Why do some people get better faster than others? Is it genetics or genius and luck of the draw? Is it some secret formula: 20 % warm-up + 20 % technical workout + 40 % repertoire + 20 % sight-reading = ? I say neither genetics nor formulas are the main ingredient in practicing effectively. If [...]
This is actually one of the most important secrets to being in control of your playing both expressively and technically. It’s the first video in Module Five of Conquering Technical Hurdles, which is about Coordinating the Two Hands. In the rest of the videos I walk you through all the essentials and some of the [...]
Here’s a short excerpt from the Conquering Technical Hurdles Video Course. Enjoy! [leadplayer_vid id=”52C75AC6D592D”]
A butterfly goes through stages: an egg, the first stage of a butterfly, hatches into a caterpillar. In this larval stage it goes through a series of mini-stages, continually shedding its skin until it finally sheds its last skin, revealing a chrysalis. The chrysalis stage provides a protective shell for it to metamorphose into its [...]
Here’s an excerpt from the Conquering Technical Hurdles Video Course, Set 2: What the Hands Have in Common. In this video I show you from three different angles what’s going on when you angle your wrists what’s going on when you angle them wrong or bend them too much and how to know whether and when [...]
One issue that I run into a lot is barre passages that exhaust the hand—making it difficult to really get them practiced properly. Here’s a little video I put together about how you can kill three birds with one practice session: 1. Learn this kind of passage really, really, really thoroughly while…. 2. keeping your [...]
var hide_awf_Form = true;http://forms.aweber.com/form/32/989309732.js In Part One of this article, I talked about the imaginary battle between practice and play, between the note police and the expressionistas. I tried to get them to reconcile by pointing out that they need each other. In this post, I want to look further into the differences and the [...]
// // ]]> Should I practice this some more? Or I can just play it already? This kind of question comes up a lot when playing an instrument as challenging as classical guitar. Notice I said "playing" classical guitar. That's how we refer in public to what we do. If someone asks 'What instrument you "play?, you [...]