, it is not enough, and many students never
make it to this point anyway.
The barrier to reaching this first level of functioning, being able
to replicate a rhythm correctly, is actually not a "sense of
rhythm problem". It is, as usual, a result of excess and uncontrolled
muscle tension that unfortunately accompanies the early learning
process (this is why the first part of my new book "The Path"
shows how to learn chords without locking in this tension). In a
raw anatomical sense, playing is nothing but muscles moving bones
to the right place at the right time, and muscles trying to move
bones in correct time, while tied up with uncontrolled muscle fiber
contractions, simply cannot move those bones to the right place
at the right time, even if the player KNOWS the correct rhythm,
or can whistle or count it.
After you have reached the point of being able to render rhythm
accurately, it is time to gain an understanding of the system of
rhythm notation used by musicians. The unfortunate fact for guitar
students is that the songs they love and end up trying to play,
even early on, often contain very complex rhythms, rhythms that
are difficult to play, and even more difficult to sing (as a melody)
while playing another rhythm (the strumming pattern). I have been
doing a song recently with a student that demonstrates this clearly.
The song is "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks. It contains many
highly syncopated 16th note rhythms in the melody line, and all
of that is sung to a syncopated 8th note picking pattern, quite
a challenge really. These same rhythms are found in many songs of
all styles: rock, heavy metal, and pop especially.
If you are working with "The Path Level One: Chords & Rhythm"
(or if you would like to see one reason why you should be) go check
out the music to Landslide I have posted on the site. Then, write
out the rhythm to the melody, and follow the steps taught in "The
Path" for understanding a rhythm. Print out your work, scan
it, and e-mail it to me. The first one to send me the rhythm
with the counting symbols written correctly under the notes will
win a copy of a very important essay of mine:
"It's A Jungle Out There: What You Better Know If You're Studying
Guitar Or Anything Else; A Critical Examination Of The Science and
Psychology of the Acquisition Of Expert Performance." (In other
words "how people who are really, really good at something
GOT that way!)
Test
your rhythm understanding with "Landslide."
"It's like having a master standing next to you at the dojo
whose presence keeps you mindful of all the things he's taught
you....."
We never get tired of reading the e-mails that stream
in, on a daily basis, detailing a new Principled Player's progress
and revelations, and ebullience. It just really makes the whole
thing worthwhile, and even more, enjoyable!
We received one a short while ago that I have to say is one of my
favorites. I guess I especially like it when a long time player
finds The Principles to be a source of revelation that does two
very important things: makes you aware of where you are, and then
shows you how to move beyond it (you just can't have one without
the other, you know). The letter below, by Lowell, a recent convert,
is one of the most eloquent we have received. He really describes
the experience of self-discovery that takes place for a long time
player, who by definition, has had a long time to "ossify"
into one frozen position or another in relation to their playing
ability.
Because I believe Lowell's comments to be such, I believe they will
be of great benefit to other long time players, and perhaps of greater
benefit to new players. They will see what it really is like out
there in "guitar playing land", even for those who can
play! I especially love the line about "most players I know
have, like myself, played for many years and gotten very good but
are amazed at the seemingly effortless, slinky hand motions of the
top technical players and wondered how they do it. "The Principles"
first broke down my mind's resistance to how I looked at mechanics,
and now it is helping to break through all the unnoticed (or rather,
ignored) tensions that have blocked my fingers from playing at the
next level."
Exactly! Why not find out how and why the great players are great
when you yourself are BEGINNING guitar! Don't wait 10 or 20 (or
way more) years to find out why you were never able to make it to
the "top"!
Here is Lowell's letter:
Hello Again,
I got "The Principles" about a month ago and have been
very busy since (with the principles) but I had to stop to write
and make some comments. With great knowledge comes great sorrow,
so it was with great sorrow that I turned the pages of your book,
realizing that I had been missing out on critical ways of thinking
about the "playing mechanism" for years and that I was
stuck at a plateau for the last several years because I was trying
to "fight" my way to better technique rather than relax
into it.
Of course this sorrowful feeling also meant that I was receiving
Great Knowledge, so my sorrow passed and I became a believer. The
hints that were given on the website were really born out in the
book. The whole vibe of "The Principles" is great for
disarming players, even ones who have been playing for many years
such as myself, and getting them to just think critically about
how they're practicing. What I find happening as a result of thinking
about relaxing and implementing some of the tools (Posing is by
far the most powerful for me) is that my left hand has become much
more relaxed, my fingers are hovering closer to the fretboard as
I play, moving more independently, and my legato technique is becoming
very "liquid". I mean very noticeable in a month!
I used to do exactly what you described in the book. When trying
to play something fast that was challenging, my technique (which
was more often slipping into the "thumb over the neck"
rather than "thumb behind the neck" position) wasn't allowing
me to keep my hand in the best position to play. I would try to
hold my hand in position and force my fingers to move to the frets
while "going through the music", with all of the ensuing
breath holding and struggling!
I knew what I had to do (Keep my fingers close to the fretboard
and my thumb in the middle of the neck), but didn't know how to
implement it. Now there are times, since I keep "The Principles"
out while I'm practicing from other books, when I spend much more
time just holding the shape of notes that I want to play lightly
and relaxing, letting my fingers, hand, arm, shoulder, body relax
into being stretched to the shape while I alternate between floating
my arm and then making it heavy and squeezing the notes of the shape
out. The "bang for the buck" is amazing because it seems
to be bleeding into all areas of my playing. A friend/musician who I respect runs a studio where I practice
with my friends. He told me recently he noticed "something
different" about my playing. I showed him "The Principles".
The band went into the studio. When I came out about half an hour
later, he was sitting in the sound room strumming his guitar with
"Extreme Attention". The book was open to that page in
the office. We spent the whole breakdown talking about how your
approach gives the missing ingredient in how to "fix problems"
that no other book pays enough attention to.
When I thought about it some more, I realized that the approach
is very similar to what I was taught about striking in martial arts
classes. To throw a fast punch, you must relax your forearm, upper
arm and shoulder while keeping your fist tight. If you tense those
arm muscles, you can't snap a punch out and back quickly because
the tension acts as an opposing force. Those same tensions play
against you in the mechanics of guitar playing.
Many books I've used in the past had small sections about technique
and they talked about staying loose and practicing slowly, but "The
Principles" answers fully the questions that I've asked for
years and only gotten partial answers about. "The Principles"
doesn't just say "play lightly", it codifies the things,
including specific exercises, that need to be done to play with
a lighter touch.
Although I've managed to play fast and cleanly at times through
sheer "forcing" of my fingers, I'm making far better progress
now by what I call "making a maximum effort to make no effort
at all". No more white knuckles for me. Most players I know
have, like myself, played for many years and gotten very good but
are amazed at the seemingly effortless, slinky hand motions of the
top technical players and wondered how they do it. "The Principles"
first broke down my mind's resistance to how I looked at mechanics,
and now it is helping to break through all the unnoticed (or rather,
ignored) tensions that have blocked my fingers from playing at the
next level. I'll always keep your book open, no matter what else
I'm practicing. Even when working on things from other sources it's
like having a master standing next to you at the dojo whose presence
keeps you mindful of all the things he's taught you. Lowell Wilson
Recent feedback on "The Path"
If you haven't purchased it already, it would be worth your while
getting a copy of Jamie's latest book, "The Guitar Principles
Path Level One - Chords & Rhythm". The first section will
step you through the correct hand positions and movements necessary
to change between a few basic chords. The idea is that you can then
apply the technique learned in this section to any other chords. Trev, in the Forum
All
material copyright © 2003 by Jamie Andreas, GuitarPrinciples.com |
