REVIEW of "Guitar Playing and How it Works" by Martin Finnegan - Alexander Teacher

A new terminology and approach to the guitar based on principles of the Alexander Technique and dance.

" The Author, Peter Inglis is an accomplished musician who has supported names like Stephane Grappelli and Kate Ceberano and his classical quartet - "The Whole String Quartet" - now makes sublime sounds around Sydney. He says that he has gone through the mill of guitar learning orthodoxy and having found the experience less than ideal, has formulated a new and different approach. This book is meant as a physical and musical resource - best used by the self-taught possessing a lot of initiative, but preferably with a guitar teacher - and an Alexander Teacher!

"Guitar Playing and how it works" addresses the task of guitar playing in a straightforward and disarmingly simple way. The author's first words in the book are that "Anybody can play music and play it well. That's the way humans have evolved!"

Peter Inglis has taken many different influences including dance, martial arts, mysticism, philosophy and of course Alexander Technique and synthesized them into his own approach to the guitar. This approach appealed to me personally as this book is essentially for those seeking knowledge outside of the rigid structures of orthodoxy. Frankly, I just don't have 10-20 years to spend learning the guitar, but I do enjoy playing and would like to get a bit better at it. For the serious student of the guitar it may prove an invaluable and authentic shortcut to guitar mastery, simply by avoiding learning activities that are self-defeating and just plain unnecessary.

So the good news is that anybody can play music and play it well. Realistically though, I will probably never reach the stratospheric heights of a Jimi Hendrix, a Steve Vai or a Pat Metheny, but it certainly is possible to become an entirely competent musician - at least enough to amuse yourself and the family pet.

All it takes is a little knowledge, a lot of practice and of course a good teacher! With those ingredients it is possible to develop the basic components of guitar performance to a high degree. This is the promise of this new approach to learning the guitar.

What! No years of practicing scales and boring studies! Well, no…and yes. You do of course have practice and address technical stuff like scales etc, but that's only one small part of it! Playing the guitar is a whole-body experience! Just like Music.

The author states right there on page one that he is exploring the guitar by "following the natural functioning of the body as it interacts with the physics and physicality of the guitar and the aural demands of music."

READ ON

Please note that...

"Guitar Playing and how it works"

... was superceded in December 2007 by...

"Guitar Playing and How it Works - 3rd Edn."