Around The Neck

Those of you who visit this site have probably noticed a slowing down of current posts. This is due to a sense of urgency for finding a new place to live. Our landlord has sold the property we rent from and hence the new landlord is forcing everyone out. I’m bummed but not down. Therefore, other priorities have taken order.

With the above in mind, I have been pondering the sense of urgency for the guitar. Did you ever think about urgency when you were in school? Probably not, but I bet you felt the sense of urgency. Remember those assignments that you had all semester to finish? When did you begin working on them? I bet for most of you it boiled down to the last week before the due date. Even for those that worked throughout the semester, you put in longer and more intense hours the week before the due date to ensure the best results. The same applies to guitar, even when it is for enjoyment.

We all need a sense of urgency to really motivate us to finish what we start. We need it to drive use to a higher level than we would otherwise achieve. That’s why you need to create a sense of urgency when it comes to learning the guitar. There are a few ways to do this and probably many more in reference to your own life.

1. Create a deadline for a YouTube video. This forces you to get your work done because it is a performance to be seen by millions of people over the web.
2. Create a deadline for sending a recording to a friend. This isn’t as “out-there” as a YouTube video but still puts a sense of urgency into your practice. Another way to think of it is to record something for a birthday or anniversary.
3. Schedule a live performance. This is the end all of everything you are doing to learn the guitar. The goal is to share music. Even if you are not performing to a huge audience, this type of motivation is hard to beat. Schedule a dinner party and let everyone know that you are going to perform for them after dinner and before dessert.

The above are just a few ways to encourage you to begin to create a sense of urgency in your playing. It will make you a better player and will reward you by getting feed back and giving enjoyment to those who listen.

Sometimes guitar technique just gets in the way. This woman proves that you only need a bit of want to make your music come to life. Her technique might be odd to the rest of us, but the music she makes moves us all.

Acoustic guitars, when taken care of, can last a lifetime. If you are about to take a step into buying your first acoustic guitar, then looking for a new or used guitar requires the same considerations.

1. If you’re going to take your buying seriously, then you need to take a guitar tuner with you when you are on the hunt. If you do not know how to use the tuner or you have never played guitar before, then you need to take someone with you that can accomplish all of these tasks before buying a guitar. Back to the tuner . . . the strings should be tuned up and the guitar should be played from the lowest to the highest frets to make sure it stays in tune. You can easily check the intonation by playing a harmonic on fret twelve and then playing the fingered note at fret twelve. These should be the same. If the tuner or your ear hears differently, then make you know the intonation is out and you need to look at another instrument. If only one of the six strings is off, then you know that it is probably just the string itself that needs to be replaced.
2. Now that you know the guitar has good intonation, it’s time to inspect the rest of the guitar. Begin by looking over the joints, tuning keys, the bridge and other areas where pieces connect. If you see open spaces, drops of glue or shoddy details, the guitar is most likely not put together well. A good acoustic guitar will have tight seams and tuning keys made from metal or pearl but not plastic. The bridge will sometimes have lifted off the guitar. This is a crucial inspection place. If it is lifting and you can see a space, then move on to the next option.
3. Always play or have each guitar you are considering played for you. Compare the sound to other acoustic guitars you are considering. If you are considering from two different stores, then do your best to find a similar guitar in the current store you are in and compare it. Each guitar may have a slightly different body style and be made from a different type of wood. These may not be important to you right now, but each instrument will sound a little different based on the wood and size. There is no such thing as good or bad sound, only different. Think vanilla ice cream or chocolate. You may not like chocolate but then you may be a vanilla type of person.
4. Check to make sure that the size of the neck of the acoustic guitar fits well in your hand. Some guitars have wider necks than others. While this will not affect the sound quality, it can certainly affect the way you play and your comfort level. remember that if this is your first guitar, then you may get it wrong when it comes to feel. You will develop a “feel” for your preferences the longer you play and the more guitars you try. For now, just make sure you feel pretty comfortable.
5. If you are interested in an acoustic/electric, a guitar with electrinic pickups installed, then test them with at least two different amplifiers before you make your purchase. Built in pickups vary greatly in sound and quality, so it becomes a serious consideration when choosing this type of instrument.
6. When you are satisfied with the previous litmus tests, then it’s time to head to the check-out counter and purchase that new jewel of a guitar. Then, get home and get practicing!!!

