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I've found over the years that it's much easier to play well, by spending some practice time every day, learning to be really relaxed whilst playing, trying to release any tension in my back, shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, learning to be very aware of the how muscles tense and relax whilst playing.
I focus on each body area and really sense if that area is too tense while playing (slowly), then I try to relax the tension in that area. I've found that I had to readjust my playing position to achieve a very relaxed playing position.
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09-30-2013 03:19 PM
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Good habit to develop. I work in mental health and talk a lot with my clients about body awareness, mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, etc. Nice thing about stuff like that is that it doesn't require a prescription, can be practiced anywhere, anytime, and you don't rely on anyone but yourself to practice it. What you describe is basically something like one of these techniques, just applied to guitar playing.
Comfort with your instrument, practice space and posture is important too. On the other hand, it's almost impossible to achieve perfect comfort. But we can learn to accept a little discomfort and relax into it, rather than tensing up around the discomfort or trying to push it away. This goes for emotional stuff (like nervousness, self-consciousness, etc.) as well.
All the best in your relaxing efforts (or effortlessness, as it were).
Matt
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Too much relaxation, however, isn't good for your playing. One needs to remain in a state of readiness, physically and mentally, so a small amount of "dynamic tension", which is also "being ready to play", is ideal. Relaxing the shoulders, etc. periodically while practicing and playing is a good idea, but, while playing, most of your body should be in a state of readiness, not too overly relaxed.
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Yes, you need to be relaxed, but aware.
Originally Posted by ronjazz
Try this, play a note very slowly, sense the amount of tension in your shoulders, arms, fingers, then focus on releasing the tension in each part of your body, so you can play the note with as little tension as is possible. Concentrate on being aware of this tension and know the least amount of tension needed to play the note.
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Guy, this is something I too am interested in. Even though I consider myself a very relaxed player, I'm always amazed at how deep you can get into it, and find 'hidden' sources of tension - like peeling the layers of an infinite onion!
Julian Lage is right into this stuff - he practices and studies the 'Alexander Technique' which deals pretty much exclusively with reducing all forms of tension and freeing yourself up. Apparently lots of musicians, particularly classical players, have benefited from applying the technique's principles. I'm going to be studying it with a local AT teacher sometime over the next couple of months - no doubt I'll get something positive out of it. Being aware of breathing in relation to muscle tension is supposed to be a key element.
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I have a teacher who places major emphasis on avoiding tension. She’ll notice a shoulder or some other part is tense and point it out, and inevitably she is right, even though I am blissfully unaware of the tension. Her site references the issue here,
https://www.guitarprinciples.com/gui...r-playing.html
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There's a great book in Timothy Gallwey's "Inner Game" series, called The Inner game Of Music, co-written by a bassist called Barry Green. Depending on your side of the Atlantic, try the following:-
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Game-M.../dp/0330300172
http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Mus.../dp/0385231261
I'd started with "Inner game of Golf" and found that some of the techniques in that worked for me with guitar - so when this came out, it was a logical progression for me. And it's not all flaky hippysh!t stuff either, for you hard-headed realists out there; there's stuff that you can genuinely use.
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Originally Posted by mangotango
Yes I agree.
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Bill, I checked out her website...I have been teaching guitar for 15 years, I think you're very lucky to have this woman as a teacher - she seems to emphasize all the right stuff for a beginner. It took me 10 years of teaching and some repetitive-strain-type injuries of my own to realize the importance of this stuff. She's right that most teachers don't focus on this stuff, or not nearly enough. Originally Posted by billh
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Hi Jake, Originally Posted by JakeAcci
I’m really happy I discovered her. I was looking for a new guitar for my grandson for Christmas last year and was amazed by the variety of types and variety of woods used in guitars. I’ve played cornet and trumpet since I was 13, and played a bit on the piano too. I’ve always loved the sound of guitars playing jazz, and what I came to learn was fingerstyle and chord melody. I ended up buying a guitar (Taylor Mini GS), and then a Bourgeois OO, and taking lessons from a local guy I found on the internet. I spend about four months with him, playing the same four chords used in a Beatles song, despite the fact I never listened to, played, or cared for this kind of music, and didn’t want to simply strum chords. That was clearly going nowhere, so I started looking around for alternatives. I bought a book, Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning, by Gary Marcus, a college professor who took a year long sabbatical to see if it was possible to learn to play a musical instrument at the “advanced” age of 39. A question I found amusing, given the fact I was 70. The author had a section devoted to teachers, and it was here I learned about Jamie (my teacher). She explains everything in great detail, showing me which fingers to use where, when to hold them in preparation for a coming note, and so forth. She has taken me into her primary book on methods, a classical book, a positions book (one of the things I wanted to be able to do was sight read and play a piece of music, so knowing all the note locations was important), and chord melody.
Learning what I really want to play is so much fun there are times when I get as excited as a 6 year old at Christmas. One issue I had was I cut the ulnar nerve in my left hand when I was a teenager, and that limits the lateral movement of my first three fingers. When I hear guitar music I really like, it is almost always played on an archtop, but I’ve tried some of my brother’s archtops, and they are pretty large. However, I discovered Gibson made a 3/4 ES-140. I found a beautiful thick body version and bought it, and I’m in love with this little guitar. I can actually easily play things I struggled with previously because of the reach issue.
Bill
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Cool stuff Bill, thanks.
The "let's just jam on a song" teachers do a cruel disservice to 90% of guitar students.
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When I first read the subject line of the thread . . I assumed it was referring to being relaxed mentally, as opposed to physically. I though it was referencing nervousness and apprehension about being in the spot light on a band stand.
Mental relaxation and physical relaxation, while definitely tied in to each other . . are distinctly different topics for discussion.
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Are they?
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Originally Posted by billh
If you are referring to the "The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar". This is a great method the get the fundamentals of guitar playing techniques tension free.
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Using the word 'whilst' is a good indication that you're not relaxed enough.
I find stretching before playing helps my body relax. A few years ago I purchased a DVD called "Healthy Hands" that was made by a physical therapist. It's intended for musicians and people who do repetitive work with their hands. I can't recommend it highly enough. The first time I did the stretches before playing I couldn't believe how much more relaxed and free I felt, not just my hands but whole upper body. Best $20 I've ever spent.
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Or not American? Originally Posted by teok
Using the word 'whilst' is a good indication that you're not relaxed enough.
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Originally Posted by teok
Using the word 'whilst' is a good indication that you're not relaxed enough.Yes, I'm English, I've used the words "whilst" and "while" interchangeably for as long as I can remember. Obviously, English and American English are not the same language, so I'll avoid using any obvious grammatical misinterpretations. Originally Posted by Jehu
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
William Shakespeare"
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Nail. Head. Hit. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
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Very interesting observation... I've yet to acquire my first archtop (I need much more work on ME than on buying a new 'it'...) and am generally playing an acoustic with a dreadnought style body. (Don't get me wrong - I love beautiful instruments but after waiting this long there's no reason for me to prioritize buying over playing...) Originally Posted by MattC
It only recently occurred to me that the dreadnought isn't really a very comfortable guitar for me to play and I'm often shifting position trying to get comfortable.
I also note considerable tension at various times... it will be just one more element of my playing to develop.
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