Re: [Harp-L] Zen and the art of harmonica playing

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

All true and excellent advice - the best musical phrasers, whether
improvisers or not, understand how to shape silence.

I should, however, point out, that this is not reserved for
meditative-sounding music making. It can happen even in the most
frenetic-sounding moments.

There is a film clip of Louis Armstrong playing "Dinah" live, I think
in Copenhagen in the 1930s. (It gets played fairly often (i.e. at least
once a year) somewhere on PBS and is included on various "history of
jazz" sorts of video productions.) The tune is taken at a fast clip and
embodies what is often called "hot jazz" of the period. Louis is
grinning and sounding ecstatic. But there's a point where all he does
is play a repeated single note, on the beat. And yet it swings like
hell. You can hear him using silence to make the music.

Winslow



--- icemanle@xxxxxxx wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dave Murray dmurray777@xxxxxxx
>  
> This is the sound of one note (I played a 2 draw), what is the sound
> of the space before the next note? Are they the same? Should they
> be? 
>  
> 
> The sound of the space is the sound of silence. To understand the
> sound of silence, one must silence one's mind - a worthy endeavor. 
> 
> The silence should be considered equal but not the same as the sound
> of one note. In other words, instead of pausing between notes waiting
> to play the next one, "play" the silence as if it were a note - with
> a weight, shape, form, duration, etc. The experience of spaces
> between notes should flip to the experience of notes between the
> spaces and back at any given time with equality. When you breathe the
> music you create in this fashion, it will open the doors of
> perception to where inspiration dwells.
> 
> The Iceman
>
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