-
Thanks @Loraine , great question too. It comes down to awareness and speed control. I go through my mental checklist over and over while playing. Loose fingers-check, loose shoulders-check, loose neck-check, loose shoulders-check, good posture-check, loose hands-check. Practicing this check list has become second nature. I almost don’t have to think about doing it any more. If I find any mental tension or physical tension that keeps returning at close intervals I will slow down my playing speed until the both mental and physical tension dissipates and remains at bay. My mental tension comes in the form of panic as I can’t remember where to put my fingers next and the train jumps of the tracks. I am better today at recovering from this on the fly but I remember a time not to long ago where I would have to start everything over from the beginning. The only thing I can say contributed to being able to mess up and carry on is many hours in the saddle. After recognition of precision and accuracy over a satisfying period I will then start adding speed and start the process over adjusting, relaxing, focusing. I try to stop every 30min to stretch but will take a moment to stretch and refocus if mental tension begins providing the foothold for frustration to creep in. I continue until I have adjusted and achieved that tension free bliss. I used to stop when frustrated but that did not get me results I was looking for. I really considered what it meant to make a practice of stopping at a high point (Tony P.’s suggestion)tried it and while it was tough at first the benefit was exponential. I have seen video of myself when I am in the groove, tension gone, and my head sort of rolls around in weird guitar playing way but oh well I will take that over tension. One of the best things about repetition in lessons/exercises: I get super focused on the process. It is why I have come to recognize how important repetition is for my progress. It used to drive me nuts but now I focus on the results of the effort and appreciate how it allows me to progress. There are sessions when elapsed time seems to become meaningless: the magic of effortless perfect repetitions are all that is happening. I hope that answers your question.
