improving by not practicing

due to various reasons, in the past i have not touched the guitar for quite some time (think years rather than months). now that i have started again, i am learning that this period of not practicing (and performing) has been immensely productive for my playing.

first of all, as i started again, i found that very quickly i could do things i had been practicing years before, and which i expected to take a long time to build up again. apparently, my body remembers much more that i am consciously aware of. this has been a great relief, because it made me lose the idea that i needed to practice a lot each day in order to 'keep up my chops'.

i was very surprised by this, and this was great in another way: i was actively and eagerly listening what came out of my hands. and this is an ability that makes a big difference: rather than trying to direct my playing with my thinking, there is a constant loop between my fingers and my ears, with my brain taking the backseat.

so i can advise everyone to try this exercise (which may not be so simple, if you are atttached to your practicing routines or the habit of playing while watching tv): put away your guitar for a couple of weeks. success guaranteed!!

(for the slightly less daring people: take my words as a comfort that whenever you are not able to play, this is not something to lament, but rather to cheerfully welcome).

how it all started

here are some pictures of my eightstring in various stages of being built. many thanks to mar, who took the pictures at VOX HUMANA, the guitar shop where i walked in years ago with the idea to have my guitar built.

i liked their quality work, as well as the fact that they didn't immediately jump in when i proposed to build an eight string fanned fret instrument. it took me some convincing that this could work, and this helped us to really consider all of the complexities involved. below you see the 'final cut' for the frets. when i saw this, i knew it would eventually work out.

below you see a second big step: the heart of the instrument, with an extension so i could actually take it home and see if the measurements were working out for me. i can tell you this was a great experience, a simultaneous sense of being liberated as well as intimidated. it wasn't easy to bring it back, but it wasn't quite finished yet....

it took henny and rene some time to finish it (parallel to their many other projects), but it was really worth the wait. of course many visits, cups of coffee, and talks were involved along the way......

you can see the finished instrument in the august post entitled 'white belt'.

including the universe

i try to learn from whatever source possible. as far as books are concerned, i have a soft spot for authors that seek to be as complete as possible. more often than not, it turns out this is impossible. but i like very much to see people try...

my particular favorites are george van eps' three volumes (!) of HARMONIC MECHANISMS FOR GUITAR and the three books (!) that constitute the MOTHERLODE, a complete library for chords put in a specific format by mick goodrick.

i intend to come back to these more often because they contain so much that its totally impossible to fathom you could incorporate everything into your playing. for now, i will give you my general description of harmonic mechanisms. i have not run into any other source that is so well suited to help you master the eightstring.

george van eps

the three volumes start out simple, with scales of triads in all keys. you might think this involves a lot of repetition, but this would be a mistake. van eps adds different fingerings for each key. the reason for this is that his aim is to provide you with exercises that eventually enable you to improvise chord melody pieces with walking basslines. over the rest of the three volumes, you find a multitude of exercises that bring you closer to this goal. my experience is that whenever i pick up one of his ideas and include in my practicing for a week, i immediately feel more free in my solo improvising. that's a big return on investment if you ask me.