On Jul 11, 6:12 am, Slogoin <la...@deack.net> wrote:
> On Jul 11, 5:13 am, "augustinere...@yahoo.com"
>
> <augustinere...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > There's a danger in doing this.
>
> No, there is no danger.
>
> > In driving to the last note, one can
> > tense up through the burst, ending up
> > more tense at the end of the burst than
> > at the beginning.
>
> That's the gesture. Gestures are curves in most music. Practicing
> non-music is dangerous.
>
> > To practice a burst as a preliminary
> > step toward sustained alternation,
> > it seems sensible to emphasize
> > a consistent feel throughout the burst,
> > feeing no more tense at the
> > end than at the beginning.
>
> Completely backassword. Use your body to inform the gesture. Don't
> try to analyze it but just work to get the feel, like a kid, not like
> an adult. The gesture is physical and almost all are curved lines of
> tone, volume and tempo. Practice curves not straight lines.
>
> > If one can do that, then it might be pos-
> > sible to gradually extend the length of
> > the burst without losing physical ease.
> > At least that's my theory.
>
> Your theory is cart before the horse. Feeling first then analyze it
> to improve it. Get the GESTURE then refine it. You are using your head
> to do something physical. It won't work.
If I remember correctly, Tom's goal is to alternate i and m at 720
notes per minute. (16ths at 180bpm.) That's 12 notes per second.
He thinks it's possible because he "has the raw speed," he says. He
says this because he can drum i and m on his desktop at that speed.
Well, using that sort of reasoning, it's possible that I can fly like
an eagle, because I can flap my arms as fast as an eagle can flap its
wings. I have the raw speed.
But really, raw finger-flapping speed is as much a factor in producing
12 notes per second as raw wing-flapping speed is a factor in an eagle
staying airborne.
What really counts in the guitar problem is the accuracy and
efficiency of the return of the fingertip to the string after each
stroke. (Which is why fast scales that cross from higher to lower
strings are so much easier to play than scales that cross from lower
to higher strings.)
I'd like to write more, but I see the Dow is down 170, the debt
contagion has spread from Greece to Italy, the Republicans are playing
chicken with the Democrats over the debt ceiling, and it looks like
the wheels are about to come off. Maybe later.