{"id":201174,"date":"2022-06-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=201174"},"modified":"2022-06-08T01:53:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T08:53:30","slug":"tq-ethan-kind-soft-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-ethan-kind-soft-hand\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethan Kind on Freeing the Little Finger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar.\u00a0Find more here<\/a>. Enjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u201cFeel the back of the hand as being very soft, so that the little finger can reach any string with a released palm.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

Ethan Kind<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Sitting down to play guitar, most of us dive into \u201cdoing.\u201d We jump right in with scales, an exercise, or a piece of music. Doing, after all, is what we are here to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in addition to the \u201cwhat\u201d of practice, we also have the \u201chow.\u201d And this is arguably a more important question. Especially long term<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One element of \u201chow\u201d is technique. Guitar technique is how we move our hands. It also includes all the skills that allow us to render the music in our heads. These skills include dynamics<\/a> (volume), accents, rubato<\/a> (slowing down\/speeding up), and other tools of expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This first \u201chow\u201d of technique should be a major part of our study. And this is true for the beginner as well as the advanced player. Our technique determines how well we play our pieces<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we come to the question of how to play our technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This second-level question is more concerned with how we use our entire body and mind. This is how we show up to the guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, how aware are we of our musculature as we play? Are we tensing certain muscles without need?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes in the body, great change can occur from simply wishing. We can wish our eyes to be soft. And if we allow it, it may well happen<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can say in our heads, \u201cMy neck is free and released.\u201d And if we give it the space, something happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we pause and become still for a moment, then give a direction (or wish), we start to use our bodies more effectively. We drop excess tension and are able to play with more freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of bodily tension is born of habit. So when we move our attention away from this \u201cwishing,\u201d the muscle may tense again. That is normal. We can then wish them free again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, we become more aware of the moment when we tense unnecessarily.<\/a> We get better at managing a released (yet supported) body while playing notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exercise of awareness can bring a whole new level of challenge and enjoyment to daily practice. At any moment, we can gently suggest softness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results? Playing takes less effort<\/a>. We stop working against ourselves and instead move with natural grace and ease. Fluid speed, agile stretches, confident precision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we peel back the layers of resistance, our bodies can do what they know how to do: perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*For more on these ideas, explore the\u00a0Alexander Technique<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar.\u00a0Find more here. Enjoy! \u201cFeel the back of the hand as being very soft, so that the little finger can reach any string with a released palm.\u201d\u00a0 Ethan Kind Sitting down to play guitar, most of us dive into \u201cdoing.\u201d We jump right in with … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":201176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-quotes"],"yoast_head":"\nEthan Kind on Freeing the Little Finger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ethan Kind on Freeing the Little Finger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar.\u00a0Find more here. 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Enjoy! \u201cFeel the back of the hand as being very soft, so that the little finger can reach any string with a released palm.\u201d\u00a0 Ethan Kind Sitting down to play guitar, most of us dive into \u201cdoing.\u201d We jump right in with ... 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