Technique, Mechanism, Learning

Here is a book for guitar students who wish to develop their instrumental capabilities to the point of mastery. This book, while not a method, is an attempt to help students internalize the most important aspects of practicing and performing music: Mechanism, the set of acquired reflexes that makes playing the guitar possible; Technique, the procedures to follow in order to master a given passage or overcome a given difficulty; and Learning a Mechanism or Technique, the process of acquiring a reflex or of mastering a passage or overcoming a specific difficulty. The exercises strive to ingrain proper techniques and mechanisms both physically and mentally, making the interpretation of music as natural to the guitarist as walking. The author encourages the student to conquer musical difficulties through critical and intelligent analysis rather than mere repetition. These techniques are intended to return the indispensable feeling of creative playing to musical work, having freed the student from consciously focusing on the physical aspects of playing. Musical examples are in standard notation only.