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Has anybody tried practicing with their eyes closed? I read an article in Just Jazz Guitar magazine and the writer said he sometimes practiced with his eyes closed.
His reason was that it forced him to "hear" his way on the fretboard as opposed to "seeing" his way around.
If I remember the article right, he'd play along with a song or backing track, then start with one note and see where he could take it without looking or relying on patterns, riffs, etc.
Very interesting. (As quoted from the days of Laugh-In.)
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05-07-2009 03:51 PM
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I do this often when working new material like a lick or line around the key circle. Like your quote, it makes me hear it rather than just rely on seeing the pattern.
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I read an article about Sharon Isbin (the classical guitarist) where she mentions that she teaches her students to not look at the neck when they play. I forget her reason, but it was in GP magazine a while back.
I agree. A lot of time, on those rare occasions when everything is comig out good and the ideas start popping , I tend to stop looking at my hands and I see the fingerboard in my head.
Of course when I'm just shedding I look.
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when i'm really feeling it, this sort of happens naturally with me. i probably play my best in moments like that, but it's nothing i can do conciously--yet...
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One great thing to is to look directly in front of you instead of the fretboard, if not, looking at the top (sky?), or closing the eyes.
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I almost always play with my eyes shut or looking off in a daze when I am playing a solo. I think I hear better things to play with my eyes shut and I'm sure it is a subconscious approach that allows me to listen to other band members while trying to come up with a good solo.
wiz
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Sometimes I shut my eyes during gigs or don't look at the fretboard during practices, but it's not really a big deal. I think too many guitarists emphasize bizarre things like ... don't look at the fretboard, don't put your thumb over the top of the neck, you need a jazz guitar to play jazz, etc.
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I always play with my eyes closed, though I recently was told by Roddy Ellias that I should open them more as a way of engaging the audience. He said that closing ones eyes is fine for practicing but on stage it puts a wall between the performer and audience. This is probably a great idea but I'm so used to closing my eyes I'll probably never be able to get rid of that habit!
MW
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Metheny seems to never look at the audience while he plays and seems to enjoy each note he plays and actually that is a good connection with the audience I think.
Originally Posted by m78w
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Yeah, it's definitely a personal preference. I tend to close my eyes so I can open my ears which makes it easier for me to communicate with the other musicians and the audience as well.
MW
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What I do when I play in a band situation is to look at one specific point rather than the neck, at least if i'm comfortable with what im playing (complexity, etc)
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I do, it helps me to concentrate. I'll only close them for a little bit, almost phrase by phrase or in between phrases while I concentrate on the music. But I keep myself aware, eye contact is vital to the music making process with the band, and yeah Roddy is right, it's nice to connect to the audience.
Music is in the ears not in the eyes despite what Pop culture wants you to think
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You should be looking at women. If there are no women at your gigs, you're playing the wrong kind of jazz. Or maybe not, sailor.
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If you practice without looking at the neck...the most important benefit
is you learn to feel the distance to your next note. Your learning the
exact distance to move a 3rd, an octave, etc. In classical training it
would be considered muscle memory. Play a bar chord indiscriminately
anywhere on the neck, just visualize your bass note location before you move. Make it a fun exercise..go up in 1/2 steps...whole steps..m3rds, maj3rds, etc., always returning to the first chord. It helps VISUALLY solidify
the picture of the neck and where each note is.
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I'm with you Stackabones. Why did we start playing guitar back in highschool or Jr highschool?.......to impress the girls!
I not only close my eyes often when playing, I get so relaxed I'll close my eyes, start drooling and coo like a baby.
How do you tell when a stage is level? The drool runs evenly out of both sides of the banjo players mouth.
Fritz
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Sometimes. And sometimes I'll turn the lights in my practice room off. Originally Posted by Dookychase
We're so vision-centric, processing what our eyes see sucks up 80-90 % of the brain's capacity. By closing your eyes, making the room dark/dim, playing without music in front of you, you're sharpening all the other senses. It's a great idea.
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Interesting thread... This all makes sense to me.... If you look at the neck it probably reflects fear based playing (i.e. are my hands landing the right notes/lines chords etc) or you play visual patterns that look cool. But... when you shut your eyes you focus on sound...period.... and that is what matters. I find if I am having a bad gig it is often becuase I am looking around focusing on things in the room (a christmas bow-like thong the other night about a foot away!) wondering what this or that person is thinking etc. Now I try to get into a groove, shut my eyes, and then throw myself into the music. Lately I have this strange experience where at the end of a set I open my eyes and it is like waking up - I am suprised to find myself where I am, a bit disoriented - but it is a good feeling. I was on a musical journey and it was fun...
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as an exercise i will play in the dark sometime...a few benefits are: learning the feel of the fretboard by muscle memory rather than seeing it...play an extended Gmaj scale starting on the 3rd fret low E string and end it on the 15th high E...then try and pick a random note from that on a given fret..D on the 7th fret for example..continue the scale from this point etc..
its a good confidence builder and when the lights are on, so to speak, you see the fretboard in a new way as you don't have to "read" it one fret at a time and your not intimidated by extreme fretboard jumps...7th fret to the 15th for example...
play well
wolf
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Originally Posted by wolflen
Try this idea without the guitar. VISUALIZE the neck. Each note of that
G Major scale. Start from top or bottom or in between as you say. But
instead of playing it Visualize the neck and verbalize exact fret and string as if you were playing it. As each note comes to mind then start to see
the notes on each side of it. Do this while exercising...driving, etc.
Then see how much easier it is to play after the visualized image gets
really TIGHT.
__________
He wins, who plays the least
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John Abercrombie talks about this in his instructional video. He is pretty funny! Originally Posted by Dookychase
=-) PJ
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Fear-based - yep, that's definitely where I'm at, currently. Originally Posted by Roberoo
But when I was in my old blues band.....and I knew that stuff inside out, then sometimes by the end of the evening, if things were going well, then for a bit of showmanship I used to go for the T-Bone/Hendrix/SRV option. And believe me, there is nothing that finds out your knowledge of the fretboard like playing a solo with the guitar behind your head...
when you're standing on a table, out in the crowd....
when said table is being shaken by a drunken member of said crowd.
JAZZ POLICE WARNING - don't try this at home. Or anywhere else for that matter.Last edited by mangotango; 07-01-2009 at 07:42 AM.
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I know one reason for me to play without looking at the neck is so I can read my music book without losing my place by having to turn my head. Since I play mostly standards and sing along with my guitar and do just volunteer work at one nursing home, I have the luxury of not having to memorize all the words of every song I need to play. Plus, if I want to play a standard I've never played before, it helps me keep on track. so much for a cool reason to play without looking.
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