Guitar Playing and How it Works

Guitar Playing and How it Works (Inglis Academy: Keys to Guitar #1)

Edition 1.17 | Author & Publisher: Peter Inglis.

Smashwords ISBN: 9780980459234 | For information about Educational Licenses please contact the author. | Copyright Notice: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced or transmitted, or utilised in any form without written permission from the publisher, except as covered by fair use provisions for the purpose of review.

For over four decades Peter Inglis has performed professionally in styles of music ranging from country & western to rock and pop, jazz and classical, and in venues ranging from the Sydney Opera House and the Art Gallery of N.S.W. to open air concerts in the Australian outback.

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My mission is to give you the keys to music, unlocking your creative potential.

Peter Inglis, Principal, Inglis Academy

Shop 1/38-46 Albany St, St Leonards, 2065, NSW, Australia

www.inglisacademy.com | info@inglisacademy.com

Read more about Inglis Academy publications, methods and resources at the end of this book.

Table of Contents

Quick links:

01: Introduction | 02: Rhythm | 03: Technique | 04: Right Hand | 05: Left Hand | 06: Melody | 07: Harmony | 08: Repertoire | 09: Composition | 10: Performance | 11. People | Bibliography | Credits | About the Author

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

What is this book about? - Who is the book for? | What will you learn? | How to use the book | Key Concepts in this book | About the Author

What is Talent? | Hierarchy of Musical Skills | The Skills explained | Coordination | Systems of Learning | A Wholistic Approach | Playing Music

The Guitar Family - Advantages & Disadvantages of each type of Guitar | Left hand techniques compared | Right hand techniques compared

Notation | Notating Duration | Advantages of notation | Notating simultaneous voices | | Tablature | Guitar Finger Names | Left Hand Notation & Symbols

Tuning the Guitar | Tune to A-440 | Natural Harmonics

Choosing a good guitar teacher

Chapter 2: RHYTHM

Time, Space and Energy | Grace and Flow | Walking | Swaying | Skipping | Running

Chapter 3: TECHNIQUE

A Wholistic approach to technique | What is reductionism | Limitations of reductionism | When to use holism and reductionism

Examples of technique - The Ballet Dancer | The Tightrope Walker

How does technique work? - Body Awareness, Mind and the Senses | Visual feedback too slow | Optimum Process for performance

Body Mechanics - Become aware of your joints | Levers and Fulcrums | Joints of the hand | Arch Structure

Coordination - Why Coordination? | How can you improve coordination? | Alexander Technique | Feldenkrais Technique | Raymond Thiberge | Yoga

Implications for Musicians - Coordination and concentration | Mistakes caused by contradictory gestures | Endurance | Flexibility

Coordinating with the guitar - Expanding body, weightless arms | Expansion and embrace | Relax and Connect with your spine | Sitting with the Guitar | Unstable Equilibrium | A less optimal position | Points of contact with the guitar

Practice - Only practice real music | Organise your practice | Repertoire Planner | Practice Planner

Memory - Practice from memory | Efficient learning | Learning sequence

Write the music out by hand | Key elements to write out when learning a piece

Fingerings - Use only field tested fingerings | Fingering Systems, Self-actualisation and peak experiences | Finger independence | Flexibility and endurance | Repetition

Loops: abstract the problem, apply different starting points | Tremelo loop | Arpeggio loop | Dotted rhythms develop accuracy | Syncopation develops independence

Parallel Sets | Ex.1: Single notes | Ex. 2: Pairs of Notes

Prehearing

Chapter 4: RIGHT HAND

Roles of the Right Hand | Plectrum versus fingerstyle | Fingerstyle combinations

A Natural hand position | Thumb in a Circle

Plectrum - Gravity Strum and the plectrum | Alternating strokes with the plectrum

Fingerstyle - Flexing | Extending | Extensors one at a time | Application: Quiet Hand | Adduction and Abduction | Adduction on the Guitar | Application: Artificial Harmonics | A right hand checklist

Combined movements - Rippling and Stroking | Become aware of your joints | Rocking the forearm

Some Application - One impulse equals four notes | Energise the strum with rasgueado | Rasgueado and Stroking combined | Basic elements joined to form music | Continuous Rasgueado | Ripple . Rotate . Stroke | Energise the melody with Tremelo | More Applications | Sustain a melody | Apply tremolo fingering to a scale

Timbre & Volume - Timbre | Volume | Timbre and Volume Chart | Dynamics, Tone and Timbre

Articulation adds clarity (Twinkle Twinkle)

Chapter 5: LEFT HAND

Home Base | Simple & Mixed Presentation

Melody - Playing one note - Simple Presentations | Playing Scales - Simple Presentations | Changing Position | Temporary Displacement T.D.

Chords - Applying Simple and mixed presentations (Bach) | Two keys to the Barre Chord | One coordinated gesture of expansion | Practicing the barre on the table | The 1/2 barre | The Full Barre | Adduction in the left hand

Chapter 6: MELODY

One String - On One String | Only 2 fingering types | Example on the G string: Twinkle Twinkle | Fingering one string with portamento

Change of position ascending | Change of position descending | Home base and important positions | Slow practice and fast position changes

Articulation of one note | First 5 notes of the scale with Rhythmic Articulations |

Anticipating the position change | Applying the basic rhythms to the scale

Major scales on one string - C major scale in pictures | more

Minor scales on one string - Harmonic Minor | Melodic Minor

Chromatic scale on one string - Chromatic Scale | Practice Routine | Open String Fingerings | In all keys | Flight of the Bumblebee: 4-3-2-1 | Habanera: 2-1-2-1

