Books
The purpose of this book is to present technical training programs for classical guitarists based on exercise physiology principles, a subdiscipline of kinesiology that examines biophysical foundations of human movement. Two other subdisciplines of kinesiology are also discussed in the study as they relate to playing guitar: functional anatomy and biomechanics. The first part presents a detailed discussion of the functional anatomy of the upper limb and biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system. The fundamentals of muscle physiology and biomechanical concepts are reviewed to provide an understanding of how the body functions, which is followed by the discussion of biomechanics and physiology of guitar-playing. The second part is devoted to design of technical training programs, beginning with a discussion of training principles based on exercise physiology, as well as several motor learning concepts. After the classification of basic skills with related physical movements, various exercises are grouped to emphasize different skills. Some of the exercises are selected from existing guitar pedagogy literature; others are created by the author to utilize and strengthen specific muscles related to certain skills. In the final chapter, sample training programs for short-term and long-term purposes are presented. In addition to its primary focus on quantitative aspects of training, the study addresses certin qualitative aspects and results of training that relate to the biomechanics of guitar-playing technique.