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The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar: The Perfect Start for Beginners and the Answer to the Problems of Players
“The Principles Of Correct Practice For Guitar” solves the biggest problem guitar students have… they are not getting better because they don’t know what to do when they sit down to practice. “The Principles” is different from all other guitar books because it does not give you endless exercises and songs, leaving it up to you to figure out how to get your fingers to play them. It will teach you how to train your fingers effectively so that they can easily make the movements necessary to play the music you love on guitar. With practice methods based on the scientific principles of motor control learning, you will learn the necessity of slow, focused practice for building the precise and controlled reflexes every guitar player needs. Taking you from the beginning, a special series of step by step Foundation Exercises will show you how to develop the muscles that will train your fingers to play easily on the guitar. You will see the results yourself as you get better with every practice session! “…Jamie writes in a way that encompasses all guitarists regardless of genres…there’s a wealth of information such as your attention to detail, developing the right type of muscle memory, and the right way to build speed…it is full of useful advice and tips.” …..Guitar Techniques Magazine “…Her aim is to teach the basics really, really well. Anyone who wants to be a true artist needs to start with sound fundamentals, and Jamie’s book would be a fine place to start, the closest to developing the kinds of habits instilled in Suzuki training.” Gary Marcus, Author “Guitar Zero” “Jamie Andreas is a gifted writer and music educator. This book will help you prepare your body and mind for the journey of learning to play the guitar, and is required reading for any serious student of the instrument. "The Principles" is a book unlike any other I have read, and holds a unique status in my library…..Shawn Bradshaw, Cyberfret
106 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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February 14, 2025
Today’s book review is for the “playing / practicing” guitar instruction book: “The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar: The Perfect Start for Beginners and the Answer to the Problems of Players” (1998©). The book is written by: Jamey (Jamie) Andreas. There is a 2nd edition out, circa 2005, but this review is for the 1st edition. The book is available on Amazon and at the author’s web site: https://guitarprinciples.com
Background:
In January of 2021, I decided to teach myself to play guitar. Ms. Andreas was one of the first instructors I discovered on YouTube when I began my “journey / education”. Back then, I was able to find one chapter of this book as a teaser to buy the full book or take some instruction from Ms. Andreas. I didn’t do either, but (with permission) I did use a couple of quotes from the book in posts (way back then). I recently found a full “PDF” of the first edition, which I just assumed was another copy of the first chapter. I downloaded the PDF to refresh my memory about the material. I was surprised to find the copy was of the entire book and not simply Chapter 1. Anyway, I’ve now read the book…
Review:
Is THIS a good book about the topic (playing / practicing guitar) and would I recommend it to others? The answer to both questions is: “YES!!“.
First (good): this is not a “traditional” learn to play guitar book. This is more of a Zen – “learn how to learn to play guitar book“. Seriously, there are NO chord charts, no song tabs, no scales. What there is, is FAR more valuable for someone who seeks to “Grok” guitar: How you sit, how you hold the guitar, and how to press / pluck a string. The keys are: attention, intention, concentration, and relaxation. Basically, being in the moment with your body as you extend the music from your mind into the guitar via the path of your body / arms / hands / fingers. Like I said, VERY Zen.
Everything in the book is foundational to learning to “play” guitar which all of the other books – and there are a host of others – will teach you. “Foundational” doesn’t mean simple to learn to do or even easy to repeat once you have learned the basics. These are lessons you will have to return to over and over again throughout your guitar learning journey. The greatness of this book is that it will assist you in recognizing yourself and your current (in the moment) state(s), so you can improve consistently even as you get closer to your own natural limitations and personal goals with the guitar.
Second (bad): If that’s the good, what’s wrong? Price. A hard copy of this (first) edition is listed at $100 on Amazon and an electronic copy is listed at $30 on the author’s website. Are these “fair” prices? For the treasure trove of information you are getting and the amount of practice time (years) you will save by learning and incorporating the book’s lessons into your practices, this book pays for itself many times over. That doesn’t mean it’s a good price for me personally: an older, retired person on a very limited budget who is still just learning to play guitar. (LoL!!) For a “normal” person, I would say: the current price for a music lesson is between $50-$100 per half hour. Your average “chord, scales, and song” book will run you $50 (new). I can’t really place a value on your practice time. So, yeah, while the price is steep for me, it’s VERY reasonable for most guitar learners.
