I was practicing the other night at dusk working through a piece I've played for some time. It was getting dark, but I didn't want to get up to turn on the light. I realized that some pieces I play by looking at my right hand, other piecies I play by looking at the music, and others I play not looking at anything.
I realized this because the particular piece I was playing seemed to get worse as I got darker; it was one of the pieces I need to look at my right hand for.
Some of this is based on familiarity. There are pieces i know really well and I'm used to playing them without looking at anything.
Some is technique. I find that I generally have to look at my right hand more if I'm playing with a pick, perhaps because I'm less sure of the location of the pick, than I am of my actual fingers.
I guess the oddest thing is that for the pieces I play without looking at my right hand, it's not a good idea to actually look, it makes my playing worse. That is, if it's a piece I can now play without looking at my right, looking down actually causes me to stumble.
In any case, it was an interesting realization that turning the lights on or off will help and hinder playing different songs.
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2 comments:
Interesting. I've only noticed myself looking at my left hand to make sure I'll be hitting the right frets. I only notice my right when I'm learning something new or when it's stressed & I need to relax it. But then again, my picking on da bass isn't as intricate as yours is on the guitar. Heh. & I think that's another reason I like it so much. lol.
:-)
I thought you were left-handed? Maybe you were 1. Looking at the wrong hand or 2. Need a left-handed guitar.
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