POST # 261 Jim Hall on Playing what You are Hearing

Players should force themselves to hear something and then play it, rather than just do whatever comes under the fingers. I try to make my playing as fresh as possible by not relying on set pattersn. When I practice, I tie off some of the strings with rubber bands to force myself to look at the fingerboard differently. For instance, I might play on the G and D strings only, or even just the G and A strings. - Jim Hall


( Sometimes limitation can lead to creativity! Whats that cliche...necessity is the mother of invention? I remember breaking the top E string during a guitar solo once and just had to wing it with 5 strings live! I think we have all done that one time or another. - Ed )