Chapter 07: HARMONY

What is Harmony? | Chordal Harmony | Use the keyboard

Tonic and Dominant Harmony | Walk, run and sway | In walking rhythm | In swaying rhythm | Portamento | Graceful position changes | Running melody: DOH to SOH | Imperfect and perfect cadences | A versatile and reliable fingering

(More melody) - Articulate to separate | Running to the 9th | Running Melody over 2 octaves

Alberti Bass | Dominant Seventh creates a Modulation

Walking, Running & Swaying in Major keys

Walking, Running & Swaying in Minor keys

Chapter 8: REPERTOIRE

What is repertoire? | Genres | Why so much classical? | A personal journey through various genres

Ensemble | Classical Ensembles

Media - Lead Sheets

Chapter 9: COMPOSITION

A 400 year old language

Bach's Prelude No.1

Improvisation

Chapter 10: PERFORMANCE

Rehearsal

Concentration and calibration | Checklist for performance | Calibration routines | Intentional mental states

Performance anxiety - Altering cognitive patterns | Altering your physical states | Environmental factors

Professional Performance

Some of my favourite performers - Rock - Jan Akkerman | Ritchie Blackmore | Jimmy Page | Steve Howe | Classical - Andres Segovia | Julian Bream | John Williams | Kazuhito Yamashita | Eric Hill - a role model | Ian Cooper – master of many styles

Chapter 11: PEOPLE

Music requires a network of professions | My Studies: Alexander Technique practitioners | Jazz Improvisation & Harmony | Musicianship & Eurhythmics | Classical Guitar | Performance Enhancement | Entrepeneurial skills | Management | Martial Arts | Chamber Music, Jazz, Cabaret, Rock performers | Composition & Orchestration | Dedication

Bibliography | Credits

About the Author | Music Publications | Reviews | Recordings | Music Coaching | Testimonials

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is this book about?

This book contains the keys to good guitar playing!

The book shows how guitar performance skills can be developed to a very high standard by any average person.

Guitar performance skills can be developed to a very high standard by any average person.

These are the methods used by professional musicians to refine their craft and perform.

Every concept and technique in the book has been tested in live performance over a 40 year career of professional guitar playing, in styles of music ranging from rock to classical and everything in between.

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Who is the book for?

All styles of player from country to classical, from baroque to rock.

All skill levels:

1. Amateur guitarists who want to play better and perform.

2. Professional guitarists who want to reassess their own development.

3. Teachers who want a comprehensive diagnostic resource for their students.

How to use the book

The book is a reference manual. Read through it first, and then use it to guide and direct your practice sessions. I still use it myself, every day in my own practice!

The musical material in this book is organised in a logical fashion. However the material is not intended to be studied strictly in the strict sequence presented! The sequence is important in that it evolves from first principles, but as any teacher will tell you, this is not how people actually learn!

The sequence of topics is laid out clearly in the Table of Contents.

Study the material in the sequence that addresses your current problems.

Remember that when learning music, topics will need to be put into practice again and again until mastered, these are skill sets, not merely concepts.

The idea of a technique can often be grasped in a moment, the physical mastery of a technique, and then the application of that idea to musical repertoire can take a lot of time.

Key Concepts in this book

This is a very brief summary of key concepts in this book.

Anybody can play music

There are hierarchies of skills required

Performance is a wholistic activity

Rhythm in music arises from bodily movement

Not all fingerings work well in performance

Independence of the fingers is required

Loops are the most efficient way to develop technique

Calibration is essential to reliable performance

Intentional control of mental states is a vital skill set

A wholistic approach brings everything together in performance

A reductionist approach helps isolate areas for improvement

Coordination is essential for technique

Balance Timbre and Volume to project

Articulation adds clarity

Expansion and embrace of the body contains the strings in the left hand

Scales on one string develop melody playing

Melody and Harmony are part of a language

Practice musical combinations based on repertoire

Each concept can produce powerful results when applied to your practice and performce of music.

Refer to the Table of Contents for a detailed breakdown by category.

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About the Author

Peter Inglis has recorded and performed with some of the world's best musicians and performed in venues such as the Sydney Opera House. He has shared the stage with Stephane Grappelli and recorded with Ike Isaacs (former Grappelli guitarist) and Ian Cooper (world renowned jazz violinist).

The author in performance

Recording with a master of improvisation, the late Ike Isaacs, who performed with violinist Stephane Grappelli for many years.

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What is Talent?

Anybody can play music, and play it well.

That is the way human beings have evolved! Birds sing in the trees, whales and dolphins sing under the sea. Humans sing in the shower and play in orchestras.

In the past, and unfortunately to the present day, some people are still of the wrong opinion that musical talent is in the genes, and that you are either born with it or you are not! However it was established long ago that musical talent is a combination of naturally occurring and learned skills, and those who appear naturally talented are already performing well in at least several of these areas. All the talents necessary for the performance of music can be refined.

Musical talent is a combination of naturally occurring and learned skills.

The various talents also interact, so improvement in one area often flows on to improvement in another. In this sense the performance of music is a very wholistic art, working best when all the faculties and intentions of the performer are involved.

All musical talents can be refined.

I first came across the idea of a list of discrete musical aptitudes or talents in Carl E. Seashore's 1938 book: Psychology of Music.

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A hierarchy of musical skills

Here is a basic hierarchy of musical skills presented with the simplest (rhythm) at the foundation. This volume looks at the most basic skills necessary for expressing Rhythm, Technique, Melody and Harmony on the guitar, and with a view to Performance. Later volumes will look at Repertoire, Improvisation and Performance in detail.

Performance - Share your stories with other people.

Improvisation - Make up stories.

Repertoire - What kind of stories do you want to tell?

Harmony - Voices singing together.

Melody - Sing a tune with your voice or on the guitar.

Technique - Express musical thoughts on your instrument.