Re: neck width of classical guitar vs. steel strung guitar
> Open mind is not something seen much,
> if at all, in classical academia.
I see a lot of it. Note for instance the complete shift away from
Segovian technique over the last 15 or so years. New discoveries are
being made all of the time. In fact that is what academia is all
about. I'm sorry you've had bad experiences with those 'academicians'
you have come into contact with.
> But the "I had to learn this crap so you do too"
Yes, I've heard that some teachers do this. A good teacher understands
the reasons for doing these things. I have personally seen the results
and have seen the great differences, side by side, in students who
follow these directions next to students who do not.
> When quizzed
> it seems the best they can come up with is
> "Because that's the classical way".
I am unsure who told you that, but a good teacher knows why they do
what they do and puts students on an efficient path toward higher
level achievement. If you research it you’ll find a lot of good nuts
and bolts justifications for these things. Off the top of my head
Iznaola’s, “On Practicing,” has some insights (conditioning the
autonomic nervous system, etc.), Provost’s, “The Art and Technique of
Practice,” Tennant’s, “Pumping Nylon,” and those are just for guitar.
There is a ton of research on this stuff. A lot of it gets published
in professional journals. I’ve been to several seminars on the brain
and learning and it is clear that this stuff, if done right, is the
way the brain learns are retains in a way that can be demonstrated in
applied learning. It is a lot more than, “Because I had to learn it.”
<castlebrav…
RichL
