Repetition, Repitition, Repetition

Hey everyone, sorry about the tardy blog entry. I recently auditioned for a spot in a local group, so now I’ll be much more prolific in my performing. Stay tuned for updates on my performance schedule in the next month or so. More details later.

As a performer, one of the best compliments you can receive is someone remarking that “you make that look so easy!” We’ve all seen and enjoyed performances like that. In some cases, those performances inspired us to pick up the instrument or practice more seriously. When somebody gives you this compliment, that means you’re doing your job. It should look easy. Nobody wants to go to a performance and watch someone struggle on stage. People’s lives are challenging enough without having to sit on the edge of their seats wondering if you are going to pull off that difficult lick or not. The next time you witness an inspiring performance, take note of how that musician comes across. They make it look so fun; like they’re having the time of their life performing for you.

Any professional musician (or athlete for that matter) will tell you that it’s all about repetition. You play something until it becomes routine, maybe even boring. As a teacher, I hear the phrase “well, I could play it perfectly at home!” on a daily basis. Sure, my 5’5” frame is probably overwhelmingly intimidating to students of all ages, but the core issue is a lack of repetition. If you play something incorrectly 9 times in a row, and then manage to accidentally play it right the tenth time, you’ve practiced it incorrectly more than you’ve practiced it correctly. Ideally, my students would learn the item they are practicing a couple days after their lesson. Then, they could spend the rest of the week getting comfortable with it. Unfortunately, most probably practice their assignment the night before, or morning of, their lesson. Virtuoso players often speak of their teachers having them play a difficult passage perfectly 100 times IN A ROW without a mistake before they can move on. If they make a mistake, they start over at zero. In Volume 2 of his method book for classical guitar, Christopher Parkening recommends playing an entire piece perfectly 7 times in a row before considering it ready for performance.

This principle also corresponds directly to replacing sloppiness with consistency. When you are developing or enhancing a technique, bite off small pieces that are easy to chew. Start with something that only has a few notes. Work that small chunk up to the point where you can play it with absolute clarity and rhythmic accuracy. Then, rinse and repeat to the point where it is effortless. Later on, work your way up to longer passages and licks. Playing the same long lick over and over with mistakes will get you nowhere. Next time, we’ll look at some examples of short licks (speed bursts) that you can incorporate into your practice routine.

Joining the LSLFLN

As a preface to this entry, please refer to Kevin’s question following my prior entry. Building basic technique is one of the hardest things to address as a private instructor. If you are teaching someone teenaged or older, try to use songs that the student is already familiar with which can address basic points of technique; Greenday stuff for power chords, Metallica for palm-muting, etc. I usually have the most success with students whose parents are classic rock fans. They have heard everything, so you can map out the introduction of fundamentals with a variety of songs and artists.

You really run into a problem with younger students, however. Frequently they don’t listen to anything and even if they do, it’s either some rap artist or Hillary Duff. It’s practically impossible to get a kid to learn and memorize chords that he or she won’t be able to use in any songs that they like. In those situations, I try to get them started in a book learning to read notes. This presents its own set of challenges as you have to deal with getting them to play in rhythm, keep their eyes on the page, and learn the notes on the staff. However, if they have the patience and motivation to stick with a beginning book, it becomes a little easier to make the segue to chords and other concepts after a short time.

If you have taught younger students for any length of time, you probably noticed that it’s next to impossible to get them to learn an entire song. I’ve had countless younger students brag that they could play a particular song which turned out, when I heard it, to consist of about four measures which vaguely resembled something like the song they were talking about, if I used my imagination. HOWEVER, since when did guitar instructors become the "Learn-the-Song-Lick-For-Lick-Nazis?" (LSLFLN for short) It is probably better for your sanity and the student’s that you teach them to play the signature lick or riff to a particular song well enough where they enjoy playing it and then move on. Later, after their skill and dexterity has developed to a higher level, they can revisit the song and learn it with more accuracy.

Ideally, every student would be ready from the beginning to practice with a metronome and employ proper technique as instructed. Realistically, that just will not happen. Your job as an instructor is to get them excited about learning the instrument and employ elements of technique as you are able. This flies in the face of more established teaching methods on other instruments, but remember that some of the most innovative guitarists have been those who played styles which contradicted established technique and theory.

One of my pre-teenaged students had been struggling with practically every concept out there until recently. I patiently worked with him on chords, power chords, slurs, etc. One day, when I couldn’t think of anything else to teach, I showed him a little of the tapping section of Eruption by Van Halen. He’d developed his hammer-ons and pull-offs to the point where he could at least play the first measure very slowly. As I showed him the pattern and tapping technique (which is pretty much useless for developing your own career and making money playing guitar, by the way), something clicked and suddenly he understood (as we were looking at sextuplets!) all the things about rhythm that I had been trying to teach for months. Now he actually practices with a metronome, places his hands and fingers correctly, and can comprehend rhythmic subdivisions. Yay! That only took a year of my life.

Stay tuned. I'll be posting my entry on incorporating technique development into your practice routine later this week. See you then.

Sounding Remotely Musical

My last entry discussed the need for a guitarist to prioritize practice time based on his or her goals. When designing a practice regimen, remember that there are some concepts which are universally fundamental to guitarists, regardless of style or area of interest. With that in mind, the first such area I would like to address is a basic command of dexterity.

As a guitarist progresses through years of practice and study, their priorities will naturally shift in accordance to the demands of their musical pursuits. For the beginning student, the ability to physically execute basic guitar techniques requires the bulk of their attention. Forming calluses on the fingertips, gaining finger independence, and developing accuracy is paramount. Otherwise, it is simply impossible to produce anything sounding remotely musical due to constantly buzzing strings, incorrectly fingered chords, unintentional pregnant pauses, etc. Unfortunately, some guitar teachers do their beginning students a disservice by tackling difficult songs (Stairway to Heaven) or concepts (jazz chords, soloing, theory) before they have even a basic command of the instrument. Of course, it is absolutely tedious for a beginning student to focus only on dexterity exercises, but a teacher can suggest learning songs which cover fundamentals of increasing difficulty. As fundamental techniques are mastered, it takes the student less time to learn new material and concepts. Songs can be learned without having to learn corresponding techniques from scratch. For a while, the amount of time taken to learn new material decreases at an exponential rate. Songs which at one time took a month to learn can now be read in five minutes.

Categories of dexterity which I believe are necessary for a student of any style include (in order of importance) correct left hand finger placement (tips of the fingers!), open chord changing, strumming/rhythm, bar chords, alternate picking, and basic scales. Neglecting any of these areas will result in frustration and embarrassment as an individual progresses and finds that they lack vital fundamentals. If you have made a decision to study guitar with the intent of progressing to the absolute limit of your ability, the categories I mentioned should serve as a checklist of basics. Has your guitar teacher covered all of these areas with you? Are there any areas that you habitually neglect because they aren’t “fun” to practice? They will be even less fun a couple more years from now. It’s a good idea to tackle them sooner rather than later.

My next entry will include some suggestions for incorporating dexterity work into your lessons and personal practice time. Please take the time to leave your own comments, suggestions, and questions.

A Serious Endeavor

When an individual has invested time in developing skill on a musical instrument, they eventually come to a point where they need to evaluate what their goals are in regard to their musical pursuits. Specifically, are they playing the instrument for fun, or are they interested in a serious undertaking? This of course determines how much time they spend practicing, what they play, and the level of scrutiny and diligence they apply to their endeavor.

Generally, someone makes this decision following several years of experience during which they have developed their skill to a reasonable level. Whether they have professional aspirations or simply want to pursue a high level of skill for their own fulfillment, they are no longer content with flailing away at power chords or strumming through simple progressions. Whether you are giving lessons or taking lessons, that can be an important question to consider.

Let's take it for granted that you’ve decided to be a serious musician. What should you spend your time practicing? It can be very frustrating trying to prioritize your practice material with so many possible choices. The guitar offers an almost paralyzing amount of options due to the number of varying styles and genres that feature the instrument. It therefore becomes necessary to narrow the focus of your study. However, I believe that there are universal techniques and concepts that should be studied by guitarists of any style which will help avoid gaps in knowledge and playing ability.

My next several entries will explore different areas of study, their relevance to various playing styles, and suggestions for budgeting practice time around these subjects. Some that I am considering include: Dexterity, Chords/Rhythm, Lead Playing/Improvisation, Reading, Theory, Repertoire, Composition (Songwriting), and Ear Training.

As I’m preparing this next entry, I’d like to invite you to leave your own comments and suggestions. Are there concepts/techniques that you think are vital to EVERY guitarist? What are they? Are there techniques and concepts that are so specialized that most of us don’t need to concern ourselves with them? What area should a guitarist spend most of his or her time practicing? How could you encourage a serious student to work on these areas? What would you teach a student before they have reached a level of playing where they can decide how serious a player they intend to be? What should your guitar teacher have taught you that they neglected?

Also, I’m always up for lesson posting requests on the site. So far, I’ve posted the nasty minor key solo (which I plan to edit somewhat so you don’t have to read a lengthy essay on bending techniques and chord tones. Yuck!) and the Turnaround Licks lesson, which is of moderate difficulty. So, request away and I’ll see what I can come up with.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog. As I'm acquainted with many serious guitarists at varying points in their musical development, I thought it would be interesting to explore different aspects of an intense musical pursuit, specifically as that relates to the guitarist. I'm quite positive that I'm not the only player who continues to deal with frustration, lack of motivation, and lack of progress. Hopefully, this blog and the comments that are submitted will provide some practice tips, new approaches, or at least some food for thought that may aid you in breaking through that wall you (and I) sometimes find ourselves up against as we seek to drive our musicianship to its full potential. Stay tuned for my first entry which will address essential areas of study for the serious player. Please feel free to comment and contribute.