Practising blindfold

Okay, this might sound like a really odd lesson, but please bear with me as I think it will really help your playing.This lesson might all sound a little zen or karate kidesque, but it certainly works for me.

So what does it involve?

Well, basically it involves either, closing your eyes, blindfolding yourself, playing in the dark, or not looking at the neck of the guitar. I think having the eyes closed or blindfolded is probably a better approach to this exercise.

So what is the point?

Well, one reason is that when performing on stage, you need to be able to play without looking at your instrument, as you have to engage with the crowd, usually by looking at them, also on stage it can be quite common for it to be very dark, thus knowing where notes are on the instrument is a really big help. But, I think the other reason more importantly is that it helps you focus both on the sound of the note you are making and you get to hear the interval (or at least think carefully about the interval you are about to make).

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." - Carl Jung

By removing one of the senses, you are so much more reliant on the others, and in this case as a guitarist or musician, I think there a focusing on the sense which should actually be primary in the activity of music making....your ears. Why I think this works1)You slow down and think, this is something we should probably do more of when playing guitar2)The sound of each note and each interval becomes the key focus3)You start think of each note as it's own entity and it's relation to the others, thus appreciating intervals.Give it a go, you might be surprised at the results.For similar concepts and ways to improve your playing NOW, download a copy of my book.

PeaceNeil