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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
23, 2003 Volume 110
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If Pavlov's Dog Played the Guitar!
I have benefited greatly throughout my life from a particular intuition.
I realized early on that in order to get the most out of myself,
I must not forget that I am partly an animal (what the exact percentage
is, I confess, I am not sure). Being a human being, I saw that it
is built into the system to be an interesting mix of what we call
"animal", and also what we call variously a "spiritual"
being, or a "mental" being, or an "emotional"
being.
Most people are out of touch to varying degrees of one of these
aspects of their "beingness". To whatever degree we are
out of touch with one of these areas, we will be less than we can
be. The "physical" aspect, and the very primitive aspects
of our mental and emotional being, are a special area of our "out-of-touchness".
In fact, society conditions us in various ways to repress our "lower"
natures. I suppose this is necessary to a certain degree (there
are some people I know to whom I am very grateful that they are
making such an effort, at least when I am around!), but we can also
pay a real price for doing so.
If we wish to be artists, we must not repress any parts of ourselves.
It is our most intimate responsibility to be in touch with, feel,
respect, understand, and express every part orf ourselves. If we
wish to be guitarists, we must have an especially intimate awareness
of the most primary level of our being: our physical selves, our
bodies. We must realize that to be the type of being we are, walking
around with this thing we call "my body" is like being
a pet owner. We are responsible for the proper care and feeding
of this big "pet". We must expect it to have some rather
basic needs, as well as some rather basic modes of expression.
Many people are dis-connected from their bodies, just as they are
dis-connected from their feelings. In fact, one will usually reflect
in the other, and you can see it if you know how to look. Just as
people often lack flexibility in their feeling and thinking self,
they also lack flexibility, and more importantly, an awareness of
the need for it, in their physical selves. An animal knows when
it needs a good stretch, and so should a person. Many of the physical
complaints and conditions that guitar players suffer from would
never even make their appearance if people were as "intelligent",
and tuned into their physical selves as are animals. But, people
are busy paying attention to other things.
I remember one time when I very dramatically realized my body was
an animal. I was sitting thinking about something, some kind of
worry type thought, something that caused me stress to be thinking
about, and immediately upon having the thought and subsequent stressful
feeling, I felt a large muscle on my leg tighten up incredibly.
The image immediately came into my mind of a scared animal desperately
clinging to an object for support and protection (my muscle "clinging"
to my leg bone in reaction to my "worry thought"). So,
I realized that each muscle of my body most likely had a separate
"awareness", like an animals; simple, very in touch with
its surroundings, and, like a little child, unable to do anything
but be affected by and in some way reflect what was going on around
it.
Anyone familiar with my work and practice methods knows that attention
to the body during practice is the cornerstone of my working method.
You had better respect the power and primal intelligence of the
animal you are asking to "play the guitar".
There is another use of our simple animal nature we can work with
to improve ourselves as guitar players. We can use the simple "stimulus-response" type of conditioning so effective with animals like Pavlov's famous
dog, who learned to salivate at the sound of a bell because of being
conditioned by a bell ring every time he was given food.
There is a very interesting thread in the forum right now about people
sharing recordings they make. I have contributed to the thread myself,
and there are some great thoughts there by others. I have given my
enthusiastic endorsement to the idea put forth, and would like to
add here another reason for the great wisdom of making recording your
playing a regular part of your practice activities. In fact, I would
go so far as to say that recording yourself is on the list of "things
you MUST do if you want to feel certain you are doing everything you
can to develop yourself into a great player.
This reason is very simple. When you record your own playing, and
listen back, you get immediate feedback, either in the form of PLEASURE,
or PAIN. Like "instant karma", you immediately experience
the results of your own actions, your own practice. For good or bad,
you will be brought face to face with the reality of yourself. When
it is bad, it is instant punishment. Your punishment is having to
hear your own "clams" laid out, bare in the air! Of course,
better to lay them when only you are around, assuming you can find
it in your heart to forgive yourself, and give yourself another chance!
An audience member who has actually paid money might not be so kindly
disposed!
Yes, listening back to our own playing is a wonderfully effective
form of "modification therapy". Our animal nature has no
choice but to seek pleasure and avoid pain. So, having to experience
the pain of our own bad playing is a primal starting point for creating
improvement in our playing. Now, notice I say "starting point".
Our animal nature may very well take the shortest and least sophisticated
approach to dealing with our problems. In its Neanderthal like attitude
toward things, its first response may be to grunt loudly, stand up
in a rage and throw the guitar against the cave wall! So, we have
to access our higher mind in these cases, and apply all we know about
correct practice to begin to produce a different result, more pleasing
notes that will calm the savage beast.
Now, taking a more positive attitude, you will also be instantly rewarded
for any good notes you happen to make. I remember when I first began
recording myself, nothing felt better than to hear a former "clam" starting to sound really good as a result of the many hours I spent
working to improve it. The pleasure of hearing your own good playing
is so intense, and so motivating and rewarding, it is one of the best
reasons to put out the effort in the first place.
So, like an animal responding to the stimulus power of pain or pleasure,
we can condition ourselves to move toward pleasure and away from pain
by listening to our playing, and allowing our animal nature and its
inner guidance system to help us, more and more, create pleasure inducing
beautiful music, and stop the torture of having to listen to our own
mistakes and ugly sounds. Segovia once reprimanded someone in a master
class who obviously had not done "due diligence" with the
piece he had prepared, and forced the listeners to hear a lot of bad
playing. He told him "don't bring your dirty laundry here!" We all know that Segovia wasn't the warm nurturing type when it came
to guitar students, but the point is well taken: you should smell
the stink of your own dirty laundry in private, and do your best to
clean it up and make it sweet smelling before you wear it out in public!
The main reason people don't want to hear themselves is because they
don't feel like they can do anything about all the problem spots anyway,
so why torture yourself! Well, Principled Players are constantly learning
how to solve playing problems, and so, they should relish the challenge
as another way to get better and better. Many people are afraid of
recording themselves because they simply can't (in the immortal words
of Jack Nicholson) "handle the truth". Yes, it can be depressing
to actually have to hear what we sound like, but, hey, you have to
start somewhere, might as well get all your notes on the table!
Free Mp3 Download
Here is a recent mp3 I made of a lute piece
from the English Renaissance "Hit & Take It!", available
for FREE
DOWNLOAD now.
The piece is from the great collection "The
Library of Guitar Classics".
A Principled Player's Views
I get many wonderful e-mails from people around the world, telling
me inspiring stories about overcoming obstacles and realizing their
goals.
This one makes so many good points, I had to share it with you.
I think it really exemplifies the spirit of our work here at GuitarPrinciples.
Hi Jamie,
I was sent this by a daily inspirational email service that I subscribe
to. It reminds me of you alot. All it's missing is your name. Maybe
you would like to share this with your newsletter subscribers
N.A.
There Is Greatness All Around You... Use it.
There are many people who could be Olympic champions,
All-Americans who have never tried. I'd estimate five million people
could have beaten me in the pole vault the years I won it, at least
five million. Men who were stronger, bigger and faster than I was,
could have done it, but they never picked up a pole, never made
the feeble effort to pick their legs off the ground to try to get
over the bar.
Greatness is all around us. It's easy to be great because great
people will help you. What is fantastic about all the conventions
I go to is that the greatest in the business will come and share
their ideas, their methods and their techniques with everyone
else. I have seen the greatest salesmen open up and show young
salesmen exactly how they did it. They don't hold back. I have
also found it true in the world of sports.
I'll never forget the time I was trying to break Dutch Warmer
Dam's record. I was about a foot below his record, so I called
him on the phone. I said, "Dutch, can you help me? I seem
to have leveled off. I can't get any higher."
He said, "Sure Bob, come on up to visit me and I'll give
you all I got."
I spent three days with the master, the greatest pole vaulter
in the world. For three days, Dutch gave me everything that he'd
seen. There were things that I was doing wrong and he corrected
them. To make a long story short, I went up eight inches. That
great guy gave me the best that he had. I've found that sports
champions and heroes willingly do this just to help you become
great too.
When in college working on his masters thesis on scouting and
defensive football, George Allen wrote up a 30-page survey and
sent it out to the great coaches in the country. Eighty-five percent
answered it completely. Great people will share, which is what
made George Allen one of the greatest football coaches in the
world. Great people will tell you their secrets. Look for them,
call them on the phone or buy their books. Go where they are,
get around them, talk to them.
John Wooden, the great UCLA basketball coach, has a philosophy
that every day he is supposed to help someone who can never reciprocate.
That's his obligation.
Who are you learning from? Who are you helping? It is easy to
be great when you get around great people!
Bob Richards
Former Olympic Athlete, and Minister
I hope everyone takes serious heed here. First of all, none of us
is alone, all of us have access to getting the help we need, whether
we think we do or not, whether we see it right now, or not. Secondly,
the best way to attract the help you need is to begin thinking of
helping someone else. Remember the business motto I spoke of in my
essay "The
Basics Of Business".... "Feed the world, and the world
will feed you."
If you feel you don't have enough yourself, whatever it is, knowledge,
talent, opportunity, stop a minute, look at what you DO have, and
find a way to make it useful to someone else. You will soon find yourself
with more, and the secret to getting even more.
Ney Mello's New CD "Meditations" - Wow!
As if to underscore the above sentiment, I just received the re-issue
of our favorite pick-style virtuoso Ney Mellos CD "Meditations",
which contains 5 new tracks. It makes me think of how lucky I am and
all of you are to have access to the guidance of such a master of
our instrument. Ney's playing will blow you away, it is as good as
it gets!
And of course, the good thing is that Ney is so willing to help others
achieve what he has achieved. He is the kind of Master spoken about
in the article above, very willing to help anyone who REALLY has the
desire. Those of you smart enough to be reading Ney's posts in the
forum, will be aware of the fact that he is always saying two things,
essentially: yes, you too can be a great player, and yes, you too
will have to pay the price demanded of all great players.
That price is paid in love and work. You have to really want it, and
you have to act like you really want it!
I will be letting you know next time how to get a copy of Ney's CD "Meditations."
Teachers in the Making
The requests (demands?) for Principled Teachers goes on, and we are
continuing to do everything we can to make sure everyone has the opportunity
to benefit from the kind of guitar instruction that will, without
fail, turn you into a guitar player. As I see it, making The Principles
Video (which begins shooting next week) is the single best thing I
can do. When you have this video in front of you, it will be the closest
thing to being taught personally by me there is (except for, of course,
being taught personally by me!).
But even so, there still needs to be real teachers teaching real people.
The video will be of tremendous value to teachers, because really
understanding how to guide someone through the Foundation Exercises
in The Principles, and how to effectively integrate The Principles
into daily practice, will turn all their students into "very
easy to teach students".
We are very excited about the teachers out there using The Principles,
some of whom I am in regular contact with, like Ben in Wyoming, and
of course Donna in California. Donna is overjoyed (not to mention
going out of her mind) lately because she has begun her plan of teaching
guitar professionally, having acquired her first private students,
and also beginning two guitar classes! I had the pleasure to work
with Donna personally, and Donna is reviewing the video, and helping
to make it as useful as possible to students, and student-teachers.
It is a good idea to read Donna's observations on the teaching/ learning
process, whichever side of the situation you are in. She logs them
in the forum "Using
The Principles In Teaching".
Any students who happen to be in the New York metro area, and would
like to receive lessons from a long time player presently receiving
instruction in The Principles from me, can contact Drew at Drewg1010101@aol.com.
