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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 |
February
9, 2003 Volume 109
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Fingerpicking Arpeggios
As part of our continuing Mel Bay Study Group, I have placed on
the site a lesson on fingerpicking arpeggios, the song "Darling
Nellie Gray" from the Ultimate Folk Book. The ability to use
the right hand fingers for fingerpicking needs to be a part of any
guitar players skill set. No matter what style you play, you are
going to need it, although we must admit it will be more crucial
for some styles, less crucial for others. But, how many times have
I watched a young electric rock player claw their way through the
intro to Stairway To Heaven??!!
This area of technique is worthy of much commentary, for a number
of reasons. As a classical player who loves and plays many styles,
when I began teaching I realized that in order to really "do
right" by the student, I should teach them the "classical"
approach to what is called fingerpicking, which in classical technique
is called "free stroke". Even though, in the music store
I was teaching in, I was surrounded by other teachers who were playing
with the common and more "primitive" technique used by
folk players, and even though they were teaching their students
that way, I was going to teach the classical approach.
The reasons are quite simple. The first reason is that even way
back then, I was interested in training students so that they could
go as far as possible in the direction of great playing, and the
folk technique is just plain limited. It limits players in terms
of speed, volume, and tone (and that about covers it, doesn't it,
when it comes to music!) The second reason is that IF one knows
how to teach it, the classical approach to right hand finger use
is easy to teach. In fact, it is as easy to teach as the more limited
approach, so why not do it? I happen to believe that, given the
proliferation in recent decades of classically trained players (and
perhaps with some help from The Principles), the old "folk"
fingerpicking technique will become a thing of the past. It will
be similar to the use of the left hand pinky. When I was a young
player, you were considered a member of the playing elite if you
could use your left hand pinky, as if you had special talent. No,
just, at that time, special training. Today, it is quite common,
even for rock players (and quite necessary as well).
I admit, in my early years, teaching players how to develop the
right hand was very challenging, there is a WHOLE lot that can easily
go wrong. But, as I developed what became in The Principles the
"finger dipping" exercises, used along with no tempo practice
and all the other understandings relative to tension and whole body
awareness, I began to get consistent and solid results. The key
lies in knowing how and what to practice in order to develop that
most prized ability in the right hand fingers: true individual use
of each finger. It can be done, and can be done by anyone.
Once the initial practice time is put into this (which may amount
to only a month or two), for the rest of your life, all types of
arpeggios and fingerpicking patterns (travis picks, for folk and
country people) are incredibly simple, and able to be done with
great speed, volume, and tone. So, I will assume that those players
doing the Mel Bay Course are working diligently on the right hand
exercises from The Principles, and will be using that technique
when they practice the folk songs in The Ultimate Folk Collection,
which is one of the companion texts we are using.
The song used in this lesson uses a picking pattern that is explicitly
covered in The Principles, and thumb-index-middle-index pattern,
where the thumb plays an alternate bass. Principled Players know
that the "thumb up" motion is the danger here. This motion,
done here with the added difficulty of having the fingers in motion
as well, is what causes tension and loss of form for players. It
must also be noted that in this pattern, the three right hand fingers
are first used to "up-strum" a chord. The pattern is as
follows (using a D chord):
-------2----------2-------------
-------3-------3-----3------------
-------2----2-------------------
---0-------------------------
----------------------------
----------------------------
T r T
i m i
m
i
When the 3 fingers are used together, the motion must be the same
as when the 3 fingers are used individually. That is, the movement
is from the "big knuckle" (the metacarpo-phalangeal joint).
This is the "waving bye bye" motion described in The Principles.
Also, make sure that you are in The Cup position with the right
hand. The fingers, moving from the big knuckle, close in toward
the hand in a group, but the fingertips stay close to the plane
of the strings. Do not let them go up into the palm.
Also, notice this: the thumb first plays the 4th string, then the
3rd string. Likewise, the index and middle first play the 3rd and
2nd, then the 2nd and 1st strings. There is a VERY SLIGHT dropping
action of the hand/forearm that accompanies this change of location
of the fingers. It is so slight, you would never see it by watching
a player. It is felt nonetheless. It is one of those sensations
I often have to transfer to someone in person, but you can discover
it yourself if you are on the lookout for it.
The whole point is that you don't want to reach with the fingers.
Rather, the hand/wrist/forearm is the base from which the fingers
play, and the hand/wrist/forearm moves to bring the fingers into
the correct relationship to the strings for the action they must
perform. To not do so is to induce subtle tension into the entire
arm and hand.
Most especially, remember the admonition in The Principles to "follow
the fingertips". The biggest problem players have with fingerpicking
is that the fingertips do not return close to the strings after
each use (thus, the fingerdipping exercises). Lock your eyeballs
on those fingertips, and watch what each one does after it is used,
and then, watch what each one does when it is INACTIVE and waiting,
in reaction to the finger that is ACTIVE and playing.
Okay, don't get crazy, have fun with this, and try to apply as much
of what I have spoken about as you can. Read over what I have said
many times, and of course, refer to The Principles for all the other
micro-details of right hand finger use.
Practice
Midis for "Darling Nellie Gray" from the Ultimate
Folk Book
Video of the correct right hand position and finger use for FingerPicking
Arpeggios
Exclusive!
To hear where proper and consistent practice of the FingerPicking
Exercises in The Principles can take you, listen to this mp3 of
me playing a study by Mauro Giuliani, which uses sextuplets (6 note
arpeggio) played at 120 bpm.
