Picking

The issue of picking has been debated for years with opinions on all sides. Picking gets down to pairs: 2 downs, 2 ups, 1 down and 1 up and 1 up and 1 down.

Alternate picking is typically used for 2 notes on 1 string. Consecutive picking is used to transition from string to string when the direction of the phrase permits it.

The term "sweep" implies an effect as much as it implies a technique. Regardless of how the picking motion occurs (which is a different subject), you can't avoid the concept of the picking pairs.

If you think of phrasing, consecutive picking gives you a legato, flowing effect, no matter what the speed. On the other hand, alternate picking gives you a more articulate sound.

Ultimately, virtually all jazz guitar players use a combination of alternate and consecutive picking.

Practice and Performance

Practice is necessary to develop the skills required to pursue music successfully. But practice can also be a crutch - a delay tactic. Just as many people continue their college educations to avoid the necessity of getting a job - of facing the real world. It can be the same in music. You're "never" ready. The fact of the matter is : you're always ready. When you can struggle through one song, you're ready!

As in most things in life, it's important that you strike a balance between practicing and performing. By performing, I don't mean a huge concert venue. It might be a performance for friends or relatives. It could be at a coffee house or an open mike night. Anything that puts you in the position of having to play songs - original or not in front of people is valuable.

Songs are not exercises. They are vehicles of self expression through music. This often strikes fear into the hearts of new performers. This is an understandable reaction. Remember that fear can be redefined as excitement. They have the same physiological symptoms - shaking hands, a feeling in your stomach, the tendency to run. But if you enter the arena of performance, these feelings will ultimately turn to motivation.

So, practice and perform. Make it a lifelong habit!

On Practice

Practice is that inevitable "dues-paying" time that everyone must invest to pursue music. In the self study approach, the most difficult aspect of practice is the organization of musical and technical principles. Too often the player works in circles not really progressing, not knowing what to practice. Becoming aware of this lack of progress, he begins searching for sources of information. Books, recordings and other musicians are primary sources. Though these approaches are sometimes helpful, they are not flexible enough to solve specific problems for specific students. An individual can form habits from misinformation that can be detrimental to his progress for years.

Studying with a qualified teacher solves the organizational problems and provides a type of security for the student. Having dealt with so many self taught players and their problems, I encourage any serious players to find a qualified and creative teacher to assist their development. Every player is comfortable with and responds to varying programs of study but most can be helped by the right teacher. I do not deny the difficulty of finding this teacher but the effort required is usually worth it.


Music Pursuing the Horizon by Chuck Anderson Available at www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com

Reading vs Sight Reading

I receive many questions on sight reading. The implication is that it is a special skill with tricks. The reality is that sight reading is nothing but a high level of reading. Guitar players are infamous for their lack of reading skills. Starting with sight reading is akin to wanting to go for your Doctorate before your Bachelor's degree.

Reading encompasses the following skills:
1) Note Recognition and Execution 2) Note Location 3) Fingering Solutions 4) Rhythm Recognition and Execution 5) Ability to follow the "roadmap" - a series of written instructions that moves you from one section of a piece to another and indicates something of the interpretation of the piece.

Putting these together is reading. Putting these together without preparation, just as you would read a book or magazine, that's sight reading!

Students and Practice

Students seem to think that they should be above low points of practice enthusiasm. They are perhaps unknowingly denying their own humanness. No one is perfectly consistent. Musicians are not machines. There will be peak periods and the opposite. The true measure of one's potential is not the consistency of highs but rather the ability to recover from low periods. During periods of depression and sagging enthusiasm, students often begin to tell themselves that they must not have the ability to achieve in music. Because if they did, so their reasoning goes, they would not have any difficulties with their own motivation toward practice. They tend to look at an established player and assume that this player never had problems like theirs. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is their assumptions only that is giving them their "information". If the established player were to be questioned and if he were to be honest and open with the inquiring student, he would reflect the same problems as the student himself. Naturally, it must be looked at within the framework of the established player's development.


Music Pursuing the Horizon by Chuck Anderson Available at www.ChuckAndersonGuitar.com

Performance and Teaching

It's commonly believed that teaching and performing are mutually exclusive. Not so!

Each of these pursuits is an outlet for creativity. They are separate but interrelated.

The effort and energy required to pursue two fields is certainly greater than the effort required to pursue one field. But it can be done. Typically, anyone involved in teaching and performing tends to favor one or the other at various points in their career. But if you've trained for both, you should be able to pursue both.

This applies to every field, even Classical music. I remember reading an article about Janos Starker, a famous cellist. He performed and taught at Indiana University. He was the first Classical musician I ever heard who stated emphatically that the duality of teaching and performing could be a reality.

Remember, perform seriously and teach seriously. Each will enhance the other!