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.

A small personal revelation about Barre Chords

Barre chords have always been a problem for me. They positively invite an excessive use of tension! Your hand hurts, your arm hurts and eventually your back hurts trying to sustain barre chords, without ever seeming to get them working efficiently!

What to do? Lets look at the idea of expansion and embrace as articulated in Chapter 4. "The strings are not so much 'held down' as they are 'embraced' by the subtle expansion of your back. Pretend you are cradling a large beach ball. Now imagine the ball is expanding…" ( The Expanding posture )

Wow! Of course! It's the expansion (widening) in my back, as opposed to a contracting, that needs my attention. Suddenly the barre chord is so much easier, in every sense. This is something that so many accomplished guitarists know (just watch them play barre chords!) but generally you never hear about it! This leads into the idea of "' one coordinated gesture '".

"Mistakes playing a musical instrument are usually due to making contradictory gestures simultaneously. One goal of practice should be to eliminate contradictory gestures. This means avoiding contracting use of shortening movements and using instead expanding gestures." Sound familiar? ( "transmission of the gesture of expansion")

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 was superceded in December 2007 by...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."

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