Slow practice breakthrough

[Augustine]

One of the attitude shifts I have had about my time playing guitar since starting to apply the Principles is marking the difference between "playing" and "practicing".

As a result I am doing a lot more playing at tempos I would never have bothered with before. In spite of the fact that most of the things I considered I could "play" would have repeated flaws at super slow tempos.

While "practicing" a phrase tonight it suddenly occurred to me why that is.

When I am playing at a faster tempo, my fingers get used to the position they are in, and a lot of their "remembered" movements are relative to their position. At super slow tempos this breaks down, and the fingers must remember absolute movements not relative ones. This is no doubt one of the reasons those inexplicable flaws appear at these speeds.

Every now and then an insight comes along that gets you energised. This is certainly one of those for me. (Definitely a case of do, then get.)

[Jamie]

Augustine, your observation and analysis is related to a little observed and understood condition common to advanced guitar players. It is this: many advanced players have unknowingly adapted their playing style to unknown, unobserved, and unfelt flaws in the movement process of their playing. These flaws are actually instances of imbalance in the force applied to the strings from each side of the body, reflected in subtle tensions in the several parts of the complete playing mechanism.

Slow practice will reveal these imbalances, that is what you are feeling. When you engage in this practice consistently, you will notice a new feeling of freedom in your playing as a result of a higher level of refined balance in the mechanism during its operation.

[Augustine]

Very interesting, thanks for the insight Jamie.

My journal tells me that I was playing one of my exercises at 72bpm 16ths a week and a half ago, yet for the last couple of days I can't move it past 100bpm 8ths. I don't think my playing has gotten worse, so it must be my tolerance for mistakes is getting lower! Good things are happening here.

[Jamie]

Yes, I think so!

2 things...use a tape recorder and listen back half speed on whatever the passage is, and make sure you find the "what & the why"

WHAT note exactly is breaking down first

WHY is it breaking down (which hand/finger is failing)

Then, you can begin effective steps for dealing with it, and moving past that obstacle and limit.

[Augustine]

Jamie, I had to laugh when I read that advice, I had just broken down in the same spot twice by hitting the same open string by mistake. The second time I did it I went, what the hell's going on? and spent the next two minutes trying to find the mistake at a slower speed (and failing), after which I thought, I've gotta start recording this.

Anyhow, a couple of things I have realised today is that I have been working on phrases of 4 bars at a time, and it's too large, I need to bring my focus in on much smaller sections. When I do that, I find I can push the tempo up another 30-40bpm after which I find it hard to sustain and stay relaxed without puffing and blowing like a marathon runner. The fingers actually feel like they are capable of more, but my physiological/emotional reaction is impeding any further progress speedwise. I wonder if you could comment on that?

[Jamie]

I often work on 2 notes at a time.

You need to use "add a note" here.....do you have my book "Beyond The Basic Practice Approach"? It's in there.

[Augustine]

I don't have it - yet - I figured I would give myself a few weeks with The Principles to absorb its methods but I can see it's time to add to the arsenal. Order placed!

Thanks for the assistance you have provided so far Jamie, you've been very generous and I appreciate it.

[Augustine]

"Beyond the BPA" is brilliant. I love it!

I have developed a new awareness of how slow "No Tempo" should be. By my estimation it should be 1 note per breath: what I am finding is that it takes a full inhale and exhale to discharge any tension and reset the body.

On pushing the speed limit, I am finding the most common issue with poorly-formed or missed notes is that I am tensing/holding my breathing when I hit these trouble spots, and accompanying that is my attention fades out on these notes. It's a double whammy: you play the note badly because your awareness is reduced, and you don't notice it because your awareness is reduced! The note becomes an attention-blind spot. Recording my practice and being able to review my playing from a relaxed and attentive state has been the best tool for revealing this.

The picking problem was being triggered by a position shift immediately before it which I was tensing/holding my breath for, having an awareness fadeout and losing focus on my right hand. I didn't even need to pull the section apart to work it out, as soon as I found the issue in another problem spot it was the first symptom I looked for.

As for the "hyperventilating" business... I'm finding "Working in Groups" is working pretty well. Smaller sections seems to be the key.

Digging the evolution. Rock and roll