Reviewed by Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine
(Volume 61 Issue, 2006)
In the preface of her book, Jamie Andreas states, “This book is not like most books available in that it does not stress content, but approach. This book will give students what they need in order to benefit from all those books.”We found that the true jewel in this book is Jamie’s insight on how we learn and how to make the most of practice time. Jamie covers the subjects of attention and awareness, muscle memory, the discovery of sensations, body awareness, as well as reducing and eliminating sympathetic tension in our hands and the total body as we play.
A few insightful and interesting quotes from the book include:
“Your fingers can be your best friend or your worst enemy, you decide which one they will be by how much you pay attention to them and how much you get to know them in the act of practicing and playing.”
“I have learned over the years that we deserve every mistake we make. In fact, we have created and guaranteed them by the way we practice.”
“Extra tension in the muscles, which every advanced player knows is the number one cause of playing difficulty, becomes a blind spot.”
We highly recommend not only guitarists but all musicians read and consider Jamie’s thoughts on the principles of correct practice.
