Relax don't do it!

[Bluebird]

How do you relax those muscles in your arms. Is there any proven method. Maybe think about relaxing in your head while pickin? Like I dont have enough to think about. Can someone give me some advise. Thanks.

[Flowerpot]

One easy thing to try is to take your favorite practice tune, play it, and breathe in and out while you are playing. If you are able to take long deep breaths while picking, you will relax quite a bit. A lot of people hold their breath while taking a break, unconsciously.

[Walter]

Flowerpot:

I think that might be good advise. I'm going to try it.

[ChrisWallace]

The book "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner talks (in great detail) about playing while in "the zone" a.k.a. a completely relaxed state of mind & body. A very good read in my opinion if you're interested in the "psychology of music" at all...might be worth checking out.

[Bluebird]

Thanks for the replies. Does Amazon have this book? or where do I get a copy?

[Bluebird]

Thats, OK. Chris, I found it on Amazon for 20 bucks. I read the reviews. Looks like a good book for me. I am going to Myrtle Beach for vacation. I will try to find it in a book store down there. If I can't I'm going to order it. Thanks!

[ChrisWallace]

Hi Bluebird,
For what it's worth, I looked EVERYWHERE for that book and couldn't find it (I guess I still don't fully trust this "internet thing" that everyone's talking about http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif ). Eventually, I just broke down and ordered it off amazon. If I were you, I'd just pick it up online...I think they had it shipped to me in about a week.

Be sure to post your thoughts on the book after you've read it...

[jamesrenz]

Yes, Werner's "Effortless Mastery" is a good book, as is, "The Inner Game of Music," by Barry Green, and a third, "The Way of the Hand," by David Sudnow. The last is ostensibly about a novice jazz pianist learning to develop his improvisational skills from the great jazzman Jimmy Rowles, but it certainly can spill over into mando and every other instrument, as it deals with "listening," "intuiting," etc.

Playing a line too quickly without first learning it carefully and slowly, to allow muscle memory to develop correctly, is one of the greatest causes of muscle tension. Trying slowing your finger, hand, arm movements down -- to a snail's pace, if necessary -- and work out your lines at that pace before even thinking about picking up speed. See if that doesn't make a difference. Once you are relaxed at a slow pace, you can begin to speed up. Once you start to feel tension again, stop and move back to where you are comfortable. Preparing the notes ahead of time is also helpful. Finally, check your posture. Bad posture, e.g., slouching down in a couch so that your back is twisted like a pretzel, will also certainly work against you.

[mandough]

One word. #Vicodin http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[skipper]

Before you even pick up your mando, clench your arms as tightly as you can, then release. Do that two or three times; it's really effective. New agey types use this method for every muscle group in the body to relax, and that'd be even better for you. Takes a while though.

[John Flynn]

I agree with all the above and I plan to check out those books also. In addition, I recommend having a really good set up done on your mando. I think playing with a well set up mandolin helps allows you to make good notes with less tension and gives you more confidence when you are working on lessening hand tension. Also, I am planning to put much lighter strings on my second mando, just to get used to a lighter touch. I am hoping it carries over each time when I go back to the heavier strings on my main mando.

[dasspunk]

This is just another thing to practice... over and over. This is the first thing I think about when I pick up my mando for the first time of the day (usually in the morning) and is just part of my warmup routine. The ultimate goal is to make this relaxed state into your normal playing "feel". Play nice and slow and get used to playing the right way.

I strongly encourage you to practice in a mirror. Watch your right hand. Is it smooth and flowing? Is your left hand clenching or gliding? Mirrors don't lie...

[Tom C]

Allthis sure helps but also, relax your shoulders. Let them drop.
At the symposium people ask question on how they would pick a phase with triplets and such while Mike M. and Chris T were pickin'. They would talk about different ways and which way caused more tension in their pickin hand and
shoulder area. Then decide how they would play it.

[JiminRussia]

Hmmm......Zen mandolin. Maybe I need to move to Tibet.

[mandodebbie]

JiminRussia... while you are there, please write us a new book and call it Zen and the Art of Mandolin Maintainance. It would sell millions. I hope.:laugh:

[JiminRussia]

I think that one of those Korean manufacturers already has the copywrite on that title.