Lesson: Not Looking at the Fretboard and Left Hand When Playing Guitar

Рет қаралды 4,891

Күн бұрын

A lesson on how to not look at the left hand and fretboard while playing guitar. This comes via a KZfaq question by Alexey: "Could you give a lesson on how to learn to play without constantly staring at the fretboard? You seem to be one of the few guitarists - even among professionals - who seem to manage it effortlessly."
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The main elements of not looking are:
Technique Practice - Longterm technique practice can really help solidify the muscle memory involved in trusting the left hand.
Theory and Fretboard Knowledge - Being able to play within a key and translate the notes on the page or notes in your head to the layout of the fretboard and understanding musical intervals in terms of frets and shapes.
Sight Reading Ability -Having sight reading skills and experience will allow you to read music efficiently in combination with the muscle memory of your technique practice and thus enable you to not look left.
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:41 Disclaimer on my videos
2:04 Technique Practice
6:01 Music Theory and Fretboard Knowledge
8:20 Sight Reading Ability
10:35 Summary and Final Advice
➔ This video was performed on a Douglass Scott classical guitar with Aquila Cristallo hard tension strings and a Le Support guitar rest. See all my gear here: www.thisisclassicalguitar.com...
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Thanks for watching!
#guitar #classicalguitar #classicalguitarlesson

Пікірлер: 29

@Thisisclassicalguitar 29 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching. Here's my lesson archive page: www.thisisclassicalguitar.com/lessons/ Enjoying my channel, visit my support page: www.thisisclassicalguitar.com/donate-support/

@alexeykhaliullin 29 күн бұрын

Oh this is great, thank you) I think this is the only KZfaq video on the topic that clearly explains and teaches the thing to us classical guitar students) I actually learn flamenco guitar and I asked my teacher how he does it - and he is like "what's the problem, just stop looking at the guitar, look at the girl dancing!!!")) And then again electric guitar players also make it part of their overall skill - so that they can look at their fans not their guitars while on stage)) but classical guitarists seem not to bother too much... Although even aesthetically being mesmerized by their left hand looks awful during a live performance. So thank you very much for your tips and a couple of really helpful exercises) will start practicing tomorrow)

@Thisisclassicalguitar 29 күн бұрын

Ha, well, "stop looking" is certainly part of it, all this other stuff just makes it happen way faster and builds confidence.

@jessetryon5108 14 күн бұрын

I really liked your disclaimer! Very honest and humble.😊

@Thisisclassicalguitar 13 күн бұрын

Ya, the context is needed for this particular question.

@delalia2253 28 күн бұрын

It is a really good question and the answer you give is really honnest, detailled and useful, thanks a lot for your constant help !

@Thisisclassicalguitar 28 күн бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@ajithdealwis2112 29 күн бұрын

Thanks for the excellent expanation, I'll go ahead with your techniques,

@jennysu1153 29 күн бұрын

Great topic, great advice! Thanks for your insights.

@Thisisclassicalguitar 29 күн бұрын

Glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for watching!

@mishanguyen7023 29 күн бұрын

🎉 thank you Sir

@sujitliddle7308 29 күн бұрын

I have a slightly different problem - I wear bifocals and the near focus is set to around 12". With the neck angled up the fretboard is so badly out of focus that I'm better off not looking at it. Should I get special glasses made for guitar playing? 6-8" for the fretboard and 12-15" for the sheet music?

@Thisisclassicalguitar 28 күн бұрын

I doubt the fretboard has to be perfectly in focus but the sheet music certainly does. I guess it will depend on if you are reading or playing by memory but if you're reading I'd focus on that vision.

@TheNil8 29 күн бұрын

Thank you😃🙏

@Thisisclassicalguitar 29 күн бұрын

You're welcome 😊 Thanks for watching!

@sujitliddle7308 29 күн бұрын

Excellent. You forgot to mention that it is best that you keep the neck at exactly the same angle every time, otherwise it will throw your muscle memory off. Same size guitar too.

@Thisisclassicalguitar 28 күн бұрын

Good point, although I don't personally find it too much more difficult if I'm sitting "wrong" or something.

@smblott 29 күн бұрын

Thank you, Bradford. You didn't mention a couple of points which I find useful. If you're jumping to 9th position, then you learn what it feels like to have the body of the guitar against the side of your hand. And if you have a guide finger then you learn what it feels like for two, say, or three frets to pass under your fingers. Horrors... when jumping to first position I sometimes deliberately overshoot to get my position from the feel of the angle of the head.

@Thisisclassicalguitar 29 күн бұрын

For sure, there are tons of tips for shifts that I have in other videos but shifts are only one factor here, although, I admit, a big factor for many people.

@christopherstanford5599 29 күн бұрын

❤

@mer1red 29 күн бұрын

Playing with eyes closed so that you can listen to the music and be completely submerged in it is my ultimate goal. But it's not easy. Strangely enough, hitting the right fret spot is not the problem, but touching the right string, mainly the B,G or D string, when playing chord grips, even if you don't put all the fingers down at the same time. To watch that you have to bend more forward, which has too many disadvantages. I hope it will work out someday.

@Thisisclassicalguitar 29 күн бұрын

I would put that under the Technique section. There is a good exercise in Pumping Nylon called "Opposing Motion" which is a good one for string accuracy.

@JF-bd4pi 23 күн бұрын

What is the scale supplement book you mentioned?

@Thisisclassicalguitar 22 күн бұрын

Scale Pattern Studies For Guitar by Aaron Shearer : www.thisisclassicalguitar.com/scale-pattern-studies-for-guitar-aaron-shearer/

@Philrc 29 күн бұрын

Everybody looks at the left hand and it's just a pretentious conception that for some reason you shouldn't. There are times when you can take your eyes off the neck and times when it's important to look, which helps you with placement of your fingers. There's a strange idea but you're not a good guitarist if you look at your hands but in fact I've seen many top class world guitarists rubbish this idea themselves.

@Thisisclassicalguitar 29 күн бұрын

I agree with you but I think this particular question focuses on "constantly staring at the fretboard", as in, an unhealthy habit of not being able to look away and also not being about to reading music while playing which can often be required, for example, with chamber music or other situations. But, ya, like I said, I look over plenty when playing memorized music.

@Philrc 29 күн бұрын

@@Thisisclassicalguitar yes of course I agree with that too. You can't be fixated on the fretboard. You have to be able to look away. Mainly glancing back to check, specially when you have a major change in position

@annettesomers7463 29 күн бұрын

Ana vidovic always watches her hands