Alright, for those of you who don’t know Blackberry Blossom, this post is for you. Many folks I run into don’t understand the usefulness and joy of bluegrass guitar. I am by no means a bluegrass expert or player. However, I have learned much about myself and roots music throughout the years I have dabbled in the genre.

It is funny to me to hear a jazz player criticize a bluegrass player and vice versa. If either one looks at the style objectively, then they will notice that they are much more similar than they are different. Just take a look at the form. You play the head (melody) and then you improvise. Then lo and behold, you’re replaying the head again and the song is over. If you look at it that way, then the forms are identical. Sure each uses different chords but both take just as much practice and skill to master. Believe me, I have tried.

This brings me to Blackberry Blossom. It is considered a rite of passage in learning bluegrass guitar. It is a lovely eighth note melody that moves a player out of first position and back again. This is great for those players that are beginning to intermediate and wanting to practice moving up the fretboard. For those that are more advanced, then there is the rhythm and solos to work on. Many great performances exist on YouTube. Tony Rice is probably the standard by which the guitar playing in this genre is measured. In any case, take a look at the song and enjoy the simplistic melody and harmony that it has to offer.

Click to Enlarge Blackberry Blossom

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Many times it is frustrating to keep hacking away at the guitar without taking a step back and asking what the underlying problems in our playing are restricting us from moving forward. There are countless exercises to asses problems in our hands, especially our left hand. But without an understanding of how and why your hands move is sometimes more imporant than the actual exercise you are working on. It is important to pinpoint the problems rather than run through an exercise trying to constantly improve while making movements that have no benefit in the long run. You can make your hands do anything, even bad movements, and they will remember and execute them just as they have programmed.

In other words, creating a solid, agile fretting hand begins with getting comfortable with the way that the muscles in your hand work:

• The muscles that close your fingers into a fist are called “flexors.”
• The muscles that straighten your fingers are called “extensors.”
• When you use the flexors and extensors at the same time, your muscles work against each other and unnecessary tension is the result.
• The goal is to make sure that in as many cases as possible (there are always exceptions to a rule) only your flexors are used when fretting a note, and only your extensors are used when releasing a note.

The most common problems that cause both the flexors and extensors to be used at the same time are:

• The old rule of holding unused fingers above the frets for your next movement in a very rigid fashion is not always useful. Drop this rule whenever it is causing excess tension and never look back. It will only cause you problems. Looking ahead to what notes you will be playing and adjusting your hand and fingers accordingly is one thing, but holding your fingers in place just to hold them there makes no sense.
• Not releasing with the flexors before using the extensors to lift a finger off the fretboard.
• Watch that thumb and avoid putting it in a position that causes tension in the rest of your hand. Your thumb will more than likely be comfortable “outside” your fretting hand (try this without a guitar and see what I mean). The more you move your thumb towards your pinkie finger, the more tension you will build.
• Not putting your hand in the most comfortable position for whichever finger happens to be fretting a note at the time. This can be over or under rotation at the elbow, tension in the wrist or shoulder, etc.

Now it is time to spend a bit of your practicing by focusing on your muscle movement. There is not need to actually play any music when you attempt to begin this type of practice. The whole point is to understand and begin to “feel” how your muscles were meant to move in order to use that movement to effectively and effortlessly play the guitar (not that it does not take effort but as effortlessly as possible). The more you focus on the movement rather than the actual music the more you will begin to discover that the music is actually in the movement itself. With this knowlege it is only a small step to improving that left hand technique over an extended period of time as you focus on the movement rather than the song itself.

You might be thinking that this is going to be an post about effect pedals, pick-up selectors, or string gauges. However, this is about finding the sound you actually like to play. And, it may not be as easy as you think.

