My experience with technique

[deacon Mark]

Due to some issues, I was not able to play the guitar for about 3 weeks in September. Then going back I just wanted to focus on easy technique and fluid playing clean. What I found out and really reinforced was the issue of speed vs chord melody playing. In general, all guitar players of any type get hyped on speed we cannot help to think fast stuff that is clean is cool. I have actually over the years found this type of playing to be less in need of constant attention.

One of the first things I went back to doing was a few Johnny Smith style chord melodies with those massive stretches and spaces to cover. In order to play them clean a not buzz it requires tremendous concentration and work. On the other had I found that really not long I could again negotiate changes like Cherokee much easier. I was back up to speed in no time. The precise playing of chord melody requires much more attention. With speedy stuff we worry about getting lost or simply not so musical but if we slog through a sloppy chord melody we can look like drunks. I will say going back the best method is stick to the basics time and melody and eventually if done enough things return.

[dasein]

Musicians have been slow to utilize the knowledge about motor-skills development that athletes and their coaches have learned over the years.

A couple very general truisms:

- children who play a wide variety of sports, with different motor-skill requirements, tend to end up better all-around athletes than the ones who hyper-specialize too early

- one of the most effective learning tools is restriction-based activities. For example, a basketball coach might want to get his young players better at ball handling. They can make the kids do all sorts of drills, give them coaching cues, etc. But one of the more effective ways to have them learn is to say something like, "Ok, we're going to play a game, but as a twist, you can only dribble with your left (or non-dominant) hand." No deliberate instruction, just giving them a challenge that they're forced to solve on the fly.

I think you can apply that to instrument technique as well. The more movement patterns you are exposed to and can play, the easier it is for you to pick up new ones and have all-around better technique. I remember one lesson many years ago vividly, where my teacher was trying to get me to play a particular right hand pattern (if I remember right, it was playing two strings with I and A while M muted the string in the middle). And I simply couldn't do it at all. I could not send the proper signal from my brain to my hand. He immediately recognized what was happening and we had a good laugh. Now I can do it, and I'm sure that simply establishing that novel motion had positive effects on my right hand that I'm not even aware of.

The other part is that chord melodies, and really any kind of polyphonic playing on guitar, inherently requires restrictions. You have to figure out how to place multiple fingers at the same time, and switch between them smoothly. You have to figure out how to keep certain notes sustained while others move. You often have to resort to alternate fingerings, because of some melody note.

Playing Johnny Smith chord melodies is a great example of this. All those big, stretchy close voicings. How many times do you really play those, nevermind harmonize a melody with them? But you figure it out along the way, and in working through it, you've widened the base of your technique.

I always encourage players to try things outside of their comfort zone. Things like Lenny Breau arrangements (especially ones where he comps for himself), Wes solos with the original fingerings, alternating bass ala Chet Atkins (think about how many all-around great players came out of that Chet school), classical, Ben Monder pieces (some the hardest pieces ever written for the instrument), Holdsworth stretchy lines, etc.

I've never really looked at any Johnny Smith arrangements, so I will probably do that. Another tool in the toolbox.

[pamosmusic]

Musicians have been slow to utilize the knowledge about motor-skills development that athletes and their coaches have learned over the years.

A couple very general truisms:

- children who play a wide variety of sports, with different motor-skill requirements, tend to end up better all-around athletes than the ones who hyper-specialize too early

- one of the most effective learning tools is restriction-based activities. For example, a basketball coach might want to get his young players better at ball handling. They can make the kids do all sorts of drills, give them coaching cues, etc. But one of the more effective ways to have them learn is to say something like, "Ok, we're going to play a game, but as a twist, you can only dribble with your left (or non-dominant) hand." No deliberate instruction, just giving them a challenge that they're forced to solve on the fly.

I think you can apply that to instrument technique as well. The more movement patterns you are exposed to and can play, the easier it is for you to pick up new ones and have all-around better technique. I remember one lesson many years ago vividly, where my teacher was trying to get me to play a particular right hand pattern (if I remember right, it was playing two strings with I and A while M muted the string in the middle). And I simply couldn't do it at all. I could not send the proper signal from my brain to my hand. He immediately recognized what was happening and we had a good laugh. Now I can do it, and I'm sure that simply establishing that novel motion had positive effects on my right hand that I'm not even aware of.

The other part is that chord melodies, and really any kind of polyphonic playing on guitar, inherently requires restrictions. You have to figure out how to place multiple fingers at the same time, and switch between them smoothly. You have to figure out how to keep certain notes sustained while others move. You often have to resort to alternate fingerings, because of some melody note.

Playing Johnny Smith chord melodies is a great example of this. All those big, stretchy close voicings. How many times do you really play those, nevermind harmonize a melody with them? But you figure it out along the way, and in working through it, you've widened the base of your technique.

I always encourage players to try things outside of their comfort zone. Things like Lenny Breau arrangements (especially ones where he comps for himself), Wes solos with the original fingerings, alternating bass ala Chet Atkins (think about how many all-around great players came out of that Chet school), classical, Ben Monder pieces (some the hardest pieces ever written for the instrument), Holdsworth stretchy lines, etc.

I've never really looked at any Johnny Smith arrangements, so I will probably do that. Another tool in the toolbox.

I think i second all of this

[Mick-7]

One of the first things I went back to doing was a few Johnny Smith style chord melodies with those massive stretches and spaces to cover. In order to play them clean a not buzz it requires tremendous concentration and work. On the other had I found that really not long I could again negotiate changes like Cherokee much easier. I was back up to speed in no time. The precise playing of chord melody requires much more attention. With speedy stuff we worry about getting lost or simply not so musical but if we slog through a sloppy chord melody we can look like drunks. I will say going back the best method is stick to the basics time and melody and eventually if done enough things return.

