In my search for new open source software, I have stumbled upon a fantastic program called MuseScore found at musescore.org. If you have tried programs like Lilypond, then be prepared to be blown away. It is a Wysiwyg program that is catching up fast with Finale and Sibelius. I am so happy to not be programing a score. It is so easy to put in fingerings and guitar related symbols that I am amazed that I even have it. I look forward to its release onto the Mac platform.
Anyway, the month is drawing to an end and I am not able to practice due to cutting my index finger with a knife while washing dishes. Bummer!!! I have a lot to catch up on when I can get back to practice. In any case, check out the program and let me know what you think.
Since we celebrate all that Martin Luther King Jr. did today, I thought we would look at a very unknown African American guitarist named Justin Holland. He was a revolutionary way ahead of his time. He lived from 1819 to 1887. Douglas Back writes in the liner notes of his recording American Pioneers of the Classic Guitar:
More than just a successful musician, Holland was also a dedicated humanitarian who worked all his life to promote and advance the causes of his race. Adopting the principles that education and assimilation were the best methods of overcoming racial barriers and prejudices, he immersed himself in the Eurocentric middle class culture of the day.
I was once in a master class with the Romero’s. One of the sons was telling about his lessons with his grandfather Celedonio. He was describing walking into a lesson and sitting to play. After a few minutes, Celedonio stopped him and told him to set his guitar down and not come back until whatever was on his mind was settled.
I believe this is a very important point in guitar playing. If we approach the guitar with many other task or concerns in mind, then the guitar playing is counterproductive. I have heard David Russell say that you are either getting better or getting worse every time you play the guitar. There is no in between.
I am a believer that multi-tasking is a falsehood. A doctor friend told me this week that there is really only one part of the brain that can multi-task effectively. And, that part does things like make your heart beat and continue your breath, etc. So in essence, the rest of your brain can really only focus effectively on one thing at a time.
Next time you are settling in for practice, decide whether you want to get better or worse. Then, decide if you need to put the guitar down, settle what is on your mind, and come back to reach that goal.
Today is a sluggish day for me. When this happens, I tend to look for inspiration. And we all know the best place these days to find inspiration . . . YouTube. I found David Russell playing El Utimo Cancion which was originally titled El Gran Tremolo for obvious reasons. Enjoy a master guitarist play a wonderful tremolo. Pay special attention to that right hand and the lack of movement involved. It will help with your own tremolo.
Therefore someone who stays fixed on the [notes] will not be one to get the [music], and someone who stays fixed on the [music] will not be one to get the ideas. The [music] is generated by the ideas, but if one stays fixed on the [music] itself, then what he stays fixed on will not be [music] as we mean them here. The [notes] are generated by the [music], but if one stays fixed on the [notes] themselves, then what he stays fixed on will not be [notes] as we mean them here. If this is so, then someone who forgets the [music] will be one to get the ideas, and someone who forgets the [notes] will be one to get the [music]. Getting the ideas is in fact a matter of forgetting the [music], and getting the [music] is in fact a matter of forgetting the [notes]. Thus, although the [music] is established in order to yield up ideas completely, as [music] they may be forgotten. Although the number of strokes were doubled in order to yield up all the innate tendencies of things, as strokes they may be forgotten.
adaptation on a translation of I Ching by Richard J. Lynn
[Music] is the means to express ideas. [Notes] are the means to explain the music. To yield up ideas completely, there is nothing better than [music], and to yield up the meaning of the [music], there is nothing better than [notes]. The notes are generated by the [music], thus one can ponder the [music] and so observe what the ideas are. The ideas are yielded up completely by the [music], and the [music] are made explicit by the [notes]. Thus, since the [notes] are the means to explain the [music], once one gets the [music], he forgets the [notes], and, since the [music] is the means to allow us to concentrate on the ideas, once one gets the ideas, he forgets the [music]. Similarly, “the rabbit snare exists for the sake of the rabbit; once one gets the rabbit, he forgets the snare. And the fish trap exists for the sake of the fish; once one gets the fish, he forgets the trap.” If this is so, then the [notes] are snares for the [music], and the [music] is a trap for the ideas.
Repetition is the key to mastery. Watch this video and learn a bit about what it takes to master something. Pay close attention around 2:40. I am not suggesting we learn about qi-gong (take your own view of that), but it is amazing what repetition can do to train the body.
