When is it time to...?

There are certain things we know we are supposed to do in the never-ending quest to play more elegantly but we don't.  Why not?  Maybe we just don't feel it makes a difference, or it's takes too much work to change, or there are just too many other things to concentrate on...  you know the things I'm talking about --  Pressing as lightly as possible on the fingerboard, making sure your left hand is parallel to the fretboard,  keeping your left hand in close to the guitar neck so you don't bend your wrist inviting an injury,  playing right on your fingertips, playing close to the frets, keeping your fingers ready to play and close close close to that fingerboard at all times - etc.  and that's just the left hand!   I'm sure there are some of you out there that are thinking that this doesn't apply to you - (you perfect students - you already did all those things the first time you were told) - but woe is me, I didn't.

I agree that there is always something that rises to the top of the priority list for "fixing" and it rarely seems to incorporate the more subtle differences.  I see YT videos of quite accomplished players with their wrists way out and bent at wince-worthy angles yet playing beautifully, so there are some things that maybe never rise to the top of the list out of necessity - or maybe they know something I don't - it has happened 😂.

So when is it time to buckle down and do something about those technique things we've been ignoring?  For me,  it's usually not until something forces me to change my technique - IOW it just won't work without (though being called out in public works too - don't ask).  As an example, I was finding that during the first - fifth shift on the first string in Maria Luisa I was dropping off the side of the fingerboard about 1 in 8 attempts. This wouldn't have mattered so much if I didn't have to do that shift 8 times!  One of my friends helpfully slowed down the video frame by frame of me attempting the shift - was my hand parallel (no), were my fingers prepared to land? (no) were they on their tips (no) and was my hand next to the fingerboard with fingers curled? (you can guess the answer).   I had to fix all those things before I could reliably stay on track during the shift up the fingerboard, but until that point it hadn't really bothered me that I wasn't quite doing it right.  Having learned what it feels like to do it that way, interestingly some of it is carrying over into the rest of my playing (at least I think it is).  And some of it appears to be synergistic - for instance, you can't really keep your hand in closer to the neck without curling your fingers more on the top strings, which makes you play more on your fingertips, which encourages playing more lightly... (Check out Jason Vieaux videos for curly fingers...)

Wouldn't it be nice if someone knowledgeable were to identify pieces or exercises that would identify and then practice some of these more nebulous technique issues.     Like the sticky fingers exercise to stop your fingers from rebounding off the fretboard, or buzz scales to learn to press less hard.  I'm voting for Maria Luisa shifts 😉 to start with...