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"the Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar"


jaycee

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"The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar"

by Jamie Andreas

Does anyone have this book and if so is it any good.

I have read essays by the author and they seem to be quite interesting. but before I decide whether or not to buy it I wondered if any here have read it.

I have it and I think its excellent. One of her major focuses is on guitar playing as a physical activity - one that requires you to train the body in specific ways in order to attain the necessary technique. Developing muscle memory and involving only necessary muscles are related important aspects.

You may want to take a look around at the forum over on Jamie's site as well. It will help you develop a better idea about the material in the book.

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Thanks for the reply. I have read about 20 of her essays and started to follow some of the suggestions that were recommended, and I must say they do seem to be making a difference.

I have never had any lessons so for someone in that catagory it looks as if it will be a good investment

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Thanks for the reply. I have read about 20 of her essays and started to follow some of the suggestions that were recommended, and I must say they do seem to be making a difference.

I have never had any lessons so for someone in that catagory it looks as if it will be a good investment

I'm in a similar boat. As a matter of fact, I only recently returned to the guitar after a failed attempt in my early twenties (now approaching 40). I wish I had this material sooner.

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Thanks for the reply. I have read about 20 of her essays and started to follow some of the suggestions that were recommended, and I must say they do seem to be making a difference.

I have never had any lessons so for someone in that catagory it looks as if it will be a good investment

I'm in a similar boat. As a matter of fact, I only recently returned to the guitar after a failed attempt in my early twenties (now approaching 40). I wish I had this material sooner.

...and I played in bands through the 80's. In fact, I paid for most of college with guitar. I moved on in 1991, and hadn't touched it much until this year. Now, 15 years later, I have kids learning music, and I'm finding a new relationship with my guitar. It's different than before. I'm not doing it for money, or to pick up women, and I find the idea of late nights in a smokey bar not that enticing. I'm doing it now for enjoyment. It's another way for me to bond with my kids and to pass on something they might find valueable to them. It's also a way to encourage creativity.

I'm spending more time on technique, including "conservation of movement", which sound like something she writes about.

I'm 43.

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I'm spending more time on technique, including "conservation of movement", which sound like something she writes about.

I'm 43.

The whole conservation of movement ties right into the whole idea of developing proper muscle memory through attention to technique. One of the things that I struggled with during my first go round was the whole lack of information regarding approaches to technique. I actually took a few lessons from a rather well regarded school at the time. For example, I would be told "okay, this is how you finger the scale" without an explanation as to how to best approach it. The closest I got was "practice more" but practicing the wrong way only built bad technique which then made it harder to grow beyond beginning or intermediate stages. As I said before, I'm glad I found the material.

I also want to say that Jaime's work has been a huge influence in getting me to think about ergonomics. I suffered from chronic back pain for a number of years and still did as I approached the guitar this time around. Jaime's emphasis on technique and form made me think about factors possibly contributing to my condition and ways to mitigate them. This launched me into very intense research into the topic of ergonomics and related subjects. Largely, my battle with back pain has been successful and I no longer suffer from the chronic back issues I once had.

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I have printed out 38 pages of essays and it has got me thinking about sitting position, hand position etc. theres an experience given about a pupil who almost contorted her left hand as she moved from a G chord to an C chord she / he ( jamie) said it was painful to watch, so I am becoming aware of what parts of my body are having "sympathetic muscle tension".

I coach squash and I suppose with any sport if your muscle are tense then you cannot hit the ball in the way that you want. When I was doing some finger exercises I found my right shoulderblade working its way up to the back of my head!.

Theres plenty of material out there that tell you what to play, how long the note is when to play it but unfortunately not the position you have to be in when you play the notes or chords.

So it seems I will probabley shell out the money being the exchange rate is pretty good at the moment and buy it.

Thanks for your input guys

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