Many of us, including myself, came to guitar because we wanted to play a certain type of music. For me, I wanted to be a rock star. Let’s face it, in the back of my mind I wanted the rock ‘n roll life of fame and fortune. I am glad that my conscience lead me down a better path. As I began to play rock and roll, my ambitions were high and I worked hard at it. However, after a while I realized that I really didn’t love to play rock as much as other styles of music. I enjoyed listening to the rock more than actually playing the rock. I found that I enjoyed the nuances of fingerstyle for my playing and I enjoyed the energy of rock for the weight room.

You see it took me a while and a lot of experimentation to find out that I really loved fingerstyle. I was in college when I began the guitar and I had to play fingerstyle for my degree. But outside of the college work, I worked on the rock ‘n roll, studied with jazz players (guitar and other instruments) and through it all found that the fingerstyle playing is where I wanted to land. I can play rock and jazz using fingerstyle but it is in arrangements and pre-composed pieces for guitar that really intrigue me for my own playing.

I still love the occasional jam session on electric guitar, but on a daily basis it is the fingerstyle acoustic (and mainly nylon string) that I find myself leaning on. All of this is to say that you may need to go through a few different styles and genres and even techniques to find the one that best suites you as a player. It does not mean that you cannot enjoy other music, but it means that you probably lean toward a specific style more than others. Pay attention to that intuition and your playing will be rewarded because you will have greater joy through the occomplishment of your innate inclinations.

I have to say that re-committing my time to playing has become challenging in just the first few days. Yesterday I had to squeeze every thirty minute time slot out of my day. I, unfortunately, had some down time during teaching yesterday and decided to not waste the time and put in the hours I need to get back to par. My hands are feeling quite good and I am amazed at how much I have not lost due to the time gap between now and the last time I prepared for performances.

I have found that having a baby boy, a business, and a lovely wife to fill my time has presented challenges. I many times want to be with my boy rather than just pick up the guitar. Here are few things that I keep in mind:

1. I know my goal. I can see where I need to be in 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days. This forces me to always ask, “How am I doing and what do I need to do today to meet those goals?”
2. I know my plan. I have a plan written out. I know what pieces I want to have finished and polished by a certain date. I have measures and tempos to meet by certain times. If I don’t meet them, then that’s o.k. But I will still be closer to my goals.
3. I am preparing to perform. My goals are all focused on presenting new videos online. Therefore, I am, in essence, working towards a performance. There is no more driving factor than having to perform for others. In this case, I am not in front of them in time, but rather a recorded time.

Like I mentioned before, I may not reach these goals in the time specified. Even so, I will have made it one step closer to their accomplishment. As for you, make some goals, make a plan, and try to reach them on a daily basis. It is the only sure way of somewhat predicting success.

Last night was my first night seriously practicing in a couple of years. I have spent my time really learning how to teach the guitar effectively in the meantime. But in my inner most being, I still desire the joy of playing and performing. Therefore, I have chosen to resume my practicing and given myself deadlines to persue for performances.

Returning to a three hour practice session was quite interesting to say the least. Sitting for three hours with a guitar in my hands felt wonderful. However, I had to take a few precautions to ensure that my hands made it through the session and did not hurt this morning. I stretched very slowly before and after the session. I also took a few breaks throughout. I made myself get up every 30 minutes to stretch and refocus my mind (or to let it rest after deep concentration).

All-in-all, I enjoyed the three hours. I worked 30 minutes on technique and spent the rest of the time on new and old repertoire. I always encourage people to work on sight-reading but my goals have a different purpose at the moment. I feel that my time teaching has greatly benefited my sight-reading to a point that I am much better than when I first began teaching seven years ago.

I have much to work on, but I am delighted to see that I still have quite a bit of movement in my hands after such a long hiatus from practicing. It’s not that I have not played entirely for the past couple of years. I have spent many hours playing in lessons. But the difference, of course, is the focused work that can be accomplished during practice to reach a desired performace.

I feel good and look forward to keeping you updated as I return to my performing form.

Suggested Resources:

A Guitarist’s Guide to Better Practicing by Pete Huttlinger