Settling

The past couple of weeks have been nothing out of the ordinary practice-wise. Some days I hang out in the music room and play a scale for 30 minutes, other times I sit on the bed with the guitar in my lap while watching a film, making silent chord changes and practicing finger relaxation.

I think I mentioned this before, but my initial reaction to the Andreas book was disappointment. The ideas were simple and the exercises even simpler. I could not see how any of it would help in even a small way. I decided, however, to give the exercises a chance, and oddly enough, I discovered that they altered my playing for the better. I would not have believed that placing the fingers on the strings without pressing the strings down would be very effective, but it teaches the fingers and the body to remain relaxed while playing. Soon after beginning the exercises I noticed an improvement in how my fingers move around the fretboard. So every session I practice the "light finger" exercises, moving them around slowly without depressing the strings.

Yesterday while practicing I noticed an improvement in overall skill - I was playing scales faster than ever, my picking hand was not missing as many strings, and the looseness of my fretting hand made me look in wonder, not knowing how I was doing it. It appears that after 5 months of consistent daily practice I am beginning to feel the first sensations of familiarity and comfort with the guitar. I was confident this day would arrive, I just did not know when.

Black Beauty

Ibanez

I have been looking to buy a used acoustic guitar to go along with my classical and electric. I search Craig's List a few times a week, and finally found a guitar which fit what I was looking for.

It is an Ibanez acoustic which can also be plugged into an amp. Its size is small, with a narrow body similar to an electric. Not being a large person I was happy to get a guitar which is not bulky. The color is black and the body has a cutaway allowing for easy access to the higher frets. There is a thin crack on the back of the guitar body, so over time this guitar will not sound good, but I bought it knowing that I am using it for practice. The cost was only $90, and it came with a soft case, which also fits my classical.

The case will now make it easier for me to haul either guitar to the park, as I can strap it onto my back while riding my bike, rather than having to carry the hard shell case in one hand.

I have learned a few more measures of Asturias. Each measure brings on a new set of finger movements and complications. I find that after practicing 1 or 2 measures, when I return to playing scales or chords everything seems easier. My plan is to eventually learn the entire piece. This may take a few years, if I'm lucky, but at the end of the process I should be a much better guitarist.

Asturias

I read through the Andreas book last week. My plan was to read it once through, then reread it as I began to implement the guitar practice methods. When I finished the first reading I was disappointed because most of the things written are simple ideas which I already know through other activities such as running and basketball - staying loose and relaxed while in the midst of a difficult task, the importance of practice, repetition, motivation, attitude, and intensity. The exercises seemed so simple that I could not see how they could make a difference.

Although I was disappointed in the material as a whole, I still agreed with most of the ideas, and saw no reason why I should not learn and practice the exercises. So I began doing the simple tasks, such as placing the 4 fingers on consecutive frets while keeping a light touch without pressing down the strings. This leads to finger walking exercises practiced with a light and heavy touch. Although appearing simple, when I attempted them I felt tenseness in the shoulders, arm, and fingers. After a bit of practice I felt improvement in relaxation and finger stretch.

Immediately after doing the exercises I began my normal practice routine of scales and chords. I found that the Andreas exercises, practiced for a only a short time, had improved the agility, accuracy, and looseness of the fingers, especially the 4th (pinkie) finger. The main improvement was the ability to keep all 4 fingers close to the fretboard without tenseness, thus making it easier to move around the frets.

My initial disappointment in the book is now gone, as I believe the exercises are going to allow my guitar skills to improve.

~ ~ ~

Friday while making a dinner of corn tortillas, eggs, and vegetarian meat, I was listening to an old compilation CD. One of the songs was Asturias, which is a favorite of mine. I interrupted my dinner preparations to see if I could find guitar tabs for the piece.

I knew that even if tabs were available, there would be little chance of playing the composition -it is hard enough to learn a simple 3 chord popular song.

I did find tabs for it, and when I glanced at the first 6 measures it did not seem too difficult. I picked up my classical guitar and began to hit the notes. The main riff of the song begins immediately, and I knew I would be happy if I could make the guitar sing it.

To my surprise I was able to play the beginning measures with relative ease. The B string is played open for most of the song, so that part is not difficult. The majority of the notes which are accompanied by the open B string are found on the A and D strings between the 7th and 10th frets. Due to my fingers becoming more agile from the Andreas exercises, I was able to move freely from note to note using all 4 fingers when needed. The 4 finger (pinkie), which usually gives me problems, was staying loose and close to the fretboard, without flying far off the strings like it usually does. Hearing the pleasantly intense notes sounding from the guitar and watching my fret fingers moving smoothly, made me feel happy about my progress.

This morning I learned the next 5-6 measures of the song. After 20 or so measures the piece begins to get more complex with fingering and plucking patterns. I am looking forward to seeing if I can learn these advanced notes and techniques.