Practicing with eyes closed

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by Micawber

...Anyway, the only way I could play effectively was to close my eyes. It was the first time I tried this but I was surprised at how good and effortless it felt. Still not sure if it was just muscle memory kicking in but it felt more like a much higher level of focus. Hard to explain but I’ve never felt that connected to a guitar before.

I've found a similar thing. While I'm learning a tune I need to look at my fretting hand. But once I've got the finger positions down, which can take some time, I think it slows me down if I look at my fretting hand - excluding big jumps up or down the fretboard. It seems muscle memory executes faster if my eyes aren't involved.

[Deliberate1]

OP here. Good for you. I find that, when I close my I still "see" them as they move. No doubt, every time I hit it right, the success reinforces the muscle memory, because, without vision, that is all there is to guide you. That said, I am still unable to move accurately up and down the neck with my eyes closed yet, though I can hit open postion chords with no problem. I just do not have enough playing experience, in general, to making that kind of move. Eventually....
David