This thread is going in various directions, but let's talk about ME!!! (no, seriously...) I have a minor permanent injury to one of my left-hand playing fingers that I have probably made way too much of, but what is interesting about it is that it has affected everything else I have done in playing until I had a teacher in ways that, thanks to El Rick, I have begun to cope with. This kind of spreading influence is what I would label "misplaced compensation" or BAD STRATEGY. Because I cannot be 100% accurate in placement, not only did I never learn fingerpicking accurately, but have relied on vague strumming to cover for mistakes. I figured that if there was enough noise close enough to the notes I wanted, that would be good enough. What I am now doing is working for a much cleaner sound, and much more practicing, and shifting into open tunings for some things, etc. I think there is a larger lesson here for me, and I have already applied it to a number of my students. I think that people naturally develop strategies to cope with problems. People just develop them because they are alone, and have no choice -- they work for them. But virtually everyone compensates. BUT THE COMPENSATION STRATEGIES ARE OFTEN WRONG OR MISGUIDED. THAT IS WHAT A TEACHER IS FOR: THERE IS A BETTER STRATEGY, LESS EFFORT, ANOTHER WAY AROUND THIS. A very deep lesson I have been learning. As I say, I have been applying it to students with reading and writing problems: Why have they usually solved their problems this way? What were they trying to do that I can improve upon for them? It is quite revelatory.

yours, Peter T.