Not to mention that Johnny played solely with a pick, and it's more difficult to play his arrangements cleanly with a pick than to play them fingerstyle.

[spencer096]

Musicians have been slow to utilize the knowledge about motor-skills development that athletes and their coaches have learned over the years.

A couple very general truisms:

- children who play a wide variety of sports, with different motor-skill requirements, tend to end up better all-around athletes than the ones who hyper-specialize too early

- one of the most effective learning tools is restriction-based activities. For example, a basketball coach might want to get his young players better at ball handling. They can make the kids do all sorts of drills, give them coaching cues, etc. But one of the more effective ways to have them learn is to say something like, "Ok, we're going to play a game, but as a twist, you can only dribble with your left (or non-dominant) hand." No deliberate instruction, just giving them a challenge that they're forced to solve on the fly.

I think you can apply that to instrument technique as well. The more movement patterns you are exposed to and can play, the easier it is for you to pick up new ones and have all-around better technique. I remember one lesson many years ago vividly, where my teacher was trying to get me to play a particular right hand pattern (if I remember right, it was playing two strings with I and A while M muted the string in the middle). And I simply couldn't do it at all. I could not send the proper signal from my brain to my hand. He immediately recognized what was happening and we had a good laugh. Now I can do it, and I'm sure that simply establishing that novel motion had positive effects on my right hand that I'm not even aware of.

The other part is that chord melodies, and really any kind of polyphonic playing on guitar, inherently requires restrictions. You have to figure out how to place multiple fingers at the same time, and switch between them smoothly. You have to figure out how to keep certain notes sustained while others move. You often have to resort to alternate fingerings, because of some melody note.

Playing Johnny Smith chord melodies is a great example of this. All those big, stretchy close voicings. How many times do you really play those, nevermind harmonize a melody with them? But you figure it out along the way, and in working through it, you've widened the base of your technique.

I always encourage players to try things outside of their comfort zone. Things like Lenny Breau arrangements (especially ones where he comps for himself), Wes solos with the original fingerings, alternating bass ala Chet Atkins (think about how many all-around great players came out of that Chet school), classical, Ben Monder pieces (some the hardest pieces ever written for the instrument), Holdsworth stretchy lines, etc.

I've never really looked at any Johnny Smith arrangements, so I will probably do that. Another tool in the toolbox.

the classical world seems to be ahead of this curve almost to a fault. the gymnastics are almost as important as the music itself, seeming as much like athletes as musicians, but man...some of these younger players have pushed the technical bar to absurd heights. there are a ton of young players and kids coming out of eastern europe and asia that are just spring loaded.

im not sure this is really an accessible model to follow for jazz, but the chops are sensational.

[Christian Miller]

Musicians have been slow to utilize the knowledge about motor-skills development that athletes and their coaches have learned over the years.

A couple very general truisms:

- children who play a wide variety of sports, with different motor-skill requirements, tend to end up better all-around athletes than the ones who hyper-specialize too early

- one of the most effective learning tools is restriction-based activities. For example, a basketball coach might want to get his young players better at ball handling. They can make the kids do all sorts of drills, give them coaching cues, etc. But one of the more effective ways to have them learn is to say something like, "Ok, we're going to play a game, but as a twist, you can only dribble with your left (or non-dominant) hand." No deliberate instruction, just giving them a challenge that they're forced to solve on the fly.

I think you can apply that to instrument technique as well. The more movement patterns you are exposed to and can play, the easier it is for you to pick up new ones and have all-around better technique. I remember one lesson many years ago vividly, where my teacher was trying to get me to play a particular right hand pattern (if I remember right, it was playing two strings with I and A while M muted the string in the middle). And I simply couldn't do it at all. I could not send the proper signal from my brain to my hand. He immediately recognized what was happening and we had a good laugh. Now I can do it, and I'm sure that simply establishing that novel motion had positive effects on my right hand that I'm not even aware of.

The other part is that chord melodies, and really any kind of polyphonic playing on guitar, inherently requires restrictions. You have to figure out how to place multiple fingers at the same time, and switch between them smoothly. You have to figure out how to keep certain notes sustained while others move. You often have to resort to alternate fingerings, because of some melody note.

Playing Johnny Smith chord melodies is a great example of this. All those big, stretchy close voicings. How many times do you really play those, nevermind harmonize a melody with them? But you figure it out along the way, and in working through it, you've widened the base of your technique.

I always encourage players to try things outside of their comfort zone. Things like Lenny Breau arrangements (especially ones where he comps for himself), Wes solos with the original fingerings, alternating bass ala Chet Atkins (think about how many all-around great players came out of that Chet school), classical, Ben Monder pieces (some the hardest pieces ever written for the instrument), Holdsworth stretchy lines, etc.

I've never really looked at any Johnny Smith arrangements, so I will probably do that. Another tool in the toolbox.

100%
If have good chops it’s because of stuff like this


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pamosmusic]

100%
If have good chops it’s because of stuff like this


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

uh oh … but what if you don’t

[deacon Mark]

Today now a good week of working each day my chops have returned at least in the sense that 3 weeks off is not horrible but have not taken 3 weeks off in maybe years. I used another guitar today and the Smith arrangement (My Romance) came out better. Sometimes it can be the guitar itself of course. I can at times become mechanical in playing if I really overdo it but that is rare. Guitars with wider neck allow for better JS voicings. My Heritage Johnny Smith and Barker Guitar at 1 3/4 just working better for this type of playing.

My technique sequence is to play Donna Lee, a chold melody, Billies Bounce, Chord melody, and then run through changes of a few standards. Then I go back to the real practice sessions which to me is playing tunes and knowing them inside and out. I do work on time with sight reading melodies too.