Classical Guitar Problem Solving

So, you have been toiling on a piece for quite some time but it's still not up and running, and now you feel frustrated, stuck with seemingly no way out.  I’m here to tell you that it's okay.  You are not alone in this experience.  Everybody goes through it at one point or another.  While it may be comforting to know that this does not only apply to you it still doesn't answer the question of "how do you fix it?"  I will be going over the steps of the process that will get you out of that rut.

First, what you have to do is...  are you ready for this?...  Grab your head and run around in circles as if your hair was on fire!  Okay, I was obviously kidding, but this does lead us on to our first point:

Take a Deep Breath…

As odd as it may sound it's good to take a deep breath and walk away from the problem for a little while.  This is because resolving problems often requires fresh thinking.  If you have been pounding away at your problem over and over again, you are most likely not in the state of mind needed to work out things.  Go out for a short walk, concentrate on other materials or do something that takes you completely away from thinking about it.  Now this may not always be possible because sometimes you need to learn material quickly, but even a couple of minutes of disengaging from your problem may be very beneficial.


Check the script

Next on the list should be checking the sheet music.  Obviously, I'm talking here about both hands as well as the placement of the notes on the fret board.  If the fingering isn’t noted for the section that giving you problems, then take a look at the fingering you've come up with and to make sure that it is workable.

Break it down

You should break down the problem and find exactly what the root of it is.  Is it a transition problem, as in the inability to change positions and chord shapes fast and secure enough?  Is it a fretboard hand problem?  Is it a right hand problem?  Maybe the problem is combining the fretboard hand with the plucking hand. What you need to do is break it down until you find the exact causes for your problem, the core. For example, if it is a transitional problem, if the left hand cannot make the changes from one chord shape to the following, you may want to investigate further and see which finger is causing the problem, or to put it differently which finger is late to the "party".  If the trouble comes from your plucking hand then note the finger/fingers that are making this happen.  For example, is the "a" finger getting misplaced too often and not hitting the right notes?

The point is that you should break it down until you find the absolute cause of the problem.  It's about being exact here, not general. Usually it's a finger that is not performing just right, or maybe a certain combination that's giving you a headache. But no matter what it is, it's a pretty safe bet it won't be resolved until you can actually identify it.

Here are some techniques to help you break things down

- Isolate the problem section to the smallest degree possible.  In other words if your trouble area is situated at a specific measure, make sure you focus on it and examine that and not the whole section.  But if it is a just a couple of notes, or one chord switch that's giving you problems then concentrate on that.
- Play the problem measure with ONLY your fretboard hand.  Play it as if you were playing it with both hands in regular tempo.  It may also help you to mentally hear the music and mime the fretboard hand along with it.  Is it working?  Can all the fingers play the right notes at the right time without difficulty?  Now, how about the plucking hand by itself?  Play the problem area only with your plucking hand.  At first this may seem a little hard because most guitarists concentrate their attention on the fretboard hand and therefore when the fretboard hand is taken out of the equation they become lost.  If you find yourself a bit disoriented play the measure in question with both hands and memorize the plucking hand, after that try to play it only with a right hand.  Ask yourself: is it working or does it feel as if you're stuttering and tripping instead of having a smooth execution? It could be a speed barrier that you’re facing if playing slow seems to work.

Now that you have located the problem area it's time to work it out. Once you know what you’re striving for you’ll easily be able to get over those bumps in the road and find that your playing instantly gets better.