A third factor

January 22nd, 2012

In my last post, I mentioned two essential factors of speed, which are relaxation and alignment.

In this post, I’ll bring in a third factor which is trajectory.

Proper alignment is critical in good playing – you have to make sure that the different elements in your your body are balanced with one another.

But positioning is only half the picture.

You’ll have to also make sure that these elements do not interfere with each other when they move.

This applies especially to the right hand.

You’ll have to make sure that when you move your thumb, that it does not interfere with the fingers and vice versa.

The best way to achieve this is play the thumb in circular motion (mirroring the circular motion in the fingers) when you play. Instead of pushing your thumb towards the fingers, move it outwards and back in a circular motion. (To do this, you’ll have to position your hand so that it’s balanced and centered and not tilted one way or another.)

This ensures that movement in your thumb does not interfere with the fingers. In fact, it’ll complement them. The thumb and fingers will work together as a unit rather than fight with one another.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that good playing is mostly a result of good optimal conditions in your body.

If you have good conditions in your body, good technique will happen naturally to you.

But if the conditions are not there, you can practice all you want and still not achieve that good technique.

These three factors – relaxation (or looseness and lightness in the body), good alignment and a smooth and conflict-free trajectory are crucial to creating those conditions for speed and for good technique to happen to you.

Two important factors of speed

January 21st, 2012

Speed is an important aspect of virtuosity; in fact, most people seem to think of speed as the defining quality of virtuosity.

That’s not true, of course, virtuosity is more than just about just moving fast.

It’s about attaining a deep level of understanding of a task, achieving a mastery that enables you to perform it efficiently and with least effort.

But speed is important, not in and of itself, but because it provides a good indicator of your level of mastery and efficiency.

So it is a good thing to strive for.

Because if you have good speed, it’s likely you would also have developed a fairly advanced technique and achieved good mastery. Otherwise, that speed would not have been there in the first place.

The thing about speed is that it’s a completely natural part of the human condition; it is nothing special, in fact we were all born with it.

Yet why is it so hard to get it sometimes?

I’ve found that the problem can usually be traced to two factors.

The first is tension. (By tension, I’m referring here to the nonfunctional excess tension caused by stress or tightness in the body, as opposed to functional tension, which is an essential part of all effort.)

This is no secret. We’re all familiar with the negative impact of tension on performance.

Yet, despite this, I’ve seen all too many players trying to hold their hands tightly in a claw, seemingly oblivious of the tension this is causing their hands.

Or players who are so intent on following some arbitrary prescriptions of how they should hold their hands, who seem to be equally unaware of the tension these artificially imposed positions are causing to their hands and body.

And then they wonder why they can’t develop speed.

Under these conditions, no matter how hard they practice, speed will always elude them because they’ve not created the conditions for it to happen.

It’s as if they’ve left the brakes on in a car, and no matter how hard they pump the gas, the car will only move sluggishly. That’s what tension does to you.

The second factor is alignment, and this is even more critical.

To enable your body to work optimally and without impediment, it’s crucial you align your body properly, so that the different parts of your body are working with each other and not against one other.

Take for example, the right hand.

It is important, when you position your right hand, that the thumb and the fingers are able to work together.

When you pluck with the thumb, that plucking motion should not interfere with your fingers. Likewise, when you play with the fingers, that plucking action should not get in the way of the thumb too.

I’ve seen players, when they play with the thumb, that plucking movement would impact the whole hand, causing it to rock out of position. And when they pluck with the fingers, that plucking action would also cause the hand and thumb to move out of position.

This is a relatively simple point, and yet the impact it has on your playing can be profound.

So as you work on speed, don’t ignore the big picture.

Keep your hand and fingers super loose so that they have minimal tension in them, and make sure that the thumb and fingers are aligned properly, so that movement in one does not throw the other out of position.

Coming back to what I said at the beginning, speed is an inherent part of our human condition.

This has always been the bedrock of my philosophy and is the basic rationale for the AOV.

To tap into your natural speed, all you need to do is free up your body and allow it to function naturally.

Don’t impose any arbitrary conditions on it, don’t try to force it into any rigid and unnatural positions, allow it to work naturally, and you will find that speed will occur naturally and automatically to you.

A desiderata of the guitar

December 10th, 2011

I wrote the Desiderata of the Guitar a number of years ago and had completely forgotten about it. That is, until recently, when I rediscovered it while doing some spring cleaning on the site.

I found the sentiments expressed in the piece as relevant as ever and fit well with the philosophy espoused in the AOV and decided to give it a new lease on life.

Here’s the desiderata, in slightly updated form.


Desiderata of the Guitar

(with apologies to Max Ehrmann)

 

Go placidly into the practice room,
and remember what peace there may be in playing the guitar.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with your guitar.

Keep your back straight, your fingers loose;
and your touch light as the wind.

Especially know that your body has its own secrets.
If you fight it, you kill its natural impulses.
If you impose your will on it, you subdue its talents.
Rather, let it lead you where it wants to go.

Let your music speak for you.
Do not try to impress your peers.
Jealous persons intent on finding faults will find them.

Avoid loud vexatious persons.
who will tell you their secrets of life.
The world is full of ‘wise’ men,
who hide behind a wall of self-delusion.
Ignore their words, listen to their playing.
Words are cheap, advice is easy,
but diligent practice is hard and great playing is rare.

Trust your judgment, do not follow the pack.
Crowd hysteria exists in all quarters.
Find your own space and believe in it.
Follow your instincts, for they will lead you to unexpected and delightful places.

Listen to everyone and listen to no one.
The great players and the not so great – they all have their stories.
Listen to them and take with you what you need.

As you gain in wisdom, do not be afraid to share it.
But realize that many have not traveled the same paths,
or drank from the same cup.
Do not try to impose your wisdom on them,
let them come to you instead.

Infuse your playing with magic and wonder,
and let it speak of the joys and tribulations of life.
One note played with love and imagination,
is worth a thousand executed with soulless precision.

Therefore be at peace with your guitar,
whatever you conceive it to be.
Practice hard. Strive to be happy.

 

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