Articles from GuitarPrinciples.com

By Jamie Andreas (www.guitarprinciples.com)

"Think 10 Times, Play Once"
"Your aware thinking mind is your primary practice tool."

"Attentional Deployment"
Practicing guitar as fighting a battle? Jamie gives excellent tips for deploying your attention to smooth out persistent problems.

"Scales"
Jamie gives an overview of scales that helps you understand what scales are, what they are used for, and how different types of players use scales in different ways.

"Perfect Intention"
Perfect Intention is an exalted state that every player should seek, even from the beginning. The more you give yourself to it, the more it reveals itself to you. You will know it when you find it, and you will know it when you don't.

"Double Trouble"
There are times when the best way to solve a difficult problem is to work one that is twice as difficult.

"Climb Every Mountain"
It is easy to achieve 80% of just about anything. Closing in on that last 20% is what separates the mediocre from the excellent.

"Get the Juices Flowing"
Don't wait to enjoy your playing. It doesn't have to be perfect and it doesn't have to be complicated; it will get better. Musical feeling is real simple, but unless it is added to the growth process, growth doesn't occur.

"Teaching by Travel Brochure"
Guitar teachers sometimes assume that what works for them will work for their students. Find out what's wrong with this assumption.

"Lost in Time"
Clocks and schedules exist to serve us, not rule us. We must learn to float in the sea of timelessness as we did as children, especially when we practice or play the guitar.

"The Glue of Repetition"
The most powerful tool you can use when you practice is the Glue of Repetition, which is applied with a metronome. Jamie shows how to use this glue effectively.

"The Secret of Speed"
The feeling of lightness enables fast, accurate playing. Unfortunately, far too many players create for themselves "The Incredible Tightness."

"Your Growth as a Guitarist: Vertical or Horizontal?"
As the years go by in the life of a player, there are two kinds of growth he or she can experience. Both are necessary for our development as musicians and guitarists. I call them Vertical Growth, and Horizontal Growth.

"Why are so many guitarists masochists?"
Do you wonder why you're not progressing as fast as you'd like? Are you inexplicably fatigued after practicing? How do you build speed? Get help here, from Jamie Andreas of GuitarPrinciples.com.