Re: "Watching the World" by Triple Play

["G." <gigs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<quote>
Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2004 16:22:22 +1100
From: Mark Crowley <Mark.Crowley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: "Watching the World" by Triple Play

us beginners have seen the highjumpbar raised incredibly above the rooftops
with recent talk of JI, then there was the discussion of being in/out of
tune.... and the possibility of spending yr entire life being ignorantly out
of tune...
now a player like Robert Bonfiglio muses on somebody else's "weird time
signatures"....
ulp.... (what the @#%^?)
i don't know about 'rage' but there's precious little 'bliss' at the low
rungs of the ladder. does 'stupefaction' provide you a gate pass to the
zone?? i doubt it. these tin lids in my tackle box could well be headed for
the bottom of the river if this keeps up.

crowley
</quote>

Hi Mark,
  I've taken up a number of hobbies, but music is the one activity that I
stuck with and grew into a strong passion.  The biggest difference between
music and the other hobbies I've explored is that its boundless, infinite in
its possibilities, it covers a very broad spectrum of facets to appeal to
any person.
  The amount of schools of music theory, and styles, and history, and
rhythms, and intonations, and science, and customising, and mathmatics, and
psychoacoustics, and ...  SHEESH!!!
  It IS overwhelming if you try to wrap your head around it all in one go.
You can take any facet of music and explore it for the rest of your life and
you'll never find the end of that search.

  But not to worry. It'll all be there waiting for you when you're ready to
explore each field as you need it.

  So, I think the key thing is to remember why you love music, what drew you
to playing music, what you enjoy most out from your playing, listening and
learning music. To focus on that, to concentrate on develpoing the skills,
knowledge and putting it into practice to make it possible for you to get
where you want to go  .... and that involve exploring what is possible as
you learn about stuff you were previously unaware of that set you in a new
fulfilling direction.

So take your time.
If you want some full on exposure to all this, if you haven't already, save
up and prepare to go to the next harmonica convention you can get to.  Its
usually an eye opener, you learn a lot, and you get a big kick out of being
surrounded by people who share the same passion.  I've been to all of two,
and the first one lit a fire in me that hasn't gone out.

  Keep returning back to what drew you in the first place, and why you do
it.

I've met a few seasoned musicians who lost sight of what drew them to music,
and as a result gave it up for many years, they usually talk about a decade
to two decades, and they really really regret that time away from music.

  For me its about expressing what words can't express, and sharing the
experience & feeling of music with the musicians you play with.

I also have a passion for tinkering and meddling with things, so I enjoy
learning how to make my instruments work and sound better which keeps my
mind busy, while my body gets on with practicing & ingraining techniques
that further my ability to share my own "music".  :)

  Email lends itself to technical discussion, so theres debates about comb &
cover materials, discussion and advice on repair, customising, tuning &
meddling with reeds, not to mention our little world of community politics,
it is easy to get caught up in these discussions and forget about actually
playing music.

  Email does not lend itself as readily to practicing, jamming & performing,
nor exchanging musical ideas (which is best heard, than typed).  But music
is why most of us are here.

  Something I wish I paid attention to when I was starting out:
    ~PRACTICE~ MAKES PERFECT.
I learnt the hard way.  Reading & typing ~about~ it, doesn't!

Warm regards,
G.
http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica