Tag: practice

Getting back to basics on the guitar

Nicole NealLeave a comment

This post follows on quite nicely – well, I think so anyway! – from my earlier post on taking a step back and taking some reflection time.

Just like a little time to step back and notice the world around us, so too can getting back to basics with our playing give us renewed vigour, and help us to check potential bad habits that may have crept into our playing.

So, when I say getting back to basics I mean just taking a bit of time to reassess the fundamentals of our technique. That, after all, is the bedrock and the foundation upon which we build our playing, so it pays everyone and then to do a wee survey and a check of how those foundations are holding up.

So then – how do I do that exactly, huh?

Well, I’d recommend going from “large” to “small” in terms of getting back to basics with your set up with the following checklist:

• Posture – ask yourself how am I sitting? Is my back straight when playing? No undue strain on the back, legs, arms? Are the arms feeling nice and relaxed? Are the feet rooted to the floor and/ or foot stool? Legs in a good solid position, bent at the knees around 90 degrees?

• Left hand and fingers – are you holding the neck in a relaxed fashion? Is the thumb at some kind of funky angle that causes tension? Am I using the arm to leverage pressure into the strings or is it all coming from the hand and fingers? Is there any extraneous movement or undue tension in the hand when making certain movements?

• Right hand and fingers and tone production – how’s my tone quality and consistency in producing the sound I want?  What’s my angle of attack with my nails? Are my nails shaped and polished to maximum effect for the tone I want to create? Is my right hand playing in a neutral position from which I can move around to create different tone colours?

I’d then recommend going from “small” to “large” in terms of reviewing your playing:

• Open string tone production – have a look at the above dot point. Same applies here!

• Scales and arpeggios – excellent medicine for all guitarists! How’s your clarity, control, speed, left/right hand finger co-ordination, right hand finger combinations. What movements are extraneous? What else in your body is moving, perhaps unnecessarily, when playing?

• Studies – this is application of our technical stuff (scales, arpeggios and other little exercises) in a more “musical setting”. Be sure to check what’s relevant to the piece or pieces you’re playing at the moment? Key? Rhythms? Movements and textures – i.e. arpeggios, chords, movements in thirds, sixths or octaves?

What’s the rush?! Slow is good…

Nicole Neal4 Comments

We rush here, we rush there. Got to do this, go to do that, too many things to do. This meeting, that appointment. Got to answer that email. Like. Right. Now. Busy busy, oh so very busy. No time. Can’t stop. Got to get more done, be more efficient. Got to do it faster!

Victoria Station
Rush!!! (Photo credit: markhillary)

Sound familiar?

Yes, pretty much all of us are subject to the constant pulls on our precious time, urged to do ever more, cram more in and get faster and more superficial with the things we’re doing. Twenty first century Western life, in many ways, seems typified by the need to get faster and rush around.

So why the blooming heck do we feel the necessity to do the same with our learning process, practice and playing on the guitar?!

Perhaps it’s that influence of being in a rush elsewhere in our lives that translates itself on to the guitar as well? Or perhaps there’s something in our culture that teaches us that faster is better? Maybe it’s something in-built in our brains?

Well, I’m going to go get controversial here and say that faster isn’t necessarily better! Ooh…..

The most effective, efficient and ultimately faster (kind of paradoxically) learning takes place when we take our time. And this is not about playing slowly for the sake of playing slowly. This is about taking the time to notice, to hear, to feel, to sense, to experience, to “upload” to the brain what the left hand is doing, what the right hand is doing, how they’re moving in relation to one another, the sounds and tone quality you’re producing.

Can you to take that all in at a lightning fast tempo from the outset? Possibly not.

It’s also about soaking in and embedding the music, establishing a firm and solid ground to explore and make space for some real musical awesomeness.

Can you respond to and “make” music if your fingers and brain are working at two different speeds?

Frankie Says Relax
Kick back and relax! (Photo credit: Wide-eyed Vagrant)

Just take a step back, and pull it back a notch, work it in at a slower tempo before then pushing yourself slightly again. And once you do achieve your goal of playing scales, pieces or whatever at a faster tempo, it doesn’t mean you’re necessary a better player. Just faster. And just because you can play something fast doesn’t mean you should. Tempo should ALWAYS serve the musical intention of the piece you’re playing.

Remember, these things take time, as all good things do.

Most of the time we’re not working to a timetable with our learning – sometimes we get a phase of real acceleration, sometimes it’s slower. Just go with the flow and relax with it, enjoy the journey and don’t be in such a rush. You’ll love it. I promise.

Do send me an email if you’d like to chat further about this. No rush though…… 😉