Giuliani
Study in E minor, played by Jamie Andreas
Safe Passage
Well, let's see, who have I seen lately for consultations about
the state of their guitar playing ability? What grotesque miscarriages
of justice have I personally witnessed once again, as some student
sits in front of me and starts to play with hand positions that
make me want to scream and run out of the room, as they struggle
and scrape away at the strings, and then top the whole experience
off by telling me about the guy (usually, it's a guy) they have
been taking lessons with for months, or years.
Well, there was Chris from Scranton PA who came by, an awfully nice
and sincere person who wants to end up playing well, understand
music, and write songs. He wants to eventually get a band together
and start gigging. He understands that the most important thing
is to cultivate and maintain a pure relationship to making music,
and that whatever happens on a professional level will happen, but
"success" doesn't matter anyway, if you lose your love
of music, or your freedom as an artist.
Chris has a whole lot of natural talent, and after I fixed his horrible
sitting and hand positions, he began to "respond immediately
to treatment" as I say. Chris had had lessons for some years,
and as usual, assured me of what a good player the teacher was,
which made me, for the 8 billionth time, slap my head in amazement
and ask "if your teacher was a good player, how could he possibly
allow you to sit there and use your hands like that!" I swear
to God I will never figure it out.
Chris also bemoaned the fact that it just was not possible to find
anyone who would give him the instruction that he really needed.
Even though he is dead serious about being a good player, and will
obviously do what anyone of authority would tell him, no one was
telling him! I told him, "yes, like so many others, you are
like a shipwrecked sailor, floating on a little piece of debris
in the wide ocean of the guitar playing world, just barely keeping
afloat. Other sailors are coming by in their boats and yachts, see
you half drowning, and throw you another log! Maybe at best, you
will keep your head above water long enough to nail your boards
together into some kind of little raft.".
You know, the thing that really gets me is the fact that Chris had
paid these other "sailors" (teachers) for a ticket to
ride on the yacht, not the raft!
At the end of the lesson, Chris thanked me for telling him what
no other teacher he had been to would tell him. He said "thank
you for being brutally honest about my playing". Well, that
is the whole point, isn't it? Yes, I took him apart, but most importantly,
I showed him how to put himself back together. As often happens,
he only needed to be pointed in the right direction in order to
move quickly along the right path. His hands were functioning completely
differently by the time he left. In fact, they looked beautiful,
and were beginning to function beautifully.
After hearing his goals with the guitar and with music, I also told
him that the smartest thing he could do would be to learn to read
music, and learn his theory that way. That is why I have the Mel
Bay Course on my site, to provide guidance through a method that
gives the guitarist the musical foundation that we all need. It
is an incredible opportunity for students that I would like to see
more people taking advantage of. What most of you aspiring guitarists
and musicians out there need is STRUCTURE, and competent guidance
(that includes TECHNICAL guidance) through that structure. Both
of these things are what many of you are NOT getting in the lessons
you are taking.
"The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar" along
with "The Path Level One: Chords & Rhythm", along
with the Mel Bay Course, have been put together to provide "Safe
Passage" on the dangerous seas of guitar study as it presently
exists. For those of you drowning, those of you panting to keep
your head above water, and those who would like to sail on the yacht
with the good and great players, I suggest you get on board!
Find out how to guarantee your own Safe Passage Mel
Bay Study Group
Winner by a "Landslide!"
The winner for our "rhythm contest" is Michael Kirtley,
who happens to be a student of Ney Mello. He was the first one to
send in the correctly written rhythm to the melody to "Landslide"
by Stevie Nicks. The song uses a highly syncopated rhythm, and Michael
has been using "The
Path" to get a firm understanding of rhythm.
We will be sending him a copy of "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!)
Congratulations Michael!
You can see the correct counting symbols written in to this song
here "Landslide".
Going to Great Lengths to Become a Great Player!
Marcus from England, who had written me many times in the year since
he started working with The Principles, finally decided to hop on
a plane and come to New York for 4 days of intensive lessons. We
had a lot of fun, and I thought I would share Marcus's observations,
which he sent to me after arriving at home.
Dear Jamie, Geraldine and Steve,
During the flight home I reflected upon the trip...as you do when
you find yourself at 36,000 ft and traveling at 500 mph...somehow
everything becomes clearer from up there...free from earthly constraints
and considerations. Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your
hospitality...you all made me feel very welcome in your home...
The lessons were everything I hoped they would be and more.
I have devised a new practice schedule already and am more motivated
than ever to improve. The lessons have helped me fill in the gaps
in my understanding. I feel much more confident about how to apply
"The Principles" and have a much better appreciation of
the levels of attention and concentration required.
Specifically, the following points were well made and have been
well understood: * every stroke is like a shock that must be controlled
* the complete stroke
* posing - I have been posing so much on the first rest stroke of
Spanish Romance at the point of maximum tension in the 'a' finger
that my finger tip got sore...never had a sore right-hand finger
tip before
* leaving you fingers ready for their next note
* controlling sympathetic tension
* rest stroke - which I could not perform prior to my trip
* hammers and pulls - don't rush the rhythm - make the other finger
become light at the time of impact of the finger in motion
* the importance of the basic practice approach - even though I
had a metronome, I never used it...now we can't be parted. Thanks for everything,
Marcus All
material copyright © 2003 by Jamie Andreas, GuitarPrinciples.com |
