The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar

To put it simply, this book is incredible. It is like the prerequisite for most other guitar books and almost so much so that is a prerequisite for playing guitar. Have you ever been to a lesson and you’ve asked your teacher to help you play a certain riff or lick and they responded by showing you where to place your fingers. Most of us do know how to read tab and the most we gain from these sessions is an easier fingering for the piece. They never really answered the question of HOW to play it. They showed us what to do but they didn’t truly show us how to do it.

The “how” is what this book is all about. It gets down to the microscopic details of how to do something. It doesn’t just tell you to place your 1st finger on the 9th fret. It tells you what muscles you need to use to do it. Before reading and understanding the concepts presented in this book, I used my left hand fingers, but now I can control them and I tell you this is a whole lot better. It also deals with the right hand for both using a pick and fingerstyle. The section on fingerstyle is quite in depth, so I know when I decide to start fingerpicking I’ll be able to get off on the right foot with the right movements. It’s not just about the hands though; it also details how your body tenses in reaction to various things and how this tenseness adversely affects your playing.

The book is a philosophy of learning guitar. It details the thinking processes needed to get what you want out of your practicing. It lets you know how your fingers learn and how you can take advantage of this. Whole sections of the book are dedicated to the art of practicing, which, all in all, is what this book is really on about. The basics for technique are covered but its aim is to provide you with the knowledge of your mind and body to analyze your technique and understand how to use your body most effectively.

The content involved in the book is not about any particular technique. It does not tell you how to sweep pick, tap, hammer-on or any other technique you care to mention. What it does tell you is the basics, and, more importantly, what the basics actually are! I remember in my early lessons being told place your finger here, here and here. That all nice but I can learn that from a tab, in the Principles you are told how to use the fingers to put them in a spot, you are instructed on how to get the feel for how much pressure to use. I admit it is not easy and it doesn’t all come together after one reading. It takes really slow practice and incredible concentration.

This book was recommended to the beginner and the troubled experienced player. I wasn’t really troubled after two years of playing but I sure do wish I had of had the knowledge presented in this book when I was just starting! I would have been so more aware of what I was doing. Now when practicing it is incredibly intense, before GP (guitar principles) I was lucky enough to be told to practice slow and keep your fingers low to the strings. I focused on that and it got me so far but through GP I have discovered there is so much more to be aware of. Now my practicing is a lot more powerful and beneficial.

So I would recommend this book to everyone except the person who does not want to play any better than how they can already play.

While going through this book, it will seem at times you are going back to being a beginner and this can be frustrating to the point of seeming pointless. But once you understand the things presented in the book you understand why you need to do it and practicing becomes less of a chore. Besides, the results you see after some time has gone by are quite pleasing.

Note though that this book alone will not teach you everything and even in the preface Jamie recommends that you go and find a teacher. But the book is not alone, there is also a message board on the Guitar Principles site where players and teachers alike are using the principles and asking questions. There also numerous essays by the author and a good quality newsletter. The author herself even gets himself around on the boards when she has time.

So, in conclusion, if you are willing to admit that you have a desire to improve your playing then I recommend this book as an excellent tool to help you.

Visit www.guitarprinciples.com to check it out.