Control is essential if you want to achieve mastery in any field or activity.

You have a set desired outcome, you want to achieve that outcome, control gives you the tools to influence that outcome.

The problem is usually not with control but with too much control.

That’s because we all have a bit of the control freak within us. We think if we can control every aspect of our execution, we might have a better chance of achieving our goals. This need for control is especially pronounced in high stakes situations, such as when we want to master something as complex as the classical guitar.

There’s a term they use in the business world – micromanagement.

That’s what you do when you try to get into the details of your body functioning. You begin to micromanage your body.

When you dictate precisely to your fingers how they should play, which joint to move, in what order, how much follow-through to effect, you’re micromanaging your body. When you prescribe detailed instructions on how to hold the wrist, what angle to hold the hand, you’re also micromanaging your body.

You’ve already predetermined for your body how it should operate.

I believe we all have an innate body intelligence, that our body knows best what works for it and knows best how to optimize its inner workings.

When you micromanage it, you kill these natural instincts, you prevent your body from reaching its full potential, because you’ve preempted the need for it to discover those innate gifts.

Much the same thing happens in the business world. When you micromanage your subordinates, you kill their natural initiative and creativity, because you’ve preempted the need for them to think for themselves. You end up with a bunch of yes-guys who think their only job is to follow your orders precisely, and not much else.

Ironically, one of the things you lose when you try to control your body by micromanaging it is control itself.

Micromanaging your movements by enforcing a fixed system of playing on your body usually goes against the natural grain in your body. It creates conflict in the body. As a result, you’re much less likely to achieve control because you’re so constricted with tension.

So why do we still micromanage?

The answer is trust.

You don’t trust your body to perform its functions properly, so you think you can do better by giving it precise instructions on how to do it.

It comes back to the question of body intelligence.

Is there such a thing as body intelligence?

I’ll let two observations answer that question.

First, if you have an itch, no one can scratch it for you. Only you know where the itch is.

Second, I have yet to see one documented case of a baby teaching himself or herself to walk by following precise instructions on how to do it.

I’ve talked about two ways to let nature do your playing for you. The first is to use the power in a string to propel you forward, the second to anticipate each action.

There’s a third way and it is to consolidate your movements, to do many actions in one gesture rather than in many separate ones.

This is a concept I have written about elsewhere in practicing the tremolo. When playing the tremolo, it’s important to play the ‘pamipamipami…’ movements in one action. Don’t try to do them individually. That requires too much effort.

The analogy I often use to illustrate this technique is to think of knocking down a row of bowling pins.

If you have a row of bowling pins and you want to knock them down (for whatever reason), don’t try to knock them down one by one, that’ll involve too many separate movements. Instead, sweep your hand across the pins in one sweeping motion, and knock them all down in one action.

Now instead of bowling pins, think of notes. If you have to play a bunch of notes, it’s more efficient to play them in one movement rather than in many separate ones. This is particularly true for fast passages like tremolo and scales. Don’t try to play the notes individually. That’s too much effort. Instead play them in groups.

That’s one of the secrets to speed.

Consolidation is not to be confused with block or full planting. I have written elsewhere why full planting is to be avoided. It restricts the fingers and results in the clumping of notes.

The trick is to play freely, release the fingers one by one, but think of them as a group. As soon as you play one finger, move the second into position, play it and do it for the next and the next.

Yes, it sounds like the anticipation technique I talked about in an earlier post. That’s true, because it is the same technique, only seen from a different perspective.

The three techniques I’ve described of letting nature do your playing for you are just different takes on the same basic technique, which is to create an automated self-propelled engine in your body (in this case, the hand and fingers).

Another recording that is pure poetry in rhythm:

Part I:

Part II:

I can remember the few moments of musical epiphany in my life. One of the most profound is my discovery of Dinu Lipatti’s recording of ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.’ I was struck by the easy languid feel of his rhythm and have tried to emulate that same rhythmic feel in my playing ever since. Here’s that recording, thanks to youtube:

The concept of anticipation is well-known in guitar circles. It is the basis of the technique of planting or preparation. (Planting or preparation refers to a technique of positioning your finger on the string before you pluck it.) To prepare, you have to anticipate.

In itself, preparation or anticipation is indispensable to good playing. It ensures accuracy and control. However, to be effective, preparation must be done correctly. (“Correct” here meaning delivering optimal results.)

The traditional practice of preparation is to place your finger on the string before you pluck it. This may work at slow tempos but it is ineffective at fast tempos because it stops the flow of your action.

At fast tempos, it’s crucial that the act of preparation does not stop the motion of your plucking. When you place your finger on the string, you must keep your finger moving even as you prepare each finger on the string.

Stopping your stroke in mid-action is inefficient. It slows you down because you lose momentum. Think of driving, imagine if you have to constantly stop at one red light after another, you lose momentum and you lose speed.

But how do you plant your finger without stopping your action?

The answer is in the tip joint. You allow it to give slightly at the moment of impact. This will enable you to stay momentarily on the string even as you continue to move through with the rest of the stroke.

Try this. Move your ‘i’ finger towards the third string. As the finger meets the string, allow it to flex slightly at the tip joint, producing a slight give at the tip joint. This give in the fingertip will allow the finger to stay on the string for a split second before it clears the string. It’s important to note that you must control the amount of give in the fingertip. Don’t allow the fingertip to give completely. There should a springy feeling in the fingertip.

This kind of preparation is dynamic.  It produces a relaxed and fluid stroke and will give you effortless speed. That’s because there’s no loss of momentum. You’re able to continue with the stroke without ever having to stop to prepare.

Three more points about preparation.

