Playing with practice

This post sounds like I'm trying to blow my own trumpet, which isn't really what I'm trying to do, but I had an interesting email today that surprised me.

One of my friends is a classically trained pianist. He wrote saying:

I tried out your practice 'technique'... It was a wonderful experience and had a feeling of spontaneity and lack of conscious control that I associate with Contact Impro. It was wonderful. Thank you. And the amazing thing is that in 8.5 years of playing the piano I HAVE NEVER DONE THAT!


so, I think it would be good if play took more of a central place in learning to 'play' an instrument.


here's the full transcript

His first email:
now, at my teacher's suggestion, I am spending a year focusing on Jazz Piano, which I am finding surprisingly theoretical.

I replied
yes, I think Jazz needs to get more playful. The theory is useful but they get too heady about it in my limited experience. I find the best thing is to take a simple chord/sequence/mode/whatever it is you're playing with, throw the book/music away, and just play with it until you don't want to any more. That's my "technique" at least.

he replied
I tried out your practice 'technique' and played my favourite chord C minor, plus a minor 7th, in the LH and then played around in that key with the RH. (actually i have just realised that I mistakenly played an A natural). It was a wonderful experience and had a feeling of spontaneity and lack of conscious control that I associate with Contact Impro. It was wonderful. Thank you. And the amazing thing is that in 8.5 years of playing the piano I HAVE NEVER DONE THAT!

Thanks to bowman_rdb for the pic

Non-commoditised music

I had a nice time in the British Library yesterday. Here's one thing I read:

“In our own society, creative symbolic play tends to be closely associated with a class of specialists we call “artists”, and the results of their activities are treated as “works of art” having (for better or worse) value as commodities.” (Basso 1985:2-3) 

I read it again. Exactly. And that's reasonably specific to our culture, not so to some other cultures.

So I don't do "creative symbolic play", I do "creative musical play" - and I think I want to keep the creative play, but drop the commoditization.

So the first thing in my mind when I woke up today were some rules to try playing by.

1. Love what you are doing. 

It's for your joy. It's about now, not outcomes. If it feels wrong, or bad or tight or forced, take a break, step back, rethink if necessary. You'll find your way back.

2. Play

Play in your practice, play in your sharing

3. When it's time to share, share

There is no performance. There is only sharing. In various forms.

- playing with others

eg a jam, a choir, a band, a quartet

- helping others play

eg, leading campfire singalongs, knowing the chords and words, helping it feel good

- an extended listening

when you feel you've got something long and beautiful to share, invite people to an extended listening where they lie and listen, and you give them something rich to listen to

ok a fourth rule has just come to me

4. It's not yours, it's God's

I don't mind what God means to you: alternative names may include Nature/Geist/Allah/Life/Buddha/Tao/that general sense of some kind of 'higher power'/Music itself - why not.

A musician is like one dancer in a partner dance. Our partner is Music, mysterious music, this immaterial landscape we've been given to get lost in like some enchanted woods.

I think what we are doing when we make music, when we practice, when we take care of the music we are able to 'make'

oo there's a problematic word.

I don't think we make music.

I think music is made through us.

My Indian singing teacher Atul says that he's like a track maker and God is the train. He has to lay really good tracks and take care of them so that when the train comes it can go whenever it wants. He's a violin player. He's incredible.

Right now, my tracks are quite shit. Whatever instrument I'm playing, voice included my body cannot keep up with the music in my mind. I can dance with music a bit but it's not great.

A really great dancer does what Atul does.

A really great dancer takes really good care of the material elements - what the fingers / body can do - so that that immaterial enchanted wood can come into the material world.

But we didn't 'make' that wood. No-one did.

...

I do a lot of yoga. At the end of every class we sit in crossed legs with our hands in prayer position, and every single class for the last four years at least, Alaric has said, softly, "lift your heart and bow your head."

Finally last month he explained why he says that. It's so you don't take personal credit for your successes, he said. That's really important. You have to dedicate your successes to something else. Otherwise you get fucked up like Amy Winehouse.

Ok. I think that's my manifesto of the moment.

Let's see how that goes.