The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar
Reviewed by Ney Mello
Reviewed by Ney Mello
(International Recording Artist, Performer, Guitar Instructor)
I am using "The Principles" book as a text book (...the only mandatory one I currently require for my students). I am testing them by asking them to explain to me each "Tool" and "Understanding" section in their own words, because if they understand why this works, they are more likely to use it right away.
I also do small "experiments" by having them play a short passage or lick and then practice it in your "No Tempo" mode, for example, and they can immediately sense the difference.
One of my more advanced guitar students who just won first prize in his high school jazz band in Maryland- in a National competition (in Chicago's Northeastern University) was playing a rather sloppy pentatonic 4 note lick. I put him through "The Principles No Tempo practice" for about 2 minutes with varying pick pressures and attacks. Immediately, he was playing it with "Pat Martino" clarity and needs just to get up a little in tempo. The jump in articulation was dramatic and immediate. Because I "forced" him to slow down, his brain could actually scan the motions that were missing and fill in the missing data.
I explained to him that if you slow down enough and practice in sections, you don't make mistakes, and you relax because you know you can handle it; therefore you don't get tense. Most of all, the point is that it is an absurdity to command your brain to play something it does not yet know. It needs to analyze and memorize very complex sensory and motor/ spatial data before it can execute it.
As "the Principles" clearly states, your fingers don't have the ability to know or guess your real intentions, they don't read your mind. They operate as a computer does, based on what your input is during you practice sessions.
About Ney Mello :