In fast playing, this kind of planting is very minimal, so minimal as to be almost imperceptible. The only hint that you’re planting will come from the sound. You will hear a slightly detached quality in the notes. This detached quality is actually highly desirable and essential for fast playing. It will give your playing the clear sparkling quality that you hear in all the good players.

Never try to force preparation. Allow the technique to evolve naturally in your playing through constant playing and practicing. In my teaching, I’ve found that most students develop preparation naturally, without having to practice it consciously.

Avoid doing full plants in ‘p i m a’ or ‘p i m a m i’ arpeggios. Full planting is putting all the fingers on the string before you play the arpeggio. It almost always results in choppy arpeggios. It doesn’t take much to understand this. Just place your thumb on a bass string and your fingers on the first three strings (full plant). Then pluck them ‘p i m a.’ Put the fingers and thumb back on the strings again, and play the arpeggio again. Keep on repeating the cycle. You’ll find that the arpeggio will be choppy and blocky. Planting in these kinds of arpeggio patterns should always be sequential

Finally, think of preparation as a dynamic process. Incorporate it into your plucking and most importantly, never allow the planting action to stop the flow of your plucking motion.

Nature is complex. There’s always more than one way to interpret its workings.

In my last post, I described how you can get nature to work for you by harnessing the power released in each stroke to create a self-propelled automated engine in your fingers.

Another way to think of it is through anticipation.

If you read the AOV, you’ll see that one of the key components of virtuosity is fluidity. Anticipation is central to that concept.

To create a self-propelled chain of actions, anticipate each action. Let one action drive the next one forward. Even as you finish one action, start moving to the next. Even as you pluck one finger, the next finger is already ready to strike.

Think of the pistons in an engine. When one goes down, the other goes up. This creates an endless loop of alternating actions, each one driven by the other.

The technique of making the fingers work together in tandem is crucial in two-finger scales.

When you play scales, don’t try to increase speed by trying to move the fingers faster. That’s too effortful and inefficient. Instead, use anticipation to drive the fingers forward. As one finger strikes, use the momentum in that stroke to drive the next one forward

It’ll create an incredible sense of forward drive and motion. You feel as if you’re being constantly pushed forward by some internal force. And the best part is, it’ll all feel effortless.

That’s letting nature do your playing for you. You don’t have to do much, just initiate the movements and let the fingers play themselves.

The secret to good playing is to let nature do it for you.

Nature always works effortlessly.

Take rain, for instance. It falls effortlessly from the sky, hits the ground, the sun shines, warms it up, and it evaporates back into the skies where it cools down and falls again.

Over and over, the same cycle. It never requires any energy, it’s all automated. Once set in motion, it keeps on going until something breaks the cycle.

That’s what good playing feels like. You don’t have to do much. You just touch the strings and the fingers play themselves, automatically.

Over the years, I’ve tried to understand the sensation and how it works, and I’ve discovered that the trick is to create a self-propelled engine in your right-hand fingers.

To do that, you must have an absolutely relaxed body, your fingers loose and light, your hand hanging loosely from your wrist.

There must be no effort in your plucking, you must pluck with minimal force.

Your movements must be spare and refined, with no unnecessary motion. This means focusing your movements right at your fingertips (not at the knuckles or anywhere else).

Once you have these conditions, play in big lines.

Don’t think of individual notes, think of the phrase instead.

If it’s a tremolo or scale, think of a stream of notes all occurring almost simultaneously, in one action.

When you play groups of notes in one single motion, each note in the group will seem to propel the next one forward, as if driven by an internal engine in the fingers.

Make sure that at the moment of plucking, you release all effort. The feeling must be a complete letting go. This is crucial. (Don’t try to push the finger through after you have plucked. This will only keep the tension in the finger and produce excessive motion after the stroke.)

Let your finger relax completely, and then use the power released to propel you to the next action.

Think of a rubber band. When you pull a rubber band, energy is created and when you release it, that energy is released. If you put a projectile on the rubber band, the release will actually send the projectile flying.

The same principle applies in playing the guitar. When you pull the string, energy is created. When you let go the string, this energy is released. Now, use this energy to propel your next finger forward to the next note. Repeat this action over and over, each plucking action setting the next one forward.

This will produce a chain of actions, each action occurring automatically and effortlessly.

This is the basic principle behind perpetual-motion type techniques such as scales, tremolos and arpeggios. You do not play each note individually, you create a chain of actions and let the notes play themselves.

Good playing is always light and effortless. You should never have to force your speed or power.

The trick is to tap into the nature’s effortless power and speed.

One of the secrets to effortlessness is to let nature do your work for you. Like using gravity to propel your actions, or the wind to drive your sail.

I heard about a region in China where all the bees have disappeared. Probably the pesticides got them. But what about all those fruit trees that needed pollinating? Without bees, the farmers had to collect the pollen and using a feather duster, hand pollinate the fruits themselves.

Now that’s effortful. How many fruits are there in a tree? How many trees in the orchard? And to pollinate them one by one by hand — that’s the very definition of menial and tedious work.

There’re a lot of roaches in Texas. Yes, I’ve seen them in other places before, the only thing is that in Texas, they’re super-sized, like everything else in the state. I used to call the exterminators and they would come and spray and the roaches would be gone, but then they’ll be back again after a few weeks, as if they were never gone.

The only viable option I found at control is to take away the one thing that’s attracting them to the house – food. Clean the countertops and dishes at night, make sure there’s no food lying around and they wouldn’t be so many of them running around the house at night. Instead of trying to exterminate them by force, create the conditions for them not to come.

That’s the secret of effortlessness – create good favorable conditions and let nature do the rest.