mjamer
08-12-2001, 08:15 PM
Hello :) . I just wanted to take a moment of your time and reinforce some of the things you can read on this site. As most of you know I quit playing for about 6 years (marine corps, and IT work). I've been jobless and have had too much time on my hand (that possible? hehe). I practice 8-10 hours a day.. silly maybe, but I am in deep regret of ever laying down my guitar. Hey, Joe Satriani used to practice 15 hours a day, didn't kill him right? :)
Now we've all read Jamey's essays, and some of us probably have bought his book. You may think it gets too in depth, too many things to think about when you're playing. Think, "hmm.. did so and so learn like this? (insert favorite guitarist)". I think that even without concentrating on relaxation and all the stuff Jamey says, you will eventually come to where you want in playing... BUT.. I think it will take you much longer.
I learned by ear originally, and had more than my share of "bad habbits". Instead of re-practicing all my old stuff, I took the hard road and stoped playing what I thought I knew. I started with the theory, scales, modes and the 1234 permutations for accuracy, independancy, dexterity, and strength. When I first started, my pinky liked to fly straight up in the air, to play it string it'd come down right.. but in a slapping fashion. I didn't have a problem playing with my pinky per-say, but I did have a huge problem keeping it close to the strings.
I finally came upon this site a little over a month ago, mix a little of Shawn's lucid explanations of theory, and Jamey's philisophy of practicing. It's really blown me away. I'm the type of person to give something someone gives as advice a real go, before I blow it off or something hehe, and that's just what I did, following those guidlines to the "T". I have alot of mental discipline when it comes to concentrating, I concentrate so hard a pit even forms in my stomach hehe. I concentrated on the relaxation, on the tension exercises. I learned that before, say playing the 1234 pattern up and down the strings, that I continued to hold the strings with the previous fingers, when there was no need. This was what was screwing up my pinky finger. My pinky isn't "perfect" like the other fingers that stay close to the strings, but it does stay within 3/4 to 1/2 to the string now, and it doesn't slap the string when it does come down to fret a note. The relaxation, and tension management is like magic, it really gives you fluidness. I'm really suprised I was so silly to not recognize it. In martial arts we were taught to be relaxed and not tense because if you're tense, your reaction is going to be slower due to the process of your muscles having to first untense to do something different.
Consistant practice of relaxing, concentrating on releasing tension in your fingers and the like. It really works wonders. I'm excited and sharing this, because my wife asked me to learn a song for her (Open your heart - europe). I was really worried, the intro/verses and stuff was easy enough, but the solo had me bothered.. it's semi-fast runs, and one part is some mixed up fingering that is equivilant to a tongue-twister only for your fingers hehe. Amazing as it may sound, 5 hours later when she got home from work, I had the song and the solo down pat. Even playing with distortion, being relaxed and controlling the tension like I had been practicing made it feel easy, I was able to keep the notes separate and not ringing with other notes (sounding sloppy hehe).
I just wanted to confirm just how well the stuff Jamey, and Shawn says, really works. I really don't believe I would have been able to play it as I do now back when I was playing. I most certainly would have been over working my self, with the feeling like I was wrestling with the neck of the guitar to keep up with the song. I'm so excited and pumped now, some of this stuff I always thought was out of my reach as a player, and was almost to the point of not giving up, but accepting a sorta fate. Not any more, I'm so pumped now :) :) :) :) .
Thanks again for this site, the lessons, the essays, and the abundant wealth of advice in these forums. They have really changed my life as a guitar player.
mjamer
Now we've all read Jamey's essays, and some of us probably have bought his book. You may think it gets too in depth, too many things to think about when you're playing. Think, "hmm.. did so and so learn like this? (insert favorite guitarist)". I think that even without concentrating on relaxation and all the stuff Jamey says, you will eventually come to where you want in playing... BUT.. I think it will take you much longer.
I learned by ear originally, and had more than my share of "bad habbits". Instead of re-practicing all my old stuff, I took the hard road and stoped playing what I thought I knew. I started with the theory, scales, modes and the 1234 permutations for accuracy, independancy, dexterity, and strength. When I first started, my pinky liked to fly straight up in the air, to play it string it'd come down right.. but in a slapping fashion. I didn't have a problem playing with my pinky per-say, but I did have a huge problem keeping it close to the strings.
I finally came upon this site a little over a month ago, mix a little of Shawn's lucid explanations of theory, and Jamey's philisophy of practicing. It's really blown me away. I'm the type of person to give something someone gives as advice a real go, before I blow it off or something hehe, and that's just what I did, following those guidlines to the "T". I have alot of mental discipline when it comes to concentrating, I concentrate so hard a pit even forms in my stomach hehe. I concentrated on the relaxation, on the tension exercises. I learned that before, say playing the 1234 pattern up and down the strings, that I continued to hold the strings with the previous fingers, when there was no need. This was what was screwing up my pinky finger. My pinky isn't "perfect" like the other fingers that stay close to the strings, but it does stay within 3/4 to 1/2 to the string now, and it doesn't slap the string when it does come down to fret a note. The relaxation, and tension management is like magic, it really gives you fluidness. I'm really suprised I was so silly to not recognize it. In martial arts we were taught to be relaxed and not tense because if you're tense, your reaction is going to be slower due to the process of your muscles having to first untense to do something different.
Consistant practice of relaxing, concentrating on releasing tension in your fingers and the like. It really works wonders. I'm excited and sharing this, because my wife asked me to learn a song for her (Open your heart - europe). I was really worried, the intro/verses and stuff was easy enough, but the solo had me bothered.. it's semi-fast runs, and one part is some mixed up fingering that is equivilant to a tongue-twister only for your fingers hehe. Amazing as it may sound, 5 hours later when she got home from work, I had the song and the solo down pat. Even playing with distortion, being relaxed and controlling the tension like I had been practicing made it feel easy, I was able to keep the notes separate and not ringing with other notes (sounding sloppy hehe).
I just wanted to confirm just how well the stuff Jamey, and Shawn says, really works. I really don't believe I would have been able to play it as I do now back when I was playing. I most certainly would have been over working my self, with the feeling like I was wrestling with the neck of the guitar to keep up with the song. I'm so excited and pumped now, some of this stuff I always thought was out of my reach as a player, and was almost to the point of not giving up, but accepting a sorta fate. Not any more, I'm so pumped now :) :) :) :) .
Thanks again for this site, the lessons, the essays, and the abundant wealth of advice in these forums. They have really changed my life as a guitar player.
mjamer