Dearest Emma, You’re the best!!! I wanna let you know how much I enjoyed this one on tension. It’s often at the part of a song that I know is very hard to play that this happens to me. So what do I do… I stretch beforehand, I slip the cork in my mouth, I walk around as I play, often stopping to look in the mirror from time to time, I play to the portion of the song that stress starts trying to slip in then stop take a drink of tea, stretch, then start back in. A really good one is, to not hold my breath as I climb closer to the difficult parts of the song, rather, I breathe to help relax my mind. I pray as you read this you come to realize how much you have helped players with your broad selection of teaching videos. I have a ukulele lesson this morning & will be sharing these stress relief tips with my student! Gotta pass this stuff on you know. Blessings, Ken…. (Your friend for music!)
Another great video ! Playing relaxed is something I really struggle with on mandolin. I know I exert more force when fretting with my left hand than I need too. My right hand sometimes tenses up when I do tremolo too so sometimes ends up sounding like Morse Code. To complete the picture, my posture when practicing is not the greatest so if I am not careful my shoulders end up in my ears ;-) I will start implementing your tips today, just in time to be ready for my new mandolin which will show up tomorrow. One other thing I must remember to do is to take breaks. I have a tendency to play for hours on end with no resting or stretching in between. Bad habit arising from over-enthusiasm ! Thank you for the tips. Just what I needed to get my mind back on the need to relax !
Shoulders are something irritating that I have suffered from for a long time. I personally play hard, I don't like the minimum effort rule. However, I exert a lot of strength and my shoulders feel a lot when I spend many hours practicing. But what was surreal was this Cork trick, I had never heard of that. I really put a lot of force on my jaw when playing, especially when I have to do a solo on the guitar, I'm really going to test that, it's fantastic.
@@emmabordersmusic Seriously, it kind of blew my mind right now. I usually chew gum but it still hurts a lot, and my right shoulder goes with it. I'll try it and come back to give you feedback.
thanks Emma, great reminder for all of us how important this is! Here's another great video on the topic: Noticing Tension with Chris Eldridge || ArtistWorks th-cam.com/video/datJTAoo574/w-d-xo.html
Dearest Emma,
You’re the best!!! I wanna let you know how much I enjoyed this one on tension. It’s often at the part of a song that I know is very hard to play that this happens to me. So what do I do… I stretch beforehand, I slip the cork in my mouth, I walk around as I play, often stopping to look in the mirror from time to time, I play to the portion of the song that stress starts trying to slip in then stop take a drink of tea, stretch, then start back in. A really good one is, to not hold my breath as I climb closer to the difficult parts of the song, rather, I breathe to help relax my mind.
I pray as you read this you come to realize how much you have helped players with your broad selection of teaching videos. I have a ukulele lesson this morning & will be sharing these stress relief tips with my student! Gotta pass this stuff on you know.
Blessings,
Ken…. (Your friend for music!)
Thank you so much! I am so glad to hear that you found this helpful!
Another great video ! Playing relaxed is something I really struggle with on mandolin. I know I exert more force when fretting with my left hand than I need too. My right hand sometimes tenses up when I do tremolo too so sometimes ends up sounding like Morse Code. To complete the picture, my posture when practicing is not the greatest so if I am not careful my shoulders end up in my ears ;-) I will start implementing your tips today, just in time to be ready for my new mandolin which will show up tomorrow. One other thing I must remember to do is to take breaks. I have a tendency to play for hours on end with no resting or stretching in between. Bad habit arising from over-enthusiasm ! Thank you for the tips. Just what I needed to get my mind back on the need to relax !
This is so relatable!!! I understand everything you said and have done the same things as well. It’s all a process!
Thanks a lot for these valuable tips. Very true!
You’re welcome!
Shoulders are something irritating that I have suffered from for a long time. I personally play hard, I don't like the minimum effort rule. However, I exert a lot of strength and my shoulders feel a lot when I spend many hours practicing. But what was surreal was this Cork trick, I had never heard of that. I really put a lot of force on my jaw when playing, especially when I have to do a solo on the guitar, I'm really going to test that, it's fantastic.
Yes! Give it a try and see what it does!!
@@emmabordersmusic Seriously, it kind of blew my mind right now. I usually chew gum but it still hurts a lot, and my right shoulder goes with it. I'll try it and come back to give you feedback.
Thanks very much Emma for great advice. If I don't have a cork to bite on, will a cream cake be ok? xxx
thanks Emma, great reminder for all of us how important this is!
Here's another great video on the topic:
Noticing Tension with Chris Eldridge || ArtistWorks
th-cam.com/video/datJTAoo574/w-d-xo.html
Thanks!
Stretching cannot be over-stated.... Watch your pets..They do it intuitively every time they change position