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One of them is:
"When you see the
complexity of what you think is simple, you will see
the simplicity of what you think is complex."
The point of this statement is this: there are many
things about playing the guitar that are taken for
granted. They are ASSUMED to be "easy", so they are
never thought about, never investigated,
never paid attention to. These movements are never
studied as to what is REALLY going on in the
body when they are done, and so, many of the
implications of these movements are never
appreciated, or even noticed. So, all kinds of bad
things can be happening to you as a player, simply
because you don't know that the thing you are not
paying attention to, is CAUSING these bad
things.
One of the biggest candidates for this "lack of
appreciation" is the physical act of shifting
positions on
the guitar. We all learn to shift up to the higher
positions on the neck somewhere in our development.
Maybe we learn it in a method book as part of learning
to read music in the higher positions, or
maybe we learn it as rock guitarists playing
pentatonics around the neck. If we are lucky, somebody
will mention the idea of guide fingers, so at least
we'll know enough to leave a finger on the string to
guide us into the new position, but that is as far as
any intelligent examination of the subject will go.
And because of that, we will have a world of problems
waiting for us in our playing years that lie
ahead.
I once had someone come in for lessons who had spent
many years making a very big mistake: he
had been teaching himself classical guitar. It is
always very painful to see someone in this condition.
It
is usually not a pretty sight. Unlike styles such as
rock and blues, shifting in classical (as well as
chord
melody jazz) is more difficult, because often you are
shifting into a chord, requiring precise
coordination of many fingers, as opposed to shifting
into one note, as you would do when playing a
single note lead. I remember watching this guy play a
piece that required a rather quick downward
shift, from a high position to a lower position. I
couldn't tell if he was going to fall off the chair,
or just
have a heart attack! At the moment when he lunged for
the new position, he stopped breathing and
locked up every muscle in his body. Needless to say,
when his fingers hit the new position (where
they were supposed to form a chord) it was like
watching a couple of guys fall out of a three story
building: SPLAT!
Sorry for being so graphic, but I am trying to draw a
contrast here with what we DO want as guitar
players when it comes to shifting. We want to be like
a CAT hitting the ground. We want to be like a
ballerina or ice skater after leaping and spinning in
the air. We want to land with GRACE, with
POISE, and above all, PREPARED! Prepared for what
comes next.
It must be understood that the arm is quite a big
piece of meat! It weighs a lot, and it takes a lot of
force to set it in motion, and to stop it once it is
in motion. It gathers quite a bit of momentum as it
moves, especially if it moves fast. When we come to a
stop in our new position, all of that force must
be opposed by the muscles responsible for the OPPOSITE
action on the bones that just moved, in
other words, we must slam on the brakes. And all of
this can take place like the CAT, or like the
SPLAT!
All guitarists must deal with Shifting, unless you
remain a "first position player", which is fine, but
you
will never look really cool when you play! Playing up
in the higher positions immediately makes you
look like an advanced guitarist! Some guitarists, such
as Rock players, will deal with shifting into
higher positions right away, because the style demands
it. Others, such as folk players, may stay in
the first position a long time, or forever. You will
absolutely have to deal with Shifting if you are going
to do anything even remotely advanced in your playing.
For myself, I have to admit I wanted to look
cool as soon as possible, but I do wish I would have
known a few things about the subject, so
shifting would have come a lot easier, especially in
fast playing. It's hard to look cool when you're
sweating!
After appreciating the fact that a shift of position
on the guitar is a "large" move, made with the whole
limb, (as opposed to "small" moves of individual
fingers), we need to notice and appreciate another
basic fact of playing the guitar: a movement from the
upper frets to the lower frets is MORE
DIFFICULT than a move from the lower frets to the
higher frets (in general, some circumstances
could reverse this). This is because in a move from
higher position to lower, the arm, with all its
weight, is moving AWAY from the body. As all that
weight moves away from the body, it needs to
be supported skillfully, and most often, it is not.
Most often what happens is that the opposite side of
the body, usually the right side doing the sounding of
notes with pick or fingers, will merely TENSE
UP in a feeble attempt to deal with the stress of the
outward moving arm. Of course, control of the
pick or fingers is severely compromised after this
happens.
That is why you will notice, if you pay attention,
that very often mistakes will occur after a quick
shift
down the neck, from high to low positions.
Here are a few things to do in order to improve your
Shifting ability:
Practice all shifts EXTREMELY slowly a number of
times during each practice session on the
material containing the shifts. Focus on the large
muscles of the upper arm, chest, shoulders
AND upper back. This is where all the muscles are
that are moving the bones we call our
arms. For book users, that means using NO TEMPO
PRACTICE and POSING.
As you move slowly, feel that arm weight going
into and through the body, and then into the
chair and floor. That is how the weight should be
supported, instead of by hardening the
muscles.
MAKE SURE you do not RAISE your shoulders at all
during a shift.
Analyze your starting and ending positions. Find
any common fingers you can leave on the
string as guide fingers. If there are none, create
an "artificial guide finger", by placing an unused
finger on an unused string before or during the
shift, to act as a guide finger.
Before you make your move, visualize the new
position, whether it is a chord or one note,
AND begin to form it with your fingers AS SOON as
you release the note or notes that make
up your starting position. Have all fingers READY
by the time you arrive at your new position.
Very often, the problem with a shift is that the
hand and fingers get to the new position, and
THEN they start to scramble for their notes. They
need to ALREADY be in position, close to
the string and note they are to play, AND in their
proper state of readiness for the notes they
are to play.
WATCH the fingers as you practice the move slowly.
Take a peek at your right hand from
time to time also; make sure the pick or fingers
are not floating away from the strings ( a sign
of tension in the upper arm).
As usual, the more attention you give to this, and the
deeper you understand and apply all the
Principles of Correct Practice, the more progress you
will make in this vital area of technique.
Copyright 1999 by Jamie Andreas
Copyright 2002 Jamie Andreas.
Please let us know what you think, and if you have any suggestions for future articles, or want to contribute to CleverJoe.com, click here. | ||||
Jamie’s provocative writings examine all aspects of becoming a true musician…the technical/physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Guitar virtuoso, recording artist, composer, and teacher of 30 years, Jamie is recognized by music experts around the globe for her major contribution to the advancement of guitar education.
Her method book, “The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar” (1999) continues to bring the highest acclaim, world renowned as “The International Bible For Guitarists”, and the “Holy Grail Of Guitar Books.” With a straight forward writing style, her tried and true, result-oriented guitar book powerfully reveals the correct practice methods that no other book has revealed…taking the student from the beginning stages all the way to the highest levels of virtuosity.
Jamie is already familiar to aspiring guitar players, as her wisdom is present throughout the Web on all major guitar sites, including her own. Visit: