THE EYES HAVE IT (OR DO THEY?)

Where would we be without our eyes? I shudder to think of myself sightless as would we all. Sometimes however our eyes can be problematic when it comes to guitar technique. It seems that when we really focus our eyes in one area our attention will go almost exclusively to that area. I don't know how many times I have asked a student (at least in the beginning phases of instruction) "What was your right hand doing during this passage of music?" More often than not they won't be able to tell me, they will however be able to tell me what their left hand has been doing. Why? They have been watching it the whole time and subsequently all of their attention has been focused on that hand. Too often many students assume that what the right hand is doing is correct and end up being unpleasantly surprised.

On a keyboard instrument both hands are also involved in playing, however they are involved in playing different notes and as a result both hands tend to get the same attention often to the extent that the left and right hands are learned separately and then combined. On guitar however both hands are essentially engaged in exactly the same process, that is, both hands are equally involved in playing the same note. The irony of this situation is that although the right hand is traditionally the hand that most classical guitar instructors teach first it becomes the hand that many students largely ignore once the left hand is brought into the equation. This occurs because again the eyes dictate where our attention is focused.

It will be the primary purpose of this document to explore the mind as well as the use of our peripheral vision and thought to control both hand simultaneously and have more than enough left over to be thoughtful and musical.

Stay Tuned .............