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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Technique: What Is It? (An excerpt from The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar)

Technique means "what you do and how you do it, to get what you want".  How you do what you do makes all the difference in the world when it comes to playing your instrument.  We want good technique, which means we get what we want from our instrument in the most economical and effortless manner, with a minimum of stress.

It's important to realize that when you see a good player do something you can't do, it's not because they have talent and you don't.  It is because they are doing it differently than you are.

You may lose control at a certain speed and not know it is because you are allowing tension in your shoulder, which makes it impossible to have control of the fingers.  The person you are watching play well is very relaxed.  He has already paid attention to this tension and gotten rid of it.  His inner experience is totally different than yours.  If he were doing it the way you are, he wouldn't be able to do it either!


This tip comes from The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar by Jamie Andreas.  I don't play six-string guitar, but a lot of the information in a book like this is universal - applicable to any instrument and all types of music.  I replace the word "guitar" with "tenor banjo" or "my instrument" where it makes sense.

1 comment:

  1. The person you are watching play well is very relaxed. He has already paid attention to this tension and gotten rid of it. His inner experience is totally different than yours. Chris

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