Although I have just begun working with Drew, I am impressed with
his energy and enthusiasm about raising his level as a player, and
guiding others in the process of learning the guitar. Drew has certainly
reached a very admirable level as a player,.and is more than qualified
to guide those beginning the guitar, or wanting to make sure they
have the kind of proper foundation of technique and practice method
given by The Principles. I will be working with Drew as he builds
his teaching practice (he has also begun acquiring students, and has
classes set up).
Turn on the Light of Understanding
Last year, I decided to re-dedicate myself to mastering my instrument.
I bought several books and began practicing 2 to 3 hours a day.
My skills improved considerably, but then I hit a wall. I had no
consistency in my performance. And at higher tempo s, I was experiencing
pain during practice.
Your essays, and definitely your book, have made me understand "why".
Until I tried your principles, I never knew how much tension I had.
I feel like the first day I tried to play my $4 Stella acoustic
that my Mom bought at a garage sale.
I feel that a light has been turned on within me. I see and feel
more clearly what the instrument is, and can be.
Thank you very much,
Brian
I just really wanted to say thanks for all the effort you put
into spreading your knowledge. I love the philosophy section, lots
of really useful stuff.
in "The Inner Master" article I understood what my friends
meant when they said I look like I should be a lead guitarist cos
of how I look when I play, though I am a bass player.
I go to "The Alone Place" and they say I concentrate
so hard it scared them when they looked me in the face. I thought
I was smiling at them. hehe thanks again
ryan
Climbing Mountains
Hi Jamie! Just wanted to comment on what a great essay "Climb
Every Mountain" was. It's really created a revolution in excellence
here. I received your email newsletter on a Monday and read it.
The article slapped me up REAL good. I was so impressed with it
that I thought our music worship leader in the church would appreciate
it. I forwarded it to her and had a message back by Tuesday on how
fantastic the essay was.
Thursday night our worship leader read the ENTIRE essay aloud to
the music ministry before practice, which was also a great surprise.
I figured a few excerpts or general discussion, but not reading
through a two page essay. We're beginning work on a CD project,
so it was much needed fuel for the fire at precisely the right moment.
So, again, thanks for keeping your ear to the rail and providing
such potent instruction on excellence. Keep up the good preaching! Dave Ullenberg
Hello Jamie,
I must admit that I have been really lazy in having any communication
with you. But believe me, whatever I ever wanted to say has already
been said by thousands of others in a thousand ways possible. As
for me, it's really changed my life - to put it very simply. Although
I have
years left and hours to go by before I can really say: Yes, I can
play whatever I think in my mind, every moment is a pleasure.
I simply cannot understand what your thoughts are and how you thought
about doing such a great deed of coming across with such a book.
But it really fills my heart to know people like you exist and can
change lives miles away (I am from India). I really want to thank
u for everything. Once again. If I ever come to the US of A, I shall
make it a point to meet you! Regards,
Amitabha Roy
Mel Bay Study Group: Checkpoint 12
I have put up the next installment in the Mel Bay Study Group. Checkpoint
12 covers pages 36-40 in the book. There is an in-depth analysis
of how to handle technical challenges of the solo "In The Evening
By The Moonlight". There is also a harmonic analysis of the
solo, with many interesting points of enlightenment for you. For
instance, you will see that the chord progression to this old time
song is exactly the same as the one used by The Eagles in their
great classic "Desperado". (Actually, it is coming up
again in "Home On The Range".)
You will also learn some vital and often overlooked or misunderstood
concepts regarding the importance of dominant 7th chords in relation
to key identification, and its implications for improvisers. Again,
the entire Mel Bay Study Group is a great opportunity for all beginners,
and players who want to learn to read music, or otherwise fill in
the gaps to musical and technical understanding.
All
material copyright © 2003 by Jamie Andreas, GuitarPrinciples.com |
