TIME FOR A TEST (Nov-08-03)

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HI Picker,

You have gone so deep in such a short time. You have two out of three elements very well understood. You are so close you could bump into the definition at any instant.

contemplate:"if you have an extremely detailed understanding of the motions, you can become the music very easily" Having that understanding is not enough something must occurr before you become the music, "your mind knows exactly what to do" but something specific must occur BETWEEN this stage and the stage of becoming the music.


All my best to you,
NEY MELLO

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Before one becomes the music itself, one must control his ego. He has to realize why he is playing: he is playig the music because the music is him and he is the music.

His ego will try to to mislead him into thinking that he is playing to gain popularity, to be accepted and so on. These are the wrong reasons to play music, and if one's ego is not controlled, being the music is impossible - his ego will take the music's place instead.


However, once ego is controlled and one understands why he is playing(because this is his only way being himself), body does its thing, mind is free because it knows exactly what it is doing - one becomes the music. There is NOTHING to disturb him from being the music itself. Then one meditates a bit and becomes the music itself.

-Picker

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Well, since you specified technique, I'm not going to get to philosphical. I suppose you could call it the ability to play whatever you hear, whatever you want. And while this is probably a good working definition, I don't think it would be too helpful for anyone trying to develop good technique. It's kind of like a chess teacher saying "always make the best move."

After getting halfway through Jamie's book, it seems like the goal I'm striving for is to have my whole body and mind work for me, and none of it work against me. One thing I've noticed in great players, whether they have proper or improper technique, is the appearance of effortlessness. These guys seem to play 16 notes a second as easily as they walk and talk (more easily in some cases). They aren't fighting or struggling, they just go. We mere mortals on the other hand try to play something technically demanding and find our limbs fighting us with tension or big clumsy movements.

-Yngvie Vanilli

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If you contemplate walking well and easily in a manner that wont hurt or put you on a wheel chair later you will be on the right road...to deeper understanding.


All my best to you,
NEY MELLO

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Ney,

Here is my humble attempt in poetry form, at:
WHAT IS GREAT GUITAR PLAYING TECHNIQUE?...
DEFINE IT IN GREAT DETAIL AS THOROUGHLY AND PRECISELY AS YOU
CURRENTLY CAN...

Song of Music !
===========
Music is devine.
Humans are embodiments of divinity.
Humans crave expression of their spiritual being.
Music is the univeral lanuguage.
As, voice is an instrument for song, so is guitar an extended instument for music
Music without pitch inflexions, is just some random sequential notes
Sequential notes, anything (inanimate or animate) can generate
But, deliberate and thoughtful pitch inflexion is the Creator's gift to humans !
Seemingly effortless but efficient technique produces fuild inflexion-ridden musical conversations
Hence the importance of Great Guitar Playing Technique...

-Venkatbo

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A beautifull poem on music.
contemplate:the specific subject matter deeper

All my best to you,
NEY MELLO

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As I've been reading over Ney's responses to everyones questions it seemed to me that most peoples ideas seem to be focus upon the results of technique. This got a few things going in my head, like "how do you control the body and all its aspects?". The answer was "with your mind," but this brought yet another question to mind, "how do you control the mind since it doesn't have a physical body, for lack of a better word".

Here's what I'm seeing in my mind: Physical technical ability is the result of the mind controlling the body and guiding it through ever minute detail. The mind is where the control of the body's mechanics takes place. In order to acheive physical technical greatness one can assume that they must have control over their mind, given that the mind controls the body is true.

But HOW does one acheive control over the MIND? It couldn't possibly be with the mind, because how can you can use the mind to control the mind? Perhaps it has to do with some sort of divine intervention or something? Or maybe control of the mind is acheived by the love for the music and the instrument, and that love allows you to transcend the body and mind and acheive complete control over your entire being in every way? But that would mean one would have control over their emotional state since your entire being includes your emotional state of being.

This is insane how little I actually know about a subject that appears upon first glance to be an incredibly easy one to comprehend, and perhaps it really is. I'm sure Ney and Jamie have absolutely no trouble understanding what great playing technique is, and could actually put it in words. But would any of us be able to understand it, as (drawing upon something Ney wrote fairly recently) our minds have not yet experienced what it is to know what great playing technique is?

-Bob

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contemplate:The mind cannot be controlled. But you are in the deeper areas of understanding.

"But HOW does one acheive control over the MIND? It couldn't
possibly be with the mind, because how can you can use the
mind to control the mind?"

contemplate: can you perhaps DIRECT the mind to a certain task since the mind is uncontrollable and cannot be subjugated by individual personal ego will.

"Perhaps it has to do with some sort of divine intervention or something?"

Here you are getting very close but it can be put in specific and decriptive terms...

"Or maybe control of the mind is acheived by the love for the music and the instrument,
and that love allows you to transcend the body and mind and
acheive complete control over your entire being in every way?"

Love can and will do anything, it will even reveal a way to direct the mind and make it do what you want it to do for you even as it is not controlable by you. Love has you trying to define great technique,. Love is how Joe Satriani-for example- figured out what great technique is or John Wiliiams for example. But what is it?

"But that would mean one would have control over their
emotional state since your entire being includes your
emotional state of being.

This is insane how little I actually know about a subject that
appears upon first glance to be an incredibly easy one to
comprehend, and perhaps it really is. I'm sure Ney and Jamie
have absolutely no trouble understanding what great playing
technique is, and could actually put it in words."

Well...I dont have trouble NOW but I had to earn it with great difficulty and penance like anyone else. I dont think Jamie had an easy time with it either and Albert Eisntein had a very hard time and spent decades of effort to define the theories or relativity and unified field.


"But would any of us be able to understand it, as (drawing upon something
Ney wrote fairly recently) our minds have not yet experienced
what it is to know what great playing technique is?"


This question was put forth to strenghten the mental faculties and to destroy accumulated conceptual obstacles- the wrong paradigms- that prevent clarity of vision (we ALL have them and we have to reduce them as much as we can or we cant see the obvious...)and to prepare all who are interested to understand it and recognise it when they experience it.

Great technique cannot be understood by being told what it is. One needs the experience of it and before that even occurs one needs to go through the process of discovering it by identifying its components and how they interact to manifest it. Once it is manifested in your personal being (or soul if you will)then you use it and obtain its fruits.

The principles direct your mind to the tasks needed to get great technique. So you can aquire it in this manner. If you can work towards defining what you are going to aquire when you apply the principles....you will get the fruits of the principles much much much faster than you currently imagine it to be humanly possible.


All my best to you,
NEY MELLO

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A players desire to play the guitar is what I believe will be one of the guiding factors in directing the mind to the task at hand. But I feel there's a little more to it than just desire so I'll contemplate this further.

I can't help but think at least some part of the answer here is located in Jamie's "The Divine Doorway" essay. I also believe another part of the answer envolves the artist becoming nothing more than a medium for the divine being to come into exsistence on the human plane of exsistence as music.

I think its safe to say that I've NEVER thought this much and exhausted as many areas of my mind, EVER.

-Bob

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I've been thinking more about this question today and came upon an idea about the physical side of great technique. I believe now that great technique includes (probably not limited, but definitely includes) the following:

-Knowing one's body and its anatomical structure inside and out and know EVERY detail, no matter how small, about what feels best to one's body.

-Having a way of knowing how and what will allow you for unlimited growth and playing now and in the future that will not result in causing ANY physical handicaps ever. I like to think of how Andres Segovia was able to play and perform well into his 80's before he died. So obviously he had to have great playing technique. When asked how he played so well his response was "I know what my fingers are doing at all times", or something to that effect. I'm still trying to decide how one would know what would allow them to play their entire life without suffering any handicaps as a result of playing. I believe this is where the divine forces come into play some how.

I know that this is very inconclusive but perhaps there's something here that I need to contemplate and go deeper on. Either way, if Ney WAS by some strange occurence to give us the answer to this question, I don't believe I'd allow myself to see it. I'd, like Ney said in a reply to another post in this thread, like to know that I've experienced it for myself and am able to understand it fully because of it instead just cheating by Ney telling it.


I'ld also like to say "Thank You" to Ney and Jamie and all the other wonderful people here. You've all been an inspiration to me that your dreams CAN and WILL come true if you follow the principles.

-Bob