Third (good): The book is short and a pretty fast read. My version is about 80 pages of text and slightly more including un-numbered pages. I read the book through (thoughtfully) in an evening and a bit. This included going back through to hi-light a great deal of content. Don’t be fooled by the weight / length of the book. This is a book you’ll use extensively for about a year (I’d say that’s a rough guess if you are practicing most days) and then you’ll come back to it for the next decade or so as a refresher / reference. Let me put it this way: I’ve been “practicing” guitar for almost four years and I still consider myself a rank beginner. Objectively, I’m pretty terrible!! I’m light-years beyond where I was when I started, but still I’m still pretty BAD. I will never know for sure if this book would have helped me from the start, but is definitely a book which can help me now AND for the foreseeable future. If this last sentence is true, why don’t I know if the book would have helped me from the start? ‘Cause I’m one of those folks who doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and I rarely appreciate what is valuable until I know enough about a subject to establish its personal value to me. This book “probably” would have seemed so basic I (as a true beginner) would not have been able to appreciate the value of it’s nuances. But that’s just me…
Final recommendation: very strong recommendation. If you are interested in learning the absolute foundation of how to practice and how to play guitar, this is an excellent resource. Is it going to “vastly” improve MY (or your) music skills. I don’t know. I do feel it will help me appreciate the process of practicing and playing the guitar and that, by itself, will help me enjoy my practices more. For me, that’s more than enough to recommend this book to others.
Disclaimer: No compensation has been provided to me by anyone for my opinions in this review.
Background:
In January of 2021, I decided to teach myself to play guitar. Ms. Andreas was one of the first instructors I discovered on YouTube when I began my “journey / education”. Back then, I was able to find one chapter of this book as a teaser to buy the full book or take some instruction from Ms. Andreas. I didn’t do either, but (with permission) I did use a couple of quotes from the book in posts (way back then). I recently found a full “PDF” of the first edition, which I just assumed was another copy of the first chapter. I downloaded the PDF to refresh my memory about the material. I was surprised to find the copy was of the entire book and not simply Chapter 1. Anyway, I’ve now read the book…
Review:
Is THIS a good book about the topic (playing / practicing guitar) and would I recommend it to others? The answer to both questions is: “YES!!“.
First (good): this is not a “traditional” learn to play guitar book. This is more of a Zen – “learn how to learn to play guitar book“. Seriously, there are NO chord charts, no song tabs, no scales. What there is, is FAR more valuable for someone who seeks to “Grok” guitar: How you sit, how you hold the guitar, and how to press / pluck a string. The keys are: attention, intention, concentration, and relaxation. Basically, being in the moment with your body as you extend the music from your mind into the guitar via the path of your body / arms / hands / fingers. Like I said, VERY Zen.
Everything in the book is foundational to learning to “play” guitar which all of the other books – and there are a host of others – will teach you. “Foundational” doesn’t mean simple to learn to do or even easy to repeat once you have learned the basics. These are lessons you will have to return to over and over again throughout your guitar learning journey. The greatness of this book is that it will assist you in recognizing yourself and your current (in the moment) state(s), so you can improve consistently even as you get closer to your own natural limitations and personal goals with the guitar.
Second (bad): If that’s the good, what’s wrong? Price. A hard copy of this (first) edition is listed at $100 on Amazon and an electronic copy is listed at $30 on the author’s website. Are these “fair” prices? For the treasure trove of information you are getting and the amount of practice time (years) you will save by learning and incorporating the book’s lessons into your practices, this book pays for itself many times over. That doesn’t mean it’s a good price for me personally: an older, retired person on a very limited budget who is still just learning to play guitar. (LoL!!) For a “normal” person, I would say: the current price for a music lesson is between $50-$100 per half hour. Your average “chord, scales, and song” book will run you $50 (new). I can’t really place a value on your practice time. So, yeah, while the price is steep for me, it’s VERY reasonable for most guitar learners.
Third (good): The book is short and a pretty fast read. My version is about 80 pages of text and slightly more including un-numbered pages. I read the book through (thoughtfully) in an evening and a bit. This included going back through to hi-light a great deal of content. Don’t be fooled by the weight / length of the book. This is a book you’ll use extensively for about a year (I’d say that’s a rough guess if you are practicing most days) and then you’ll come back to it for the next decade or so as a refresher / reference. Let me put it this way: I’ve been “practicing” guitar for almost four years and I still consider myself a rank beginner. Objectively, I’m pretty terrible!! I’m light-years beyond where I was when I started, but still I’m still pretty BAD. I will never know for sure if this book would have helped me from the start, but is definitely a book which can help me now AND for the foreseeable future. If this last sentence is true, why don’t I know if the book would have helped me from the start? ‘Cause I’m one of those folks who doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and I rarely appreciate what is valuable until I know enough about a subject to establish its personal value to me. This book “probably” would have seemed so basic I (as a true beginner) would not have been able to appreciate the value of it’s nuances. But that’s just me…
Final recommendation: very strong recommendation. If you are interested in learning the absolute foundation of how to practice and how to play guitar, this is an excellent resource. Is it going to “vastly” improve MY (or your) music skills. I don’t know. I do feel it will help me appreciate the process of practicing and playing the guitar and that, by itself, will help me enjoy my practices more. For me, that’s more than enough to recommend this book to others.
Disclaimer: No compensation has been provided to me by anyone for my opinions in this review.
Displaying 